SunTrust Richmond Marathon - RunMarathon

I assumed there would be water stations every mile like Ironman events. But, they were every mile up to 8, then every other mile to 20, then every mile after that. There should have been water at Mile 16, and if there were any liquids offered at Mile 16 - I missed them. I relied heavily on on course water as I carried my fuel in my 4 Fuel Belt bottles. I needed the on course water support, but struggled to stay hydrated despite the cool temperatures because there wasn't water at every aid station.

Realize that just because it's a marathon, doesn't mean there will be Ironman-like support. ALWAYS check the race site for ALL logistical information. I was shooting for 3:30 at this race. Even though it was my first stand alone marathon, I trained at 8 min miles, and thought for sure I'd break 3:30. I held 8 min miles thru 16, but lack of water caught up to me, cramps set in, and I crumbled both physically and mentally,

Painfully shuffled around finish line for a few minutes. Drank water and ate a banana. Walked to the car. Got stuck in traffic and jumped out of car to run in coffee shop and take a massive upset stomach type dump. Drank more water. Took some Motrin and got a Qtr Pounder w/ Cheese, Large Fries and a Coke at McDonald's. Tasted GREAT! Brought me out of my funk and helped my laugh about a disappointing race.


Not enough water support on course. I had a very tight nutrition plan that I didn't realize was so tight - it wasn't even a consideration in my mind that there wouldn't be water at every aid station - which was a cornerstone of my plan. Live and learn. Check the race information - ALWAYS about EVERYTHING.


As this is my first stand alone marathon, I have nothing to compare it to except Ironman. Keep that in mind when I say there wasn't enough water support. I don't know what the standard is for marathons, but I would have liked to see water stations at every mile. It's possible there was water at Mile 16, but the volunteers seemed to be only handing out Gummi Bears when I came thru. My wife walked thru 16 after watching me at Mile 15 and said she didn't see any water station, but did see lots of spectators handing out bike bottles of water and bottled water, which leads me to believe that at least, there was a period of time where there was no water at 16. Also, there were what appeared to be random people handing out orange slices on the course. Not sure they were with the race or not. Elevation-wise, this is certainly not a PR type course, but I would imagine there are LOTS more hillier races. Good crowd support. One small hill on otherwise flat final 8 miles. Downhill finish. Nice finish line celebration.