SunTrust Richmond Marathon - RunMarathon

I wasn't too sure how this race would go. I hadn't done any marathon training since the late winter when I ran a mid-March marathon. After that it was all tri training, so while my overall fitness was good, my longest run between March and mid-September was about 12 miles. Following my last tri, on September 11, I took the next 8 weeks to ramp up the running. I was able to get 2 20 milers and an 18 miler in but it wasn't an ideal marathon training plan. Going into the race my plan was to shoot for a 3:30 (8:00/miles) since that is about my long run pace.

I started out on plan, running the first mile in exactly 8:00. After the first mile I found myself running pretty easily with two folks who were locals and had run the race many times. They were planning to run 3:20 and I decided that I'd run with these guys, benefiting from their course knowledge and nice steady pace. I knew that it would be tough for me to hang at sub-7:40 miles but I figured I'd give it a go and see how long I could hang on.

All was well for the next 15 miles, where I ran all 15 miles between 7:23 and 7:41. At this point (mile 16) I knew that I would never be able to keep that pace, so I bid my running partners adieu and pulled back the pace. From here I figured I would go back to my regular 8:00 pace and hang on for the bumpy ride that was sure to come.

Miles 17-20 were all right on pace (7:56, 7:58, 7:56, 8:04), but by 20 it started to really hurt... my hammies were getting very tight and by now the breeze was starting to pick up, seemingly always right in my face. Mile 21 and 22 broke the bank, I managed an 8:38 and then 9:10. At this point I knew that I would have to take some walk breaks and stretch the hammies out a bit, so from here the next 4.2 miles were all in the high 9's and low 10's (9:42, 10:01, 9:46, 10:04, 1:57).

I managed to run the last 4.2 for the most part albeit a bit hobbled and slower than usual, only walking for about 45 seconds at each mile to take some long strides to try to loosen up the hammies.

So I blew up, but oh well no big deal. I wasn't really looking at this race as anything more than a fun marathon that I haven't run before, so I really wasn't disappointed at all.



Eh... maybe not go out so hard. But that was a decision I made knowing full well I might blow up at the end, so while I could have shaved 3 minutes or so off my time by keeping a slower pace, I'm still happy that I was able to hang on so long. This bodes well for some improvements to be made over the winter.

Walked around for about 10 minutes or so, and then went to get my post race massage. Went back to the room and got a nice shower and then worked my legs with "the stick" for another 10 minutes or so.


Likely just a lack of a greater base, and more long runs. I'm sure if I started out a bit slower I might have been able to maintain the pace longer and not blow up, saving me a few minutes or so.


Overall it was a very fun race, and well organized. I also enjoyed the course, it was well laid out and not too easy or difficult. I liked running through some of the more quaint areas of Richmond. Volunteers were plentiful and very helpful and encouraging. I would definitely do this race again.