George Willard ran the Northern Ohio Marathon and Half Marathon, finishing this race in the time of 2:14:48.
Scheduled for 12 easy miles, so I ran the local half marathon which happened to start about 10 minutes from home. Great race! Starts at Headlands Beach State Park, follows local roads, some sidewalks, a couple miles of crushed gravel trails, a bike path and even a few hundred yards of a boardwalk through the woods, then back to the park for the finish line. Weather was perfect, about 50 degrees, overcast, slight breeze.
David Woolf ran the Saint George Marathon and finished with a time of 4:28:36. This was a personal record by 20 minutes.
This was my second marathon. Great weather and scenic course along a country highway. I met my primary goals; I PR’d and didn’t feel completely sick/dizzy/disoriented at the end, which was a key goal to my run this year. I was lost when it came to hydration and nutrition. I lose a significant amount of water weight during runs and have a sensitive stomach. I can handle it in a half, but it was way too much in my first marathon. That’s when I found RunnersConnect and the hydration/nutrition Blueprint and shortly after signed up for a membership. It was a big help as a beginning runner and quite honestly made it possible for me to even train through the summer. (Last year I trained through the summer and I was regularly dizzy and not feeling well after long runs. My wife couldn’t believe I wanted to continue figuring this out.) So, I’m chalking this one up as great progress and definitely a more enjoyable summer of training. I did have goals that I didn’t meet, such as overall time, pace and a negative split. I had quite a bit of success improving my half-marathon time this year (PR of 1:49 in June on a very downhill course) and was hoping to get a good jump on my marathon PR. Still, it was a great experience. I met some of my goals, it was a great weekend with family, met some great people and there is always great energy around a race. Plus, I still achieved far more by setting a few goals I didn’t reach, than not setting any at all. My son (12) wants to run the Phoenix half marathon in February, so I signed up to run with him. My wife just decided to sign up for the Phoenix full marathon and will be joining RC. Thank you coaches and RC community for keeping me accountable and motivated!
Bill Leppert ran the Duck Island mile and finished with a time of 0:5:42, which was a personal record by 6 seconds.
I won!! LOL. First win other than age group wins etc
Paulo Correia ran the Meia de Sampa – Half Marathon and finished with a time of 2:05:37, which was a remarkable 20 minutes improvement!
This was my third half marathon this year. Since April I have followed the training schedule proposed by our coaches and the result was a new PR. I improved about 20 minutes and I close to run a half-marathon under 2 hours. My focus still on marathons, but it is nice to run 21K.
Thanks to the coaches and the members of this exciting community of runners!
Gena Heminover ran the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon and finished with a time of 3:50.20. This was a new personal record by 8 minutes!
I had a BLAST running this race!!! I PR’d at my last marathon but didn’t have much fun so this time I took advantage of all the people along the course to pump me up and it worked! I really missed my kids since they didn’t come with so I gave high fives to as many little kids as I could. I brought me joy just to see them smile so I could help but smile and have fun the whole race. The used the energy of the crowd to hit my goal time and get a PR. And funny thing about smiling while you run….it makes the pain of the last 6 miles not so bad 😀
Cynthia Morris ran the Portland Marathon and finished in a time of 3:50:19.
I signed up for this race last spring when everyone was talking about running Boston. I had not run a road marathon in over 10 years and wondered what I could do now. Coach Jamie thought it would be nip and tuck on recovery after my 60k but she said she thought I could get it done.
We had dinner with Scott Schoenburn and David Hendrix which was very nice to connect with others from RC. As I told them about Coach Jamie’s pacing schedule for me and that I had never followed one before in a road marathon, David teased me that “in other words, you have never run one smart”.
The start was 51 degrees which was perfect. I started out pacing exactly what I was suppose to and felt good. There was a climb at mile 2-3ish that kept me on task. When I started back down, David caught me as he started in the wave behind me. He commented that he felt I was going “a little faster” than I was suppose to. I laughed and asked if he was shocked? I was feeling very comfortable and was not breathing hard at all.
I continued running comfortably with my watch continuing to beep at me that I was going to fast. I have been in this position many times–coming off an injury with not much training and running a long race and I had this sneaking suspicion that my legs were going to die early no matter what the pace. So, since I was running without much effort, I continued on. At mile 16 is the longest hill up onto the St. Johns Bridge and over the top–we could see it coming for quite a ways. I new it was going to be an issue, so decided just to trundle up it and pick up the pace on the other side.
I made it to the finish line which really was my goal. I would have liked to have run faster, but when I look at it, the reality is I am coming off a big summer of ultrarunning with 2 good injuries that I have been able to continue training through. The fact that I did as well as I did makes me happy.
Average pace 8:48 by the end with 3:50:19 finishing time.
I was 4/130 in my age division (hardware!), 307/2841 women, 1067/5550 total runners. I figured I was 89 in the masters out of 1144 runners. And a BQ qualifier by 20 mins to boot. As Gary York at Zap camp told me as I was whining I would never PR again, he said I needed to look at it like I am PRIng for this decade of my life, which I did.I am very happy with this. I have had the biggest season of running in years thanks to RC and Coach Jamie. I am looking forward to letting my body heal and then getting back on it as I have even bigger plans for next season!!
Shanna Howe ran the Run Crazy Horse Half Marathon and finished with a time of 1:47:51, which was a personal record by 50 sec.
Gorgeous Black Hills run! 4th out of 74 in my age group with a PR of 1:47:51. Not bad for having heal tendinitis, battling a chest cold for 3 weeks & barely being able to train! Sometimes the stars align.
Michael Lockman ran the Livestrong 10K and finished with a time of 56:04. This was a personal record by 1:50.
This was a tune-up race for half and full marathons. It was my 2nd 10K since getting back to running 2 years ago and my wife’s first one. What it made it special was seeing so many people doing their first 5K ever, seeing folks out to support loved ones fighting cancer, and pacing my wife in for the last 3rd of a mile where she passed a lady in her age group to win it by 9 seconds. It is always fun to share an accomplishment with my bride of 35 years and we both got gold metals for a great workout in beautiful weather. What’s not to like?
Jaron Brown ran the Michelob Ultra 13.1 Atlanta and finished the race in the time of 1:51:31.
This half marathon was my last tune-up before my goal race, the NYC marathon in fewer than 30 days. I went into this race with two goals: (1) practice my marathon fueling plan, and (2) figure out my true fitness, given my limitations due to my gimpy right hip. With respect to fitness, I ultimately wanted to come away from this race with a realistic marathon pacing strategy for NYC. Overall, I achieved both goals. The fueling went extremely well. I hydrated and consumed gels well and, most importantly, didn’t need post-race medical attention and an IV like I did a month ago after my last 13.1. As for marathon pacing, this race was a reality check: I have a marathon pacing plan now, but I have to be disciplined and set a plan that is realistic given my fitness and gimpy hip, which plan will not aim at a PR.
Denise Schwartz ran her marathon at the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon in Milwaukee, WI coming across the finish line with a time of 5:24.
I have been running for the past 10 years starting when I was 42. I planned to run my first marathon at the Chicago marathon 2 years ago for my 50th but had to cancel because of injury. This year I was determined to do a marathon despite numerous personal and physical setbacks.
The first setback began after a half marathon in May, I developed heel pain/plantar fascitis. In addition to various treatments, over the next couple of months I followed a program of challenging cross training until I could begin a run/walk program mid July. Jamie had me on a very conservative run/walk program all the way up and through the marathon. Some of my walk segments were up to 6 min long, with run segments beginning at 3 min. I eventually worked up to a 11 min run/3 min walk which is what I used in the marathon. The training regime was based on time on my feet, not pace or mileage.
I chose to persevere through personal setbacks as well including my husband losing his job, preparing my son to go off to college leaving my husband and I empty nesters, and I developed a non life threatening medical condition requiring multiple medications (I haven’t been on medications for the past 15 years).
My goal at this past weekend’s marathon was to finish in under 5 and half hours, which I did. My official time was: 5 hrs 24 min. We had perfect running weather in Milwaukee, low 50s and overcast, and I had my family and best friends there to cheer me on. My son, who runs a sub 5 min mile and is a nationally ranked triathlete, jumped in to run with me at numerous points in the race including the last 5 miles which were challenging to say the least.
Being a physical therapist, I signed up with RC to not only coach me but to learn from their coaching, to better assist my athlete patients. I’m very glad I trusted Jamie’s training with this run/walk method as I made it to the race uninjured! Thank you Jamie! Despite still being fatigued and sore I am looking forward to training for the next race. Now I know I can run a marathon and can train through adversity, I can do anything I set my mind to.
Shane McCoy ran the TC 10 Mile and finished with a time of 1:23:08.
Having the energy to run a 6:00 mile at the end of the 10 miles.
Julia Labovsky ran the Wineglass Marathon and finished with a time of 3:52:27, which was a PR of 4:37.
This marathon training cycle, some inflammation of my posterior tibal tendon forced me to crosstrain four weeks before the marathon. Fortunately, backing off did the trick, and I was able to resume with the taper for the final couple of weeks. I focused on being relaxed and not overstriding, in order to protect that foot. The Wineglass course was beautiful, and I remembered to smile and be thankful for the chance to run in the race. My mantra was “get there” and I took it mile by mile, keeping a relaxed and steady effort. I got to mile 20, then 21, and was kind of suprised that my body didn’t want to quit, as it had in my last three marathons. The foot was okay. Mile by mile, I got there, and heard my kids screaming for me just before the finish, which gave me a big boost to finish strong. I think that in the end, my foot issue kept me in check during the race, resulting in my steadiest pace ever, no bonking, a PR, and my first BQ.
Sue Kennedy ran the CHESTER MARATHON and finished with a time of 5:02, which was a new personal record!
It was awful , it was blazing hot for Autumn in the UK with no wind, lots of runners on the course were struggling with the heat. I started with excruciating cramp and this carried on for the last four miles, literally often stopping me in my tracks. I had taken GU regularly and drank water with it, I also carried water and picked up water at every station. Maybe the weather contributed significantly to the cramp – felt great mentally and was running well until I took a quick loo break, then downhill from there. predicted time 4:30, finish time just over 5.
Bob Murney ran the Twin Cities Marathon in a time of 3:43:25. This was a personal record by 6:24.
This marathon has been a puzzle to me. It is a tale of two runs: the first 17 miles, a relatively flat course marked by two or three significant hills, and the last 9 miles, a bit of a rollercoaster with significant uphills coming at a time when your legs have sent distress signals asking for the finish line. To do well, you have to ignore your inner horses’ scream to release and fly during that first 17 miles, and instead, practice patience. Thankfully, my running therapist, Coach Jamie, whacked me with a 2×4 before the race and dictated paces and PATIENCE. It worked. For whatever reason, my legs responded and was able to stay closer to 8:10-8:15 pace and caught the 3:45 pacer at mile 24. My final time beat last year’s time by 15+ minutes so I learned my lesson: PATIENCE (until next marathon…). As always, deep appreciation to all the coaches and fellow runners at RC for the fun and support through training!
Christophe Cadiou ran the Run Like It Matters 10k and finished with a time of 40:14, which was a PR by 14 seconds.
Perfect race conditions – cool and drizzling. I got into a good pace from the get go and managed to hold on to it until the end. Pretty even splits – 19’56” at the 5k mark and a 14″ PR of 40’14” at the end, good enough for third place overall. Whilst I did not break 40′, this is a step closer.
Christopher Berry ran the Calgary Harvest Half Marathon and finished with a time of 1:26:55. This was a personal record by 1 minutes 35 seconds.
7th place overall and 2nd in my age group. What a race, and mostly for bad reasons! I decided to start conservatively at around 20 seconds per mile slower than race pace because of the hills and the weather – I really need to work on my form and power up hills. After a tricky start on hilly roads, I really began to settle down and make up time on the trails.
By mile 10, I was well on track and had started reeling in the competition. Suddenly though, I hit a monster of a hill, which was my undoing. It was closely followed by a strong icy wind, causing me to tense up my whole body and lose rhythm and I simply couldn’t manage my usual quick finish and came in 20-30 seconds per mile slower than I had hoped over the last 3 miles.
Despite all of these issues, aside from the hills, I don’t think I could have done much more and, had conditions been more favourable, I think I could have hit my goal time. Thank you especially to Danny Fisher for all of his help over the last few months and thank you to the RunnersConnect community for their support in this sizable PR and age-group podium!
Scott Schoenborn ran the Portland Marathon and finished in a time of 03:48:57. This was a personal best by 04:11.
Despite having an achilles/ankle injury that kept me unable to run during 3 1/2 weeks of the final 5 1/2 weeks before the marathon I was still able to perform well on race day and PR. I know I could have done so much better with correct, early pacing. I’m excited to keep training and looking to the next Boston qualifying race in Eugene, Oregon on May 1st, 2016. The race had some added fun being able to meet in person 2 other Runner’s Connect racers for a dinner out on Friday PM. The chance to meet Cindy Morris and Dave Hendrix made it all that much more enjoyable.
Douglas Stewart ran the Leaf Peepers Half Marathon and finished with a time of 2:17:26.
This may not have been a PR, but my PR was in 2007. So this was a PR as a man in my 40s! And it’s 17 minutes faster than what I did in July. So this is a win.
This race was a fun one, and the weather was perfect. About 55 degrees and sunny. The course has just under 1,000 feet of elevation gain and most of it is in the first three miles. I went out strong and steady but not too fast and felt fine. In mile 3, I had to walk a bit up to the top of the hill which has about a 14% grade for half a mile. During miles 4 – 8, I really felt like I could keep a 9:10 to 9:30 pace for the rest of the race. I was sure of it. I was feeling great and like I had plenty in the tank. Then there was a steep incline in Mile 8, probably about 150 feet in about a third of a mile. I was running with a pack of runners and they all slowed down ridiculously and I got frustrated so I surged ahead of them. Awesome! Except then I totally zonked out and they all passed me when I had to stop and I never saw them again. Lesson learned. The last two miles were on a trail that was really fun to run on, by the way.
Regardless, I am glad that I finished strong, my legs feel great today, and I know I am continuing to improve. My brother ran this course in under 2 hours but he can barely walk today and he feels terrible. So…I guess we both won in our own way. 🙂
Anna squicciarini ran the WineGlass Half Marathon and finished the distance in the time of 1:42:54. This was a personal record by 5:36.
The race was just great. Weather was perfect and I was able to execute my plan, exceeding my own expectations. I never felt “desperate”. I planned for 1:45 and was able to keep a consistent solid pace across all miles without struggling finishing at 1:42:53. I was 11 in my age category and 51 among 1887 women (142 overall). Thank you coaches, this was a great result for me and I owe it to you!
Scott Langman ran the Flatlanders Half Marathon and finished with a time of 1:39:53, which was a personal best by an incredible 13:47 minutes!
After training harder than I ever have this year so I could run a marathon in September, I was confident I would set a PR in this tune up race, only my second half marathon race, but I wasn’t as confident I would pull off my sub-1:40 goal after three weeks of reduced mileage. It was a cold, windy, and rainy morning, which matched the conditions of the 32k fast finish run where I first suspected this pace was doable for 21k. I’m thrilled that I was able to prove that to be true. I’m also excited that I finished 13th overall and 3rd in my age group.
