Any FAST US marathons in May-June (preferably Western USA)

mayor's midnight sun

can't much cooler than alaska in the summer

Not sure if it counts due to the elevation drop, but what about the Utah Valley marathon in early June?

not west coast, but may have everything you want...Cellcom Green Bay Marathon on May 15th.

yet another marathon coach wrote:

-Boston sold out too soon.

1. if she is that good maybe there is a chance to still get her in. Did you try contacting BAA directly?

2. Boston is not a fast Marathon USUALLY. It was last year, but nine out of ten times there is no tailwind and perfect temperatures.

3. Does Boston even count as a OT qualifier? After all, it's net downhill and not point to point (e.g. WR don't count there anymore)

Grandma's.

It is WAAAYYY north of Buffalo and Toronto. June is not "summer" up there yet. Unless the weather hits a hot spell early, the weather in Duluth should be fine.

It is not West Coast, but it is probably the fastest course and best conditions to choose from.

doing the same research and havent found the one yet.....

Seattle RnR 6/25

a few rollers, but no big hills.

there's one on july 4th in portland, but it's small

http://www.foottraffic.us/flat/

still looking into it to see if it's any good.

vancouver is 5/1 (same day as eugene) - looks ok but not great

there's always gansett, same weekend as boston - small, but some faster runners

http://www.gansettmarathon.com/

The weather is good, but how fast do you really think this course is?Mile 7 to 15 are fairly tough. You have a mile or two of climbing on a paved road, and then about 5 miles on the "Tank Trail" which is about like running on the cinder bed of a rail line (without the tracks). The cobbles are about 1" to 2" in diameter and the footing is never good. Plus there are some big hills in that stretch. Humpy's Marathon in August might be faster (but less competition than Mayor's).

where are the sex and drugs? wrote:

mayor's midnight sun

can't much cooler than alaska in the summer

Mayor's (in Anchorage) would certainly be cool. It *might* be 70 that day, if it were a very hot summer week for Anchorage. It would be more likely to be 55 and lightly raining.

The whole five miles of uphill might not make it a fast course, though. CR is 2:22 for men, 2:38 for women (Chris Clark) (http://www.mayorsmarathon.com/Results/index.cfm?Year=2009 and scroll down). But top-three women in '09 were 3:04, 3:21, 3:27... so hardly competitive.

Also, maybe Bayshore, in Traverse City, MI, over Memorial Day? Flat, fast (I ran it; am certain about those first two), and I think there's some prize money, which could help with the field.

Oh, but it was 80 last year on race day. Oops. Well above average for that place on that date, but small comfort to me last year.

Temp stats:

http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KTVC/2010/5/29/DailyHistory.html?req_city=NA&req_state=NA&req_statename=NA

I'll second Green Bay. Mrs. Mzungu has won the last 2 years and is planning to go back again. Pancake flat course, great weather the last 2 years, but pretty tight about who they're taking for this year's elite field, so you might want to get in touch with them soon as that's the only way to get in the race at this point.

Try the Newport marathon in Oregon. Course is flat and fast. Just one hill in it and it is very early and not long. In my opinion it is a great race for someone who has a legit shot at getting a qualifier. I ran my first marathon there (2004) and could not believe how easy it was. The major drawback is the size. Roughly 300 folks run it and times are not exceedingly fast. No money is available so elite women should bring a pace setter or be prepared to run with the top 3 men. Winning time averages around 2:30-2:35. Every once in awhile a decent guy will show up and run in the 2:20 range. Weather is mild.

I might be doing the National Guard Marathon in Lincoln Nebraska on May 1. I think it will be a fast course, well, I'm hoping anyway.

Very helpful, everyone. This gives us a lot to consider. Boston is too soon (although they might grant her an entry based on a solid previous marathon time) and now Grandma's sounds promising.

yet another marathon coach wrote:

-I've heard the Eugene Marathon is a slow, crummy course with only two water stops, lots of turns and 8 miles of concrete at the end. We're looking for something fast and more professional.

Don't know where you heard this from, but having debuted here and run a bunch of slow, hilly, winding marathons ever since, I disagree. I remember only one major hill, and even that wasn't very big. This course ranks as the second easiest I've done of 10 marathons, with Chicago being the easiest. The weather is a guaranteed perfect, low humidity, little to no wind, and I promise you there should be a sizeable group of ladies this year going for the B standard. They were very professional and accomodating (I believe Andy Downin was the elite coordinator?). The only part I didn't like was when we got onto the bike path the last 10K+, as I would have preferred staying on open roads. I don't see how you could possibly find any marathon that "avoids concrete".

I'd also suggest getting in touch with Tom Cotner from Club Northwest to see where he's sending people.

I was not impressed last year. There were only two water stops and the course was about three minutes slower than I felt would have been possible on a faster course (and there are faster courses out there which were mentioned). Eugene had lots and lots of turns and unforgiving concrete at the wrong part of the race (last third?_. Sorry but Eugene should be doing a better job with their marathon in many respects, especially with all of the big names on its board of directors.

Curious where the "only two water stops" comments are coming from. As a multi-spot observer on the course last year, I remember more than.

The official course map, from memory: eugenemarathon.com, shows plenty of aid.

Having trained on much of the course, I would

a) think that one could run a pretty decent time

b) be reluctant to give it a full recommendation due to

the amount of time on the bikepaths.

san diego

Grandma's has been really hot the last few years. I didn't run but a few friends have and they have complained about how hot it was.

Traverse City is sold out

There is an innaugural race in Indiana on June 11

www.carmelmarathon.com

that is supposed to be flat and fast. The 8K road championships are being held on the same day in Carmel