Any opinions on these marathons?
RunnerElizabeth
Posts: 1,091 Member
Steamtown, Wineglass, Myrtle Beach, Bay State, Napa Valley?
I ran my first on Sunday, the Manchester City Marathon in Manchester, NH. It was rather cold, insanely windy and pretty hilly. I trained on hills and I'm a year round runner, but given conditions and the fact that it was my first, I decided to run at training pace. So i want to run a second in 2015 for time.
I want to choose a faster course, I like smaller races (but my definition of small is less than 7,000, Manchester with less than 500 full marathoners was ok), I don't do well in heat and if i have to travel, I want the route to have crowd support so I'm not lonely without my family to cheer for me. Baystate made my list because it's local and i wouldn't need a hotel.
Any thoughts on these? Or suggestions for races that would meet my criteria better?
Thanks!!
I ran my first on Sunday, the Manchester City Marathon in Manchester, NH. It was rather cold, insanely windy and pretty hilly. I trained on hills and I'm a year round runner, but given conditions and the fact that it was my first, I decided to run at training pace. So i want to run a second in 2015 for time.
I want to choose a faster course, I like smaller races (but my definition of small is less than 7,000, Manchester with less than 500 full marathoners was ok), I don't do well in heat and if i have to travel, I want the route to have crowd support so I'm not lonely without my family to cheer for me. Baystate made my list because it's local and i wouldn't need a hotel.
Any thoughts on these? Or suggestions for races that would meet my criteria better?
Thanks!!
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My understanding is that BayState is pretty fast. I might go for that one next year myself, not sure yet. There's also Sugarloaf in Maine, which is mostly downhill I think, so fast but painful, haha :-)
You've probably already seen this site but in case you haven't: http://www.marathonguide.com/races/BostonMarathonQualifyingRaces.cfm
They have a bunch of charts ranking marathons by difficulty. This one is the number of Boston Qualifiers by race.
Good luck, and great work finishing your first, a great accomplishment!!0 -
My understanding is that BayState is pretty fast. I might go for that one next year myself, not sure yet. There's also Sugarloaf in Maine, which is mostly downhill I think, so fast but painful, haha :-)
You've probably already seen this site but in case you haven't: http://www.marathonguide.com/races/BostonMarathonQualifyingRaces.cfm
They have a bunch of charts ranking marathons by difficulty. This one is the number of Boston Qualifiers by race.
Good luck, and great work finishing your first, a great accomplishment!!
Sugarloaf is about 1000ft of elevation loss over the last 16mi.
I haven't run it but they've got a 15k as well that I'm planning for 2015 and I'm considering the full for 2016 as my first full.
http://sugarloaf.com/marathon/the-course
I'm trying to convince @training2befast to do the sugarloaf full0 -
Steamtown is one of my favorite marathons. The first half of the race crowd support is a little sparse, but once you finish the "rails to trails" section it picks up a lot. There are some nasty little hills near the end of the course but that coincides with heaviest crowd section. Everyone in those neighborhoods is out front with stereos blasting; it is like you are running through someone's block party. Temps in October can be unpredictable, it got a little warm the year I did it.0
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Sugarloaf does deserve consideration, you're both right. It's not that far. And is supposed to be a good deal faster than Manchester. I do have concerns about training for that one, Napa in March and Myrtle Beach in Feb, because they all mean training during snow/ice cold/flu season which seems risky.0
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Sugarloaf isn't til mid-May so it'd be more forgiving than the Napa or Myrtle Beach...0
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Napa and Myrtle Beach are off the table now...for MB, I would basically be in training now. For Napa, I'd have to start next week. @DavidMartinez2 good to hear the crowd support is best where the hills are. Steamtown looked really good. I usually run a half that weekend anyway. The weather has been perfect 2012-14, I think 2011 was hot. @603reader, I guess i wouldn't have to start the training cycle for sugarloaf until the beginning of Feb, not perfect timing for my health, but it could be much worse, so i haven't ruled it out yet.0
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Could wait til later in the year for Hartford Marathon (mid- October), Maine Marathon (early October), etc (too lazy to think of more that are semi-local)
There's Vermont City Marathon, it's a week later than Sugarloaf (http://www.vermontcitymarathon.org/)0 -
Hartford is flatter than Steamtown. They do an excellent job of providing Aid on course and some nice swag. I heard they had an issue with finisher medals last year but I wouldn't let that dissuade you. Crowd support is lacking in some spots but overall it was a good race.0
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CT: http://www.runningintheusa.com/Race/List.aspx?Rank=All&State=CT&Special=marathon <Keith did Savin Rock but I think it was the half, I don't think there was a full option in 2014. I did the 5k
RI(flat state): http://www.runningintheusa.com/Race/List.aspx?Rank=All&State=ri&Special=marathon
MA: http://www.runningintheusa.com/Race/List.aspx?Rank=All&State=ma&Special=marathon
NH: http://www.runningintheusa.com/Race/List.aspx?Rank=All&State=nh&Special=marathon <Newmarket wouldn't be too far from you. Coastal
ME: http://www.runningintheusa.com/Race/List.aspx?Rank=All&State=me&Special=marathon <JoelleAnn78 did the half at Mount Desert Island and I have a friend who did the full.
VT: http://www.runningintheusa.com/Race/List.aspx?Rank=All&State=vt&Special=marathon0 -
I had a friend/coworker who ran Steamtown this year. He regrets not doing more downhill training. I would bring a skateboard. And yeah, mid-Oct is very iffy. I think late-Oct in this region is the sweet spot.
I hear Wineglass is pretty awesome and well coordinated. Can't speak for the other three.0 -
Never done it but I'm familiar with baystate. It's a decent course, fast I think. Part of it overlaps where I frequently do my long runs and there seem to be a good amount of spectators. Plus, unless it's a random bad weather weekend, October in New England is ideal
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I ran Baystate a couple years ago. That was my first BQ. It's not an exciting course, but it's not boring either. It's a double loop along the river. The double loop section is about 10 miles, so there are some miles before that and the last 4 miles of the finish are fresh when you get to them. It's not flat, but it's not hilly. There are some minor rollers which helps by hitting your muscles at different angles.
I think this is a really good size for a marathon. By the end of the first mile you can comfortably run your pace without having to weave and dodge other runners. It's well supported. Prior to the start, you can congregate in the school to stay warm. The only deficiency the year I ran it was the porta potties. They could have used 20 more. They admitted this right away after the race and vowed to make sure it didn't happen the next year.
I highly recommend this race and I'm contemplating doing it again in 2015.0
