I felt good at the start line, settling into my own pace quickly and comfortably, holding around 8:55-9:00 min/mile. The first half felt really good, and it didn't dawn on me until I had been cruising slowly downhill along the towpath for a few miles, that the finish line was behind me and I would have to go back uphill eventually. The uphill started shortly thereafter and it was relatively gradual with only 1 short, steep grade referred to as "heartrate hill". I kept on pace until around mile 19, where I started to fall off a bit. I started being proactive with the hydration as I noticed the sun start to peak through the clouds. The sunshine was nice, but the temps were still relatively cool (58-60). I wound up walking aid stations at miles 22 and 23, and my pace had dropped off some, but I snagged an extra chocolate Gu and doubled-down on the energy. By the time I reached mile 24, I had my mojo back. This was quickly followed by the slight downhill in towards the finish area in downtown that helped my motivation as well. I managed to finish the last 2 miles nearly back on pace, setting a personal best at the 26.2

I think my hydration was on target, but I don't think I had the right early morning breakfast, I probably needed a few more pre-race carbs to sustain the pace that I started out with. This was a great trial run for the Marine Corps Marathon next month. With +/- 1000 ft of elevation change on this course, it was a little tougher than I anticipated, but sometimes ignorance is bliss, so maybe I didn't need any more detailed course study.

Finished the race in the ballpark. Got the medal, food, picture taken, then up the steps (ugh) to where the free beer was (motivation for the stairs?). Met up with Twinklebug, who finished the half a few hours earlier and had been waiting patiently for me at the finishline. We then double-checked the results, confirmed my PR, and walked back to the car with a big smile on my face for the 2-hour ride home.


I entered this race with the intention of being a fun "trial run" for a sub-4:00 goal at MCM2011, so I wasn't in the mental state of a full-out effort. Even with that, I did push myself to see what I could do, but I know I could have pushed myself harder, mentally, towards the end and kept the pace up a bit. I needed to pay better attention to my short-term (early morning) pre-race fueling and don't skip out on a good breakfast.


This was a very well organized event. A great expo, well-organized start, and plenty of volunteers and crowd support along the entire course. There were even limited crowds along quiet areas of the towpath where you generally wouldn't expect to see people. The finish into the outfield of the ballpark was nice too, and like the rest of the race, was well organized too.

My only minor complaint was the choice of recovery drink. They had Powerade for electrolytes all along the course. Although it is not my favorite sports drink, it still served a purpose. But the last thing I wanted when I finished the race was another full bottle of Powerade. I would have much preferred some Muscle Milk, or even chocolate milk. Thankfully, the 2 free Michelob Ultras hit the spot, and yes, I did grab a Muscle Milk and a big bag of salty chips on my way out of town. ;-)

Overall, though, this is one of the best organized and fun marathons that I have run. I will definitely consider this one again as a "quasi-local" race (I'm in SW Ohio), and would definitely recommend it to others. Great job!