Thinking about doing a marathon later this year but the hotels in that area are outrageous. My house is 2 hours and 20 minutes from the race. Would it be completely idiotic to drive to the race the morning of? Another option would be getting a cheap hotel about 45 minutes from the start.
There is a 10K I do every year in which I drive 1.5 hours to the parking lot and then sit on a shuttle bus for 30-40 minutes before the start and I usually run well there. So maybe it's possible.
I don't think it's much of a problem. It might impact a little, but that is offset by being able to sleep at home. If the race day logistics are complicated such that you would need to arrive an hour or more before the start and it's an early start race that would weigh against driving.
Rent a camper or RV.
Paul2432 wrote:
I don't think it's much of a problem. It might impact a little, but that is offset by being able to sleep at home. If the race day logistics are complicated such that you would need to arrive an hour or more before the start and it's an early start race that would weigh against driving.
+1. I've never driven that far before a race, but I agree with that logic. Sleeping in your own bed, making your normal breakfast in your own kitchen, using your own throne for the most important pre-race movement would make up for a couple hour drive imo.
Will parking and stuff be easy at the race? That's probably stress you dont need to add if it takes 30 minutes looping around looking for a spot
hotel 45 minute away seems the worst of the 3 options wrote:
Paul2432 wrote:
I don't think it's much of a problem. It might impact a little, but that is offset by being able to sleep at home. If the race day logistics are complicated such that you would need to arrive an hour or more before the start and it's an early start race that would weigh against driving.
+1. I've never driven that far before a race, but I agree with that logic. Sleeping in your own bed, making your normal breakfast in your own kitchen, using your own throne for the most important pre-race movement would make up for a couple hour drive imo.
Will parking and stuff be easy at the race? That's probably stress you dont need to add if it takes 30 minutes looping around looking for a spot
Looks like you park about 4 miles from the start and take a shuttle bus there. Race site says to arrive at shuttle no later than 6:45am for the 8:00am start. So I'd be looking at waking up about 3:30am, leaving home around 4am, and parking about 6:30am. Might be tough.
I sleep in my car before races. Probably did that over 150 times.
If you drive that far, make sure you stretch and loosen up your hip flexors. Those can get tight on a drive that long.
pretty early to get up...... wrote:
I sleep in my car before races. Probably did that over 150 times.
What!?!? Can you describe the circumstances? What's your setup? Why do you sleep in your car over camping or something slightly less cramped?
I drove 5 hours and set my 800 PR. You should be fine.
sc guy wrote:
hotel 45 minute away seems the worst of the 3 options wrote:
+1. I've never driven that far before a race, but I agree with that logic. Sleeping in your own bed, making your normal breakfast in your own kitchen, using your own throne for the most important pre-race movement would make up for a couple hour drive imo.
Will parking and stuff be easy at the race? That's probably stress you dont need to add if it takes 30 minutes looping around looking for a spot
Looks like you park about 4 miles from the start and take a shuttle bus there. Race site says to arrive at shuttle no later than 6:45am for the 8:00am start. So I'd be looking at waking up about 3:30am, leaving home around 4am, and parking about 6:30am. Might be tough.
Might be best to stay at a hotel a little closer. Waking up 3:30am will mean you don't really sleep at all. Then again, it also depends on your speed. If you're a 3:30 guy then it won't affect you. If you're a 2:30 then it will affect you.
I have never driven that far to a marathon on race day because almost all marathons require that you pick up your race packet at the expo the day before the race. No way am I driving 2.5 hours twice on Saturday and then driving it twice again on Sunday.
If your target marathon is one of the few enlightened ones that will either mail your race packet ahead of time or allow you to pick up on race morning, then your choice comes down to several factors. How well do you function after getting up really early in the morning? How well do you sleep in a hotel room compared to home? And how much do you stress out about getting to the race and to the starting line on time? I get very stressed out when I have a long drive to a race because I'm always worried that there will be a wreck or construction on the highway that will cause a big travel delay. If you haven't done this race before, you'll want to allow plenty of time for finding parking, port-a-potties, etc. And if you're picking up your race packet on race morning, you'll have to allow time for that. Personally, if I had a 2.5 hour drive I would probably have to leave 4 hours before the start of the race to minimize my stress level about those other things, and then I would definitely want to stay in a hotel the night before. But you have to consider all the factors and make up your own mind.
If you are just running it for fun, sure why not. You’re not a serious runner anyway.
You could get a friend to drive while you sleep in the car on the ride in.
Have you previous marathon experience? What about the road back? It may be dangerous to get cramps while driving, and your attention would be nowhere close to optimum.
I've done it for a 25k trail race that had 3,600' of vert and took almost 2.5 hours, so similar time on the feet. You generally will be fine, just make sure and get the legs loose is all. Main issue is pooping and maybe eating time prior to race. I have to eat about 2 hours ahead of time, even a little less sometimes so I brought oatmeal and ate it on the road. Nearly pooped my pants but hey, I did fine.
halfway into the drive, stop at a rest stop and do a 5 minute shakeout jog, or maybe a 10min walk.
This should be OK. If you are comfortable waking early and driving before the race, you will benefit from sleeping in your own bed and having your morning routine (eating, drinking, bathroom) at home. The night before, the night before a marathon is much more important for getting sufficient sleep. Lots of people get nervous and have trouble sleeping the night before a race-regardless of sleeping at home or a hotel, but that doesn't affect the race performance as much as the previous night of sleep.
sc guy wrote:
Thinking about doing a marathon later this year but the hotels in that area are outrageous. My house is 2 hours and 20 minutes from the race. Would it be completely idiotic to drive to the race the morning of? Another option would be getting a cheap hotel about 45 minutes from the start.
There is a 10K I do every year in which I drive 1.5 hours to the parking lot and then sit on a shuttle bus for 30-40 minutes before the start and I usually run well there. So maybe it's possible.
Could you take a flight? ?
Worrying about the drive, would probably effect your performance a lot more than the drive itself.
I would worry about packet pickup for a marathon day of. Not sure that’s possible these days but certainly something you can figure out in advance.
Uncle Rico wrote:
pretty early to get up...... wrote:
I sleep in my car before races. Probably did that over 150 times.
What!?!? Can you describe the circumstances? What's your setup? Why do you sleep in your car over camping or something slightly less cramped?
I've slept in my car before a race only once, but often sleep in my car for long cross country road trips (maybe 60 nights over past 3 years). It's very comfortable if you have a wagon or hatchback that has a flat floor with the back seats down, plus a good sleeping setup. Even better with a Prius, because you can have full HVAC running all night, and the car engine only kicks on automatically as needed. If you're just trying to sleep in the front seat with the seat reclined, you'll have a very bad night.