Ocean Drive Marathon - RunMarathon

Race report. Well, came in right where I had hoped/planned. Things went exactly as expected - first time I can say that in 11 marathon attempts!

Weather was almost perfect (for me) today. Start temp was 31F, temp at the end was 38F. There was a light breeze from the north, and since this is a point-to-point course, that was in our face most of the time. It kept us nice and cool, but certainly did slow progress a bit.

I struggled with what to wear for this race - never tried to run a marathon in these conditions. Settled on two shirts, short-sleeved topped by long-sleeved, and my runners vest. Wore shorts with calf sleeves. Wore gloves and my runners beanie, and carried my #dumprunners headband. This worked out perfectly. I had the gloves on and off for the first half of the race, before they were retired for good. I switched from the hat to the headband at about mile 14. At about mile 17 I took the vest off, and at mile 23 I took off the shirts and ran shirtless to the finish. Really regulated heat exactly right.

My pacing strategy (see previous post) turned out to be spot-on. I had forecasted a 3:38:30 finish, actual was 3:38:19. 5 Mile splits were:
5 Mile - goal: 42:55, actual: 42:46
10 Mile - goal: 1:24:35, actual: 1:24, 35
15 Mile - goal: 2:06:05, actual: 2:06:18
20 Mile - goal: 2:47:20, actual 2:47, 35
25 Mile - goal: 3:28:35, actual: 3:28:34

One major challenge with this race was hydration - the water stops were spaced every 2.5 miles. It was virtually impossible to get 10oz of water at each stop (especially since they used plastic cups, rather than paper).

It felt so strange going out at 8:45 - EVERYBODY was passing me through the first couple of miles. Did get to run with Scott S. a couple of times, leaving him behind at mile 5 - he was out doing the 10 mile race today. Met some great guys on the run, but lost all of them by mile 20. When you run a negative split marathon, most folks are dying while you're still gaining speed at the end.


Find a way to get more hydration on the course. Not much else.

Perhaps hydration? Slight headwind. Not much else.


Some good:
1. I prefer point-to-point courses, though they should reverse and run south.
2. Started right on time.
3. Good expo for a small race.

Some bad:
1. Not enough water stops.
2. Late water stops were disorganized.
3. Really crappy post-race food.
4. AWFUL bus ride back to the hotel.