2 Marathons, 1 Week... Sunburst (#8) & Hatfield-McCoy (#9): The RUNdown

Steph's Challenge #1: 2 Marathons in 1 week (7 days)... All marathons are challenging, but its fun to add a little something more to spice it up.

This week will be my most challenging to date... I'll be running 2 marathons in 1 week, with the first just 2 weeks following my last marathon (Vermont City). So far, the shortest time I've put between races was a month. I'll now attempt to split that in half and run Sunburst Marathon (IN) this weekend then split that in half again and run Hatfield-McCoy in just a week.

The RUNdown #1... (#8) Sunburst
When: Saturday June 5, 2009
Where: South Bend, IN (Notre Dame Campus)
2008 Field: 465, Females: 129, Females 0-24: 20
2008 Avg. Finish Time: 4:16:43
Anticipated Field: 650 Marathoners (+5,200 Half Marathon, 5K + 10K Participants)
Course: Flat! There are a few grades, but very flat compared to my most recent races.
Weather: Current race day forecast shows cloudy, in the 50's to 70's with few showers. This sounds just like Vermont and in that case it looks good! However, Friday is showing more of a Sunny forecast and in the 70's. Hopefully that weather doesn't stick around to the next day.

Race 411:
~The Course... The course is still young and changing. It seems to be "getting better" but there seems to be a lot of out and back. It's also very flat, which I usually hate.
~The Finish... Apparently the 5K and 10K go off while the marathon is taking place, meaning we may be finishing around the same time. Apparently this takes some hype off the marathoners, however if it weren't for the extra 5,000 of 5K and 10K runners there probably wouldn't be many fans at the finish anyways. So, we'll let them slide... I just better get a bigger medal!
~FANS: You would figure being so close to a campus there would be a lot of support, however most students are home for break and besides them I don't think South Bend has much going on.

Race Plan:
The small, flat course, small number of participants, and timing from my last marathon aren't the most ideal conditions. However, the weather looks good right now and I'm determined to hit my time. Of course, it will depend heavily upon the weather. I don't want to push too hard and not be able to do H-M next week.

I'll follow up with the H-M details after Sunburst...