Blue Ridge Marathon - RunMarathon


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Roanoke, Virginia
United States
Set-Up events
60F / 16C
Overcast
 		Total Time = 3h 57m 34s
Overall Rank = 78/327
Age Group = 45-49
Age Group Rank = 5/33
Pre-race routine:

Careful double knotting of shoelaces, 1 cup of water and a visit to the portapotty as late as possible.

Tried to seed myself realistically at the start - not too far forward or back.
Event warmup:

No specific warm up, just walking in starting area to stay loose. Some very light calf stretching.
Run
  • 3h 57m 34s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 09m 04s  min/mile
Comments:

I felt really good for the first 15-16 miles, then all of the climbing and especially the descending took it's toll on my legs. The last 3 or 4 miles were really hard. I have never been so happy to see a finish line.
What would you do differently?:

I went too fast at the beginning. I should have slowed down at the beginning and saved more for the 2nd half of the race. But, overall I am very happy with my result.
Post race
Warm down:

Tried my best to keep moving around, rehydrated, ate quite a bit of the excellent post-race spread.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

My legs were very heavy over the last few miles and my pace slowed down significantly.

Event comments:

This was the inaugural running of the Blue Ridge Parkway marathon in my hometown of Roanoke, VA. I think it was a very well run event. The course was very challenging - some of the steep descents really took a toll on the legs.
Great race - hill training is mandatory for this one!




Last updated: 2010-04-13 12:00 AM
Running
03:57:34 | 26.2 miles | 09m 04s  min/mile
Age Group: 5/33
Overall: 33/327
Performance: Good
Course: Wow. To say the least, this was a tough course. Over 3000 ft of climbing, 6000 ft overall elevation change. To add mountains to a marathon is just not fair. The course was well laid out, and the sections on the Blue Ridge Parkway were beautiful.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5