Delaware Marathon ~ Race Ratings (DE #31)

Tagline: "A Race for the RUNNERS!!!"

Ratings...

2010 Delaware Marathon ~ May 16, 2010

Wilmington, DE ~ Tubman Garrett Riverfront Park
Year Running: 7th!
Registration Fee: $85 with $10 Discount for 50-Staters. (Late reg is $100-- marathon sold out first)
Runners:  557 Completed,  212 Females

Available Races: Marathon, Half Marathon, Marathon Relay
Average Finish Time: 4:21:21!!

BQ %: 16.88% (one of the best BQ%'s % Avg. Times I've seen this year!)

Overall Race Ratings: 4.8/5.0

Average Calculated Rating: 4.6/5.0

~ This is a race designed around runners needs before, during, and after a marathon. The director has thought of just about everything. The nice little touches would make this a GREAT first time marathon for anybody. I was very surprised with my great experience in Delaware. The organization and provisions for the runner, far outweigh any of the 1-2 downsides (medals and GU).

Race Director: Let's play race director...
~ This director has thought of just about everything. The ONE issue I have are the medals... they just were so small, boring and had the look of being unfinished. My #1 priority for next year would be working on making these a little nicer. Also, 1 GU stop on the course isn't enough... maybe put the GU stop at a place where we cross the course twice. I know they only used what was leftover after they gave them out in our goodie bags, but I personally would rather have them on the course than have to pack-muel myself with GU.

Event Organization: 5.0/5.0 (now broken into 2 parts, see below as well) As far as "event organization" we'll go ahead and include things like Host hotel, website use, ease of travel to the event and to the actual race, etc.

Distance from Airport to Expo/Race: ~20 Minutes (Philadelphia Airport)
Rental Car Required: Yes
~ This race isn’t too bad to get to. If you’re flying you’ll have to go through Philly, which is cheaper and has lots of flight options. It’s about 20 minutes away. We were fully briefed on anything and everything to expect through the website, pre-race booklets, and emails. The expo/packet pickup is held outside at a really great area along the river. There are lots of restaurants to relax at and enjoy over the weekend. There aren’t a whole lot of hotels near the start, but it’s also not a huge city with overly expensive hotels so that’s a plus! The race is also held in conjunction with some sort of music festival they hold outdoors. If you’re into that kind of thing, get tickets and plan it into your weekend.

Also, their website keeps up to the day stats of whos in the race, the # of states they have completed, etc. They also keep a record of the best times by state as an extra incentive to run FAST!

Race Organization: 4.8/5.0
Hydration Color/Type: Orange Gatorade, Water

Gel Type/Flavors:  GU (various flavors) at 1 stop
~ The race organization was fantastic as well. All miles were marked, and done pretty well. There were tons of water (17+) and port-a-john stops. They provided GU along the course at 1 spot (kind of wish there were 2 or the 1 spot was on the looped part of the course). The volunteers were very knowledgeable throughout.
~Post Race Food: Marathon food junkie heaven. Pizza & Ice cream sandwiches!!! As well as sandwiches, fruit, pretzels, beer, etc.

Course: 4.9/5.0

~MarathonGuide Rating (not included since this is a new course)

Garmin Distance: 26.2

~ FAST, scenic and fun! The marathon course is new for 2010 and I thought it was fantastic and FAST. It’s full of winding, rolling hills and very little flat. It’s very scenic and extremely fast. When we came though the first loop, I had a look at what the ending would be… the last 3 miles were going to have 1 good-sized hill, but primarily a SHOT down to the finish. Coming off those down hills, we had some flat area to start the second loop, followed by a tricky area of back to back hills, but once we were through there I knew the last 3 were solid.

Spectators: 4.3/5.0

~ Spectators were scattered throughout the course and were very excited to be there! They all made a special point to cheer extra loud for the marathoners when we went by and not just wait for their friends in the relays. Since we loop past the finish once and there is a relay exchange point there, it was a great place for spectators. You’re coming down from a huge hill, hitting the half way mark and there are tons of people yelling—I personally was doing a 6:30 pace through there until I caught myself and slowed down.
Pace Group: /5.0
~ N/A

Runner/Corrals: 4.9/5.0

~ No Corrals. I found the runners SO nice in this race! Everybody chatted and was encouraging. There were lots of part that we crossed our own course or the courses of the other 2 race and everybody yelled good job at each other. Since there are so few DE marathons and this started because of the 50-staters, there were lots of 50-staters and Marathon Maniacs there too. I was back and forth with a few women on the course and one told me to get moving when I slowed down a bit… actually she said “you’re kicking my ass, come on!” There was another women that asked me how old I was when I came up on her. When I told her 25 she told me that I was not in her A/G and to go on ahead! Hehe. I’m afraid to ask what she would have done, had I been in her age group… hmmm.

Expo: 4.4/5.0

~ Small expo (for a small race), but they have an awesome selection of DE Marathon gear to purchase, including the “Class of 20XX” T-shirts with all the marathoners listed. You can get any of your pre-race goodies as well. The expo is held outside under tents on the banks of the river. It really pretty and there are lots of close restaurant option to check out in the immediate area.

Swag: 3.9/5.0

~T-Shirts: They gave a fited V-neck tech T that I LOVE. It’s white with the marathon emblem on the front. I’m really enjoying the new cuts they’re doing with womens tech Ts lately. 4.6

~Medals: I’m not a huge fan of the medal. It has a circle with a cutout of DE in the middle and very very plain and thin. It almost looks unfinished. This is probably the one big thing I have against the race—which, for some people that love their medals, this is a pretty good point against the race 2.9

~ Goodie Bag: We were also given a cool drink glass with our packets and a sticker with the marathon on it. They also gave out some “Jack Man” products like lip balm and facial cream.Oh and 2 packs of GU +.1 to .2

Results...
Stephanie
*Division place 5/29-- how do you BQ by THAT much and sitll only get 5th?? I HATE my new A/G! :(

Also... This race keeps track of the best times by STATE male and female. Unofficially, I've made the new record for OH females... and by about 10 minutes! Woohooo

Delaware Marathon~ Post Race Thoughts (BQ again!)

BQ Times 2 & a New PR
At yesterday's marathon, I made my second BQ time and a PR by a full second! Unofficial results showed my time as 3:35:40! The first BQ I made was at the HMRRC Winter marathon in February with a 3:35:41. Following that race I was extremely sore, my legs cramping and burning after. At the time I said “wow, no wonder people don’t do this too often—it HURTS! Today’s race? I feel great! My legs don’t feel any different from a slower race, and it certainly was not because of the course—believe it or not, it was a tough one!

In 2009 I ran 18 marathons, and the BQ alluded me repeatedly. This year, in all the non-doubles (or extremely challenging courses) I’ve run in the low 3:40’s and 2 at 3:35. Thoughts on this? Well when I first crossed the finish line I thought “holy crap, carbo loading on tequila works!” (see last post) While I’m not completely writing off that theory (and will not until extensive testing is done), I have to think there may be alternative reasons for the speed I’ve found this year.

1. My friend, the Mill-O-Death. About once a week I’ve been doing speed work on the treadmill and recently I’ve also started doing some crazy hill repeats on there as well. I’ve never been a big fan of the death-mill, but I have to say, speed work goes by much quicker on there and I’m not facing the brutal sun and 80 degree temps, which have often dehydrated me in the past.
2. 2010 Miles in 2010. I’m a little behind because of the ankle injury I had at the beginning of the year, but I’ve been steadily increasing my mileage, and that seems to be working well for me.
3. Pressure is off! Since I made the first BQ, a serious weight is off my shoulders. In fact, before the race this morning I said “I really don’t feel like running today,” so apparently not caring and taking some pressure is a good thing

The Race…
The Delaware Marathon is mostly a double looped course (with a little extra before the first loop) run in Wilmington, DE through their downtown are, some parks, partially in a zoo, and through a little suburb. Overall this is a REALLY great marathon, organizationally.

Course
When I found out there was a half marathon and a marathon relay, and all 3 races were run on separate courses that still managed to merge in areas then split off, I thought, “uh oh, somebody (me) is getting lost." I was very impressed that there was never a time I thought, “um where do I go?” especially in areas where the marathon course crossed back over itself. The volunteers were great and the course was extremely well marked.
The marathon course is new for 2010 and I thought it was fantastic and FAST. It’s full of winding, rolling hills and very little flat. It’s very scenic and extremely fast. When we came though the first loop, I had a look at what the ending would be… the last 3 miles were going to have 1 good-sized hill, but primarily a SHOT down to the finish. Pshhh yes! Coming off those down hills, we had some flat area to start the second loop, followed by a tricky area of back to back hills, but once we were through there I knew the last 3 were solid. Knowing all this gave me a lot of confidence and helped for pacing purposes for the last 12 miles or so.

Marathon Focus
This race had serious focus on the marathoners, even though there was a half and a relay. The spectators went crazy over the kids in the yellow bibs (marathoners) especially the women. There was also a special section in the marathon booklet that highlighted everybody who was running their first marathon and listed all the 50 staters with their # of states completed! This race has some history with the 50 staters- it began because DE had no marathons, and the 50-staters needed a course to run! They also put up signs for all the 50-staters on the course (I didn’t notice because I’m too ADD with my garmin).
Also, they had a bunch of marathon T’s made with really cool running slogans (ie. “26.2 been there done that—Delaware Marathon”) with ALL of the 2010 marathoners listed on the back under “Class of 2010.”

Overall, FANTASTIC race and highly recommended! If you’re looking for a first time marathon, this one will make your experience even more special!

Coaching and Hungover Travel

Hey Dudes & Dudettes!

I should preface this post by saying I'm extremely hungover and have had ~3 hours of sleep, so if some of this comes out incoherent, I would blame the tequila. We had Kyle's house warming party and I decided "Skinny Girl Margaritas" with a few extra "splashes" of tequila would be a good idea. At 5:30am, getting up to travel to Delaware for marathon #31, I realized how NOT a good idea that was. I'm currently in Columbus, waiting to get on a plane, on which I hope not to puke on my neighbor. I'm flying southwest, where you get to pick your seat-- hopefully everybody around me is smart enough to stay away. I should make a warning sign to hold on the plane "Beware, may regurgitate tequila if jostled."

Runner to Coach
It's been a while, but I promise I have good reasons. 1) New job (same company but new job... some would call that a promotion of sorts) so life has been a little hectic, especially during month end while working in finance. I know what some of you are thinking (because you've said it before)-- "You WORK? And still run 2-3 marathons a month??" Well yes, if I didn't work, I wouldn't be able to afford to travel and run.

2) Another busy activity, which I think you'll would be more approving of is coaching a group of people at said place of work into running a 5K. I've called it the "Finance Team 5K Challenge" in which I'm training ~21 people over 4 weeks to run a 5K race we have on campus. It's kind of strange being on this side of the stop watch, but I'm enjoying it. We've had our first week of workouts and it's been pretty successful. Everybody is grouped in a team of 3 for participation points. The more practices they go to, the more points they get. The top 2 teams get pretty swanky prizes-- 1. Ipod Shuffles and 2. "fitness packages" I'm going to make up with things like jump ropes, water bottles, etc.

It's no secret, I like to force support people into running marathons. I have (what some believe is) an absurd notion that everybody has a goal of running a marathon in life-- they just may not know it yet. So I've hatched an evil plan for the above mentioned 21 people. They'll complete their 5K in summer. After which I'm certain I can convince them to keep up training and do a 10K by fall. After which I'm pretty sure I can use my persuasiveness to convince them that "if you can do a 10K you can do a 15K" and train them for the Heart "Mini Marathon" (drives me crazy that they call it that, but thats a whole other story). The heart falls right before the flying pig marathon, right about the time in training where you would run a 15K-- so I hope, whomever is left of my crazy training group, I'll be able to prompt, pull, push, and drag into running at least the Half Marathon!!!

Seeing as though they're only at 1.5 miles, I haven't mentioned my evil plan yet, so shhhh... don't tell! Ok? Ok great! Alright, back to focusing on NOT puking my brains out. I owe you'll the race ratings for OKC marathon and a race RUNdown by DE, but I'm not feeling it right now. I'll get back at you later today.

See ya in Delaware. "Or imagine, being able to be magically whisked away to.... Delaware. ... Delaware, Delaware, what the heck is in Delaware?" -- name that movie!