Was a cool start at 31 degrees. The view running down the canyon road was amazing. There was light snow on the tree tops above us and small layers of fog around the mountains.
I started the run towards the back of the pack and this slowed my pace for the first 3 miles. I was trying to hold a pace of 7:30/mile but ended up around 8:00/mile with the traffic. The downhill slope was nice for the first 5 miles and then every mile after that my quads started to feel the burn.
The road was closed to traffic so you really have a good chance to take in the view. This makes the first half of the marathon go by quickly. Running along the Poudre River in the mountains is so zen.
Once you reach the end of the canyon you get your first spectators to help chear you on. This is definitely needed because of the hill at mile 19. Holy hill! After running downhill for 19 miles this small uphill slope is a killer! There is an aid station at the top to lure you up. After that you join a bike trail that is quite rough at first. I was not use to the rough and bumpy surface after running on a smooth road for 20 miles. My legs were burning by this point. The last 5 miles I started passing a lot of the half marathoners. Some of them liked to walk along side eachother and this made it difficult to pass on some parts of the path. One final turn and you can see the finish line about 500 feet away. Done!


Train more on downhill slopes. Had strep throat and some ankel pain the last few weeks of training so I wasn't sure how well I was prepared.

Was looking forward to a massage after the run but there were only 2 tables!!! They were full until almost 3 hours after I wanted to sign up (and that is because someone cx'd). They were only 10 min massages anyway so I skipped it.


Other runners. Not enough training. Felt I did good for my first marathon.