Ken Spruell's Staging Area

Beautiful city, beautiful people, beautiful course, beautiful medal…and then there’s the beer. Support from race and city was super on a warm day. Running through Schloss Hellbrunn was a nice touch.

I can’t add much more to previous reviews about how scenic the run is through the classic fall colors of New Hampshire, especially the first half of the course. I’d add a couple of thoughts:
– The race directors and the town of Keene do an amazing job supporting this race. Roughly 500 volunteers were involved in 2019, for a field size of ~400 marathoners and ~450 half-marathoners. The overall support is exemplary.
– The final third of the course runs around and through the town of Keene. This is local race and the town comes out and supports runners. There is plenty of well wishers and locals cheering you on.
– I attended the pre-race pasta dinner and can’t recommend it enough. The speakers the race directors get for the event (Dick Beardsley in 2019) are alone worth the price of admission. And then you get all you can eat pasta and dessert too.
– One note is that Keene lodging does fill up quick, so if you’re planning on running good to find a place to stay early.
– Learning about the history and life of Clarence DeMar is inspirational. I read his autobiography pre-race and recommend it.
– The medals are big and cool. On the back was a quote from Clarence DeMar: “Not only in running but much of life is a sense of balance and proportion necessary.”
– Heading up to Keene for this run makes for a rewarding and fulfilling weekend. Good luck if you run CDM (you won’t be disappointed!).

Entiendo ahora porque Valencia es la ciudad del running. Este medio maratón era el super más organizado y agradable de todos para mi. Trece mil participantes en un recorrido rápido y hermoso. El recorrido pasa por el centro de la ciudad y termina en el puerto de Americas Cup. Un medio maratón divertido, bella gente y hermosa ciudad. Yo lo recomiendo. Y la música que tocan durante del maratón es maravillosa.

Oh my, now this is a race!
1. The race directors (who are great) include a “Runners Beware” section on the race homepage, perhaps worth reading but wow is the course unbelievably beautiful.
2. After climbing up 6.4 miles from the base of the ski mountain, the majority of the race is spent at 9,500′ to 10,500′ elevation with regular rolling uphill and downhill sections. Garmin says it was 50.62 miles, max elevation 10,575′ and total elevation gain of 7,963′
3. The mountain landscape has nonstop breathtaking views. The initial climb and return descent on the front side of the ski mountain pass through massive aspen groves, then single track trail up top through evergreen forest and alpine lakes (four of them I counted), and one final climb on forest service road to the high point atop Rabbit Ears for panoramic views.
4. Most of the run in national forest land along the Continental Divide. Pleasant surprise was how much shade and time out of direct sun that the forest provided for the run
5. Footing has some sections to watch out for but overall good: first 6.4 miles is mostly graded service road and is the easiest section to run on, then 12 miles of single track trails (packed dirt with varying degrees of rock and tree roots that need some regular, ongoing attention), then a mix of service road and single track for 6.8 miles to the high point which is the halfway point. Then you turn around and return the same route. Final 1/4 mile is a brutal scramble up to the turnaround point.
6. The online race manual is great and all I needed. Race directors and super local volunteers are out in force and make the logistics and support a breeze. All the aid stations are stocked with fuel and enthusiastic happy people there supporting you. Pre-race meeting has some impressive raffle swag too.
7. Not something, ahem, I need to concern myself with but the prize money for a podium finish is large.

I highly recommend and one to add to the list.

Race starts out super scenic after bus ride north of town. Both marathon and half follow the Elk River and surrounding mountains (and “cheering” cows) back to town. Last three miles into town we lose the shade and exposed to the sun, but 2016 weather was fortunately accommodating so no issues. Recommend the run – biggest race in Steamboat and views/organizers/volunteers make it great.

I think everyone runner on the planet should run this race at least once. It’s (1) the most beautiful run I’ve ever done, up and over Imogene Pass from Ouray to Telluride, running on dirt and rocky forest service 4×4 road for most of it with a smidgen of singletrack trail at top of the pass – scenery is simply breathtaking and (2) it’s really, really hard, while only 17.1 miles your marathon time is a good comp for what you’ll run the imogene in. Run it and be awestruck in the San Juan Mountains!

Loop course, starting from town up to Buffalo Pass (you do get to climb a lot before coming back down, about 2,500′ until little past mile 4), then a right turn on Buffalo Pass and then descend back to town on one of the best trails in Steamboat: Spring Creek, popular with hikers and mtn bikers. More importantly, the run is a tribute to Patty Brenner Hagberg, who was struck and killed by a truck while jogging on the lower Spring Creek gravel trail in July 1991. Vehicles are no longer allowed on the lower trail but the memorial is a reminder of safely sharing and enjoying multi-purpose trails.

Scenery as you climb looking down and across Yampa Valley is amazing, run is well organized, volunteers are spirited and wonderful, it’s a no waste event with no cups so bring a water bottle for a refill at the water station (more races should do this especially trail runs), post-race lunch is a feast of tasty treats. While there is no real swag the run has the best post-race raffle/lottery ever – lots and lots of running gear/attire given out to participants from local running store Twisted Trails on Lincoln St.

Well, after running the San Sebastian marathon, you’re stuck in one of the most beautiful cities in Spain filled with culinary delights. The town has 185,000 inhabitants, 17 Michelin-rated restaurants and 600 pintxo (tapas) bars. Bilbao is 1 hour away. France is 20 minutes away. La Rioja wine region is 2 hours away. And beautiful coastline stretches out in all directions. So make a vacation out of it and enjoy a wonderful place!

As for the race, it’s about as ideal as I can imagine. Will definitely repeat. It is flat, very flat. It is at sea level. The weather in northern Spain can be more like Ireland/Scotland so expect 55F and drizzle. That is what we had and it was lovely to run in. Not heavy rain, light drizzle. It is a very fast field with lots of top runners; Spain’s best competes here. In 2013, 91% of runners finished <4h; 63% finished 3:30h. Marathon cut-off is 5 hours. Course is a not ideal double loop but scenery of course more than make up for that. You run through the picturesque old parts of town and then out and back twice along the most beautiful and world famous La Concha beach. Best part about the race is in spite of its population, the city comes out to support the run. Absent a few stretches at the end of La Concha beach, it feels as if the entire town is out cheering you on and screaming "Vale! Vamos! Andimo!" to motivate and support you. Pace groups every 15 minutes from 2h 30 to 4h is nice. Logistics are easy given small, quaint size of the city. We took a 10 min free-for-runners city bus to the start the morning of, and it is I must say so civilized starting a marathon at 9am with minimal logistics/travel to organize. The extra sleep was nice. Marathon is capped at 3,200 runners so easy to get in to a pace from the get go. Volunteers are wonderful. Aid stations every 3km to 5km throughout the course, well-stocked. They do plastic water bottles, not paper cups if that matters to you. You can pre-position your own fluids, gels if you prefer to roll that way. Start, finish and mid-point at the Anoeta Stadium where the city's La Liga team plays. Go Real Sociedad! Finish line is on the track in the 32,000 seat stadium.

Highly recommend and we will repeat in a heartbeat. Not the easiest place to get to from the U.S. but worth it in every way for a PR and for a lovely part of the world to visit.