13 States with no OT Marathon Trials Qualifiers

NV OTQ hopeful wrote:

I live in Las Vegas, and I have to say that I agree with the OP on his very brief assessment of running conditions here. The summer here is horrible, and I have heard other locals refer to Vegas as the place where runners go to die. The temperatures during the winter are rather nice, but the constant wind during that time of the year disrupts training as well. Add in the fact that there are very few good races here, and there are only a handful of good runners in the entire metropolitan area (of about 2 million people) and it makes matters even worse (most of the good runners are not even close to the OTQ either). On top of this, there are very few places where an OTQ hopeful can actually perform quality workouts due to logistics (you have to drive way out of town to get to most spots), lack of shade (the radiant heat from the sun can cause problems even when temps are only in the 70's during the fall and spring), and lack of flat paved surfaces (a lot of the best places to run are on dirt trails, which are extremely hilly, and are not suitable for hard marathon pace workouts).

In order to try and get quality workouts in while living here I have had to try and acclimate to the heat by turning the a/c in my apartment up so high that I a am constantly sweating while just sitting around the house. I purposefully run easy runs when it is 100+ degrees outside during the summer with the hope that 80 or 90 wouldn't feel so bad if I get used to 100. I have also done some workouts indoors on a treadmill solely for the purpose of being able to run hard in temperatures under 80 degrees. So yes, it is possible to get some quality training here (and the ability to run well when it is hot may aid me in the future), but for the majority of people out there the poor running conditions kill their motivation to train hard.

NV OTQ hopeful wrote:

I live in Las Vegas, and I have to say that I agree with the OP on his very brief assessment of running conditions here. The summer here is horrible, and I have heard other locals refer to Vegas as the place where runners go to die. The temperatures during the winter are rather nice, but the constant wind during that time of the year disrupts training as well. Add in the fact that there are very few good races here, and there are only a handful of good runners in the entire metropolitan area (of about 2 million people) and it makes matters even worse (most of the good runners are not even close to the OTQ either). On top of this, there are very few places where an OTQ hopeful can actually perform quality workouts due to logistics (you have to drive way out of town to get to most spots), lack of shade (the radiant heat from the sun can cause problems even when temps are only in the 70's during the fall and spring), and lack of flat paved surfaces (a lot of the best places to run are on dirt trails, which are extremely hilly, and are not suitable for hard marathon pace workouts).

In order to try and get quality workouts in while living here I have had to try and acclimate to the heat by turning the a/c in my apartment up so high that I a am constantly sweating while just sitting around the house. I purposefully run easy runs when it is 100+ degrees outside during the summer with the hope that 80 or 90 wouldn't feel so bad if I get used to 100. I have also done some workouts indoors on a treadmill solely for the purpose of being able to run hard in temperatures under 80 degrees. So yes, it is possible to get some quality training here (and the ability to run well when it is hot may aid me in the future), but for the majority of people out there the poor running conditions kill their motivation to train hard.

The Smartest Lets Run Poster wrote:

Please don't respond to this thread. It is for informational purposes only.

The following states are the states with the worst distance running in the country. Good runners stay and migrate to states with the best running conditions. Good runners get away from states with the worst running communities and environments.

The South dominates the list with a stranglehold on the top 4 spots. Is there a worse place in the country to live and train than these states?

Alabama - 4,677,464

Louisiana - 4,451,940

South Carolina - 4,503,230

Mississippi - 2,940,212

Over 77% of all people in Nevada live in Las Vegas which is a about as close to hell as you can find for a distance runner.

Nevada - 2,615,722

Speaking of hell...Nebraska deserves to be on this list more than any other state. No other state has worse running conditions unless you like boring terrain, hot and humid summers, no major races, and long cold windy icy winters.

Nebraska - 1,781,949

Hawaii is a bit of a surprise. The year around warm weather would be a bit much, but many good places to run exist.

Hawaii - 1,287,481

The remaining states have small population bases and most have long, oppressive winters. Montana has some nice areas to run in the spring through fall and a few good ultra runners. Delaware should be a decent place to train. They rest of the states are almost as bad as Nebraska.

Montana - 968.035

Delaware - 876,211

South Dakota - 804,532

Alaska - 686,125

North Dakota - 641,421

Wyoming - 532,981

I'll analyze the list of states with the highest percentage of qualifiers in the next week or so. Remember, please don't respond to this thread. It is for informational purposes only.

NV OTQ hopeful wrote:

The trails I have run on near lake Mead are not bad as there are some trails with mile markers that are not too hilly, but they are more exposed to the sun than some other areas, and there really are no places to stop for water if needed (so you need to carry it, which can also cause problems). Mt Charleston is not a bad place to run, but it is a long drive to get there from most parts of Vegas, so it would only be reasonable to run there occasionally. There are actually some decent places to run in the city as long as you don't mind the occasional stop to cross streets, including some parks and paved trails, etc. But, like I mentioned in my previous post, the radiant heat from the sun, and the high temperatures make hard training difficult for all but the most diligent during the summer.

Running long runs early in the morning (finishing running 20 miles by about 7am) was the best option for me to avoid the heat, but the morning lows were still in the mid to high 80's for most of this past summer (and this summer seemed cooler than average here). I found that the mid afternoon easy runs (when it was 100+ degrees outside) and the high indoor temperatures at home were really key to helping me to acclimate, but that still does not change the fact that the temperatures make hard workouts more difficult. Of course it is still possible to put in some good training here, but you have to be much more dedicated than in some other places where training is easy.