Canada Girl wrote:
[quote Fair enough. Mostly I'm looking for a late year marathon within driving distance of my home... and the Hamilton, Ontario Marathon fits those requirements.
Do you not run the risk of being stopped by a train during this marathon?[/quote]
Pretty sure they changed the course to avoid the train from what I've read so far, but my research is in the early stages. Apparently there's an annoying small section of dirt/gravel/cobblestone footpath included and some repetitive out-and-backs, but it was changed to avoid the train.
And to some of the others claiming downhill courses are harder...obviously you can run a huge net downhill course wrong and blow up, but running downhill uses less energy for the same speed...that's basic physics. If you train properly and pace properly you may walk like a penguin afterwards but you didn't do the same amount of work as on a flat course. I would guess if you took off like an idiot in that 2:4x marathon you would have hobbled in in 3:1x, too.