Rob Allen's Staging Area

Although I previously lived in Yonkers for 18 years this was the first time I did this race. This is known to be a tough course, but really apart from the climb up Tompkins it’s not that bad. That being said, I’m glad I didn’t have to do another lap.

There’s no expo, but you can pick up your bib the day before (I did). If you pick it up on race day there’s a line.

Note that the streets are not closed. During the downtown portion and part of Nepperhan Ave it’s coned off to keep the cars off you. Once you get to north Yonkers the cones disappear and the rest of the way you could have cars near you.

Finish line had a decent amount of post-race food and water. Also the course itself has water stations every mile, which I consider to be a big plus. Three or four of them also had gatorade.

The last part of the race is down Warburton Ave, with views of the Hudson. Other than that you’re running through downtown first, then an industrial area, then a residential area.

The race starts and finishes near the Yonkers train station, with free parking at the Buena Vista lot, and Yonkers Brewing Co. nearby and open early for half finishers. If my marathon schedule permits it I will likely do this race over and over again going forward.

Bib pickup is via schedule, you have to choose a slot ahead of time, so make sure you check your emails. The expo was small. The race is a loop, and finishes at the Pelicans baseball stadium, where there is a good party, and leg compression units (first time I’ve used them). This could be a relatively easy race, but having trained in cold weather, I was not able to deal with the temperatures in the 70s and I bonked around mile 19, even after choosing to go at a slower pace at the start. This was my worst marathon by time, but overall I enjoyed the experience. The 4:15 pacers were quite nice, and I am now connected to them in Strava. Even they had trouble keeping up the pace, and the 4:30 pacer never passed my in spite of me finishing in 4:32 and change. Tough day overall.

Two things killed me in this race. One was not the course’s fault, but I got air sick on the flight out, so I was not able to eat much that Friday, so my strength was sapped my the half marathon point. And then to boot the wind on Lake Pontchartrain was brutal, and combined with the bridges this marathon was one of my worst performances.

This is a nice small event with around 500 runners I believe. It was very nice to hear my name called out as I crossed the finish line on the boardwalk. Crowd support is light, as this is not a populous area and parts of it is through parks and even on gravel paths. There is one hill to worry about, around mile 16 if memory serves me, where we go up across a bridge over a river. Aid stations and both water and gatorade but were roughly two miles apart, so I carried water. The after party was quite good. I got VIP because this race was on my birthday, so I also got indoor bathrooms and breakfast food before the race, and a free massage after. The medal is quite nice, but the stock shirt given out didn’t have the date on it and has some cotton in it, so I don’t wear it to run.

This is a nice course that goes through many parts of Nashville, from the city out to the residential areas, through the minor league ball park, and around a park. If you’re adventurous the residents you pass early in the race are offering beer (I stayed away). If I remember correctly the water stops were about 1.5 to 2 miles apart. I didn’t carry but wish I had. It’s somewhat sad to see the half marathoners cutting into the stadium to finish knowing you still have 10 miles to go. I completely bonked at mile 22. If you do the race you should really focus on not going out too fast. The medal was small but nice looking. The tech shirt was a real tech shirt, I still train with it. The expo was pretty decent. Finally, I highly recommend the free leg message that was given out after the race, it helped me considerably.