Stephen Orr's Staging Area

this was a tough one. flew in from australia and was really excited to be visiting utah and running this spectacular course. stayed at one of the recommended hotels (crystal springs) and enjoyed the hotel facilities. was a little surprised by the warm salt lake city weather. for some reason i thought it would be cooler. it wasn’t.
the expo was one day only and easy to get to and get back out of. bib pickup etc was smooth and i enjoyed the race preview and course description. i also liked my choice of a race singlet.
3:30am the alarm sounded and we needed to get to the hotel race shuttle downstairs by 4:15am. everything at the hotel was smooth and well organised. a small breakfast pack was given to all competitors.
(i will also add the prerace pasta dinner had been good. simple and plentiful)
the bus ride to the summit was in the predawn darkness and the excitement level was obviously high. you could feel the temperature change as we slowly climbed to the top. i added more clothes as the temperature dropped.
we jumped out at the summit and there were runners everywhere. normal prerace procedure for my 13th marathon. get straight into a line for a toilet. in our race handouts we had been given throw away gloves and a space blanket. i had both of these on and another two or three layers to keep warm. then we just sat and waited till about half an hour before gun time and then started final preparations.
threw my gear in the bag check truck and started my warm up. the gradient was very steep and sunrise didn’t seem far away. it was a little chaotic with runners trying to do their routines but wasn’t too bad. (i have been in many other races where there is absolutely no room to do anything)
the race started and wow what a descent. 1000 feet in the first three miles. when we hit the main road we turned for a short sharp half mile climb and at over 9000 feet the oxygen is thin. my lungs were working overtime and i could already feel pain in my upper quads. we loop around a small mountain village and then it is all downhill from miles 4 to 18 and i mean downhill. i just had no idea how steep it was going to be and it is difficult to describe the loading this puts on everything. my feet, my knees, my hips. everything was hurting. i found this a very very tough race.
i am an experienced marathoner and this was marathon #4 for 2018. i had raced extremely well in houston, rome and london and really thought i was going to spank this course and hopefully pb. i didnt. this course ended up spanking me and i have had my slowest post race recovery ever.
from mile 19 – 22 there is an out and back section that returning runners had explained as rolling hills and a little boring. as long as it wasn’t downhill i didn’t give a shit. by that point in the race i was in agony. i had been on sub 3 pace till about mile 20, but from there it was just a matter of survival. i have never had a dnf, but this race took me right to the limit.
miles 23 to the finish line weren’t great. slow moving traffic on both sides of the runners and lots of half marathoners finishing made it a little congested and i just wanted to cross the tape.
a lot is made of the scenery, but for me it wasn’t the highlight i thought it was going to be. yes there were certainly spectacular views but i found many sections of the course so steep all i was concentrating on was landing my feet properly and not tripping over. i had a genuine fear of ending up face down on the road.
post race everything was pretty normal. lots of nice volunteers handing out medals, drinks and some food. i didn’t think the food was great. a donut, a slice or two of pizza and a banana. after 26.2 i absolutely needed more nutrition.
so how do i rate this race ? no easy answer i am afraid. i have written this review several weeks after arriving back home but my initial thoughts still remain.
it was ok. i liked it, but i didn’t love it. no crowd support (which i knew). super steep downhill (which i knew). great views that we couldn’t really appreciate and a post race atmosphere that was a bit average despite the best efforts of the volunteers.
this event delivered what it said it would, but i would not run another revel race. downhill racing might be for some people but not for me.

(i consumed six SIS gels during the race and had no real issues on course other than plenty of pain. post race i lost one big toe nail completely and had several chunky blisters to contend with. i was seriously sore for a week to ten days)

first time to italy and obviously my first time to the eternal city. the registration process was painful, but once you get it done (including the medical certificate and running group affiliation) it all goes smoothly from there. we stayed at an air b&b about 2km from the colosseum and as this is the start/finish area it was perfect. walking is the best option as the colosseum metro is closed on race day. the expo was good. plenty of space. it is about forty minutes from the city. there is no pre race 5km on the like Saturday like berlin, nyc and some other big city races. the 2018 edition had some very trying conditions. the forecast for low to mid 20’s (70’sF) and the day lived up to expectation. the staging area funnels you around the back of the colloseum and once in it was very smooth and super organised. bag drop, plenty of toilets (take your own paper) and then into the corrals. warm ups are always hard in big races. try to do so before entering the corrals. three waves. five minute gaps in between waves. race start at 8:40. the course is the star of the show. rome glistens and poses in every shade and you get to see it all. I won’t list all the highlights but I will say running towards st peters at the vatican is a pure “pinch me” moment. water stations every five kms with water, sports drinks and cut fruit. sponge stations every 5km (approx) in between the water stations. sponge stations are seriously the best thing. grab one, grab two, grab a few. so cooling and refreshing on a hot day. first hill around 28/29 and I was happy for the change in terrain. different muscles and up and over for the homeward run. it all gets pretty special as you head back to the old city and the cobblestones. the crowds thicken up and more spectacular scenery. the rub though is the cobblestones. tired legs, sore feet and uneven cobblestones aren’t a great mix, but that’s the deal. the second hill between 40/41 and then a really nasty down hill to the sprint finish. very uneven and steep with burning quads…but you do get it done…..I have run 11 marathons including five majors and this is up there. it ain’t no pb course, but they all can’t be that design. I don’t think I have any startling tips. like all marathons, race nutrition and pacing are the two ost important points to focus on. get away clean. keep your race pace or slightly slower for the first 10km/6 Miles and then do what ever you want. running too fast at the start is the biggest mistake in any race and you definitely need your energy for he second half of this one. great race, nice bling, wonderful city. do it…..

I ran a really solid race in richmond, virginia in 11/17 and wanted a race to try for a pr. houston popped up as a possibility and other runners recommended it as super well organised and a fast course. it was both of those things. I flew in on the friday and stayed at an airb&b right near the convention centre. the expo was cool. easy to get around and a few good speakers on the main stage. saturday throws in a 5km if you want to shake out pre race. i’m always in for another tshirt and it was nice to get a feel of the city and run through the proper race finish line. sunday morning and I was up early for the 7am start. this race knows what it is doing. I didn’t need to go to the convention centre for the pre race but everyone commmented how organised everything is. the starting area had plenty of space and all the usual pre race nervousness from competitors. 7am sharp and you are away. the course is the course. they run the houston half on the same day, same time and that draws a super hot field and a lot of national attention. 2018 and a new american record was set in the ladies, but I digress….the field splits around eight miles and it was nice to see off the half runners and see who I was up against. sufficient water stations and sporadic course support. the course is flat. the course has a lot of concrete which can bash up the legs a bit more than other surfaces. the course is fast. I can’t say I remember too much about scenery or special highlights. I was there to run fast and as I headed back into the city I needed a big big finish to run my first sub 3. houston gives you a great finish. no little rises or surprises. I ran the last mile in 6:24 and snuck under three hours by thirteen seconds. would I recommend houston ? hell yeah….