Richard Costen ran the Berlin Half Marathon and finished with a time of 1:30.45. This was a massive personal record by 25 minutes!
What a race! Hot and a little breezy. I had my race plan memorized but started off a little too quick as per usual, but reigned myself in. After 3 miles I stayed slightly below 7 min miles on Strava. The last 3 miles I ran as quick as I could with maximum effort, one of my quickest miles was at mile 11. I managed 7 PRs on my Strava ranging from quickest mile to the Half Marathon, all on this one race. So all in all a big thank you to Runners Connect and the Coaches for the plans and advice. Roll on next year.
Stephanie Hablow ran the Great Bay Half Marathon with a finishing time of 2:24.
I went into this race with the goal of using it as a practice race, and also to have fun. And I accomplished both. I ran by feel and didn’t concentrate on my pace or overall time (although it was tough towards the end to hold myself back). I felt great the entire race, which included some pretty decent hills, which led me to walk a couple of times. I was pleasantly surprised by my overall pacing and finish time, especially because I didn’t push myself at all during the race. Also, I had a ton of fun on the course! It was nice to take it all in and enjoy my surroundings. This was a solid “practice run” for my goal race coming up in May.
Mihael Lorbeg ran the Istrski maraton and finished in a time of 3:46, which was a PR!
Well … I’ve done it. I ran the full marathon for the first time. You have made me a marathoner in few months without injuries and with motivation to continue and get better. Thanks to all you coaches who encouraged me and from time to time kicked me forward when I was feeling down. Many many thanks.
Had to run quite a few hills that started on 17km and the major hill from 36km till 40km. So this makes my first marathon even more special. I’m really proud.
Carmen Lopez-Acevedo ran the Medio Maraton Madrid 2018 Half Marathon and finished this race in the time of 1:56:13.
The plan was to run this at marathon pace. I set up my Garmin to look at average power, elapsed time and distance. I didn’t look at the pace in the entire race. I set off conservatively, aiming for 168-170W, but after 2km it just felt too easy (afterwards when I looked I was running 5:53min/km!!) so picked it up a little, the average of 174 felt very comfortable. I took a little walk break every mile like I do in the marathon, mainly coinciding at the water stations. The weather was perfect, sunny and crisp, and no wind. My music ran out at km 20 so I stopped to reset it and had to smile as people shouted over “come on you can do it just 1km left!”. Finish time is a 2minute course PR and second best HM ever!
Shailja Nair ran the Paris Marathon and finished this race event in the time of 4:40.
Beautiful monuments of Paris all along the course. Support was all along the course. Hot day and wasn’t prepared for all the hills. Plus completely mishandled my hydration. Bonked around 16 miles and never recovered from it. Just glad I somehow made it to the finish line.
Elspeth McLean ran the Berlin Half Marathon and finished with a time of 2.19.48, which was a PR!
This is an excellent race with 32000 entrants. The course is flat and fast – the winner equalled the world record – along the wide Berlin boulevards and takes you past Berlin’s landmarks. Spectators were out in force and the last two ks were a wall of sound.
However it wasn’t my day for two reasons. I have been training in our cold Scottish winter temperatures and even this week my two runs were in sub zero with wind chill. Yesterday the temperature was 22C at 11am and not a cloud in the sky. I do not run well in these temperatures and not having any practice recently added to the discomfort.
The second problem was my knee which flared up earlier in the week. It didn’t trouble me to begin with but by halfway, which I reached in 1.03, it was beginning to hurt and I became increasingly slow. However in spite of the problems I feel positive about the race, because I kept on going to the finish, using the “pain is temporary, finishing is forever” mantra.
Trey Brush ran the Cooper River Bridge Run 10k and completed this distance in the time of 41:23, which was a PR!
I almost consider this a new PR. 2 years ago I ruptured a disc in my back and I have been on a comeback ever since. It is my fastest 10k since 2012. I feel myself getting stronger and stronger each week.
Words cannot say how grateful I am that I am running again and even more than I am getting stronger. This is the year I want to BQ and a race like this gives me more confidence that I am improving.
Christine Cook ran the Boomer’s Run to Breathe 4 Miler, finishing this distance in the time of 32:05. This was a personal record by 2:09.
Last fall on a 20 mile run before the NYC Marathon, @Bjorg Klem handed me a glass of “RunnersConnect Koolaid”. We discussed the shortcomings of the program I was using and she made RC sound like a fantastic option. She was absolutely right! I just PRed my 3rd race in under a month. Today’s 4 miler was a tune-up in my plan. I had a time in mind, which had more to do with moving up in the New York Road Runners corral system. It felt a little ambitious, but not out of reach. Today was cold and windy, and I was prepared to let go of the goal. I set up the run as a workout on my watch, with the slow end of each range enabling me to reach my goal. I know this course very well, and planned to have my first and third miles slower than miles 2 and 4 as the hilly parts are challenging. I was able to run faster than planned and reached all my goals! Tomorrow is my birthday, and this was a great way to celebrate!
Megan Fitzpatrick ran the SF Rock n Roll Half Marathon and finished in a time of 1:38:05. This was a PR by 2 minutes 40 seconds!
Great tune up race! The weather was spectacular. Course was hilly, but so much fun. My target was a 1:40, so I am really pleased! RC training has shown me so much more of my potential than I thought I had! 3 weeks to the Eugene Marathon!
Jared Spencer ran a Half Marathon race in Raleigh, NC and finished with a time of 1:18:45. This was a personal record by 3:30.
This race completely exceeded any expectation I had. Not only for this particular race but running in general. I thought maybe if all went perfect, I thought maybe 1:20 was possible. Never in my wildest running dreams did I ever think I would break 1:19. My previous PR was 1:22:15 so this makes a new PR by 3:30. Truly speechless. Just to show the power of RunnersConnect, not me, in the 2 years training with them, my 1/2 marathon PR has come down 12 minutes.
Tactically, this was the best race I ever ran. For starters, I really focused on running the tangents. Can never quantify the impact this has on race time, but each time I ran a good tangent it really gave me a positive mental boost. Secondly, I was able to execute my plan for all the hills. My focus was to maintain a constant effort up allowing the pace to slow so as not to expend to much energy. At the top of each significant hill, I didn’t feel tired but rather felt as if I had been shot out of a canon and my speed pick right back up. Also, my plan was to take advantage of the down hills and grab as much time as possible. Boy was I able to do this. Finally, coach Dylan advised me to put the hammer down on the last 5k of the race, but after examining the elevation map it seemed like I should hit the throttle after mile 9 instead. Very proud of how I finished over the last 4 miles – 5:39/5:42/6:06/5:44.
Final thought – A completely useless but fun fact none-the-less. Of the 7 competitors that beat me, their average age is just over 26 with the youngest at 19 and the oldest at 31. Not bad for a 48 year old who in a month will be 49. Love scaring those youngsters!! Have a great day everyone!!!!
Ed Hubbard ran the Essex County Cherry Blossom 10K with a finishing time of 53:45, which was a PR!
This was my first 10K! This particular race ended up being a good choice for a 10K. The course was a bit undulating but nothing crazy, and very scenic. I was able to high five an eight year old at Mile 2. Nice. Overall the event was very well organized and the finisher medals were a good touch.
I ran this somewhat conservatively, so on the one hand I feel like I left a minute or so on the course but on the other hand it feels great to have completed my first 10K in a somewhat respectable time based on my 5K times. With this under my belt, I think I’m now better prepared mentally to tackle my next 10K and bear down more on my pacing.
Jon Knutson ran the Goldy’s Run 10 Miles, finishing this distance in the time of 1:07:25. This was a new personal record by 3:32.
This was the second time I have run this race, making it the best marker of my improvement over the last year or so. It is also my first race back after having to miss Twin Cities Marathon for surgery. It was much colder than last year, but I set a PR by 3 1/2 minutes, and cut my overall finish place in half.
Stephanie Poe Gruet ran the Choo Choo 9 miler (15k) and finished this race in the time of 1:37:34.
I started fast, hoping to at least replicate my time from last year (1:25:25), but apparently I am not enough in shape. Started slowing down at mile 3, hoping for plan B: maintain a 10:00 pace. But I was too exhausted already, and I had to fall back on plan C: no walking. I slowed down as much as I could in an effort to get my breathing back under control, but I had to stop to walk a quarter mile just before mile 6. So plan C failed too. I still enjoyed my post-race donut though!
Steffen Lang ran the HAJ Marathon and finished in a time of 2:30:51. This was a personal record by 4:48 minutes!
I am overwhelmingly happy. 2:30:51. 2. German, 9. out of 3000 runners. No woman in front of me, almost 5 min PR. Thank you RC. You are my experts.
I was needing this so much, 4 years without PR (different reasons) at times made me question myself whether I am doing the right sport. Now there is a future (and I will have to break 2:30 ????, but not this year). Yes – the race was tough- but only after 30k. Before that the body was moving like a perfect machine as a result of a perfect training, good fueling and OK pacing execution. Always room for improvement.
Takeaway from 9 months RC: listen to 1. your Body. 2. your Coaches. 3. use common sense. I will continue to dream big and looking forward to improving my times from 3-10k once recovered. Long live RC + the sport of Running ????♂️????♂️????
Mike Furlough ran the Big House 5K and finished this distance in the time of 24:18, which was a PR by 1:03.
I didn’t have a lot of expectations for this race, but it turned out to be a big PR. My left hamstring went off track during a stretch a week before. A few weeks ago I was aiming for sub 25:00, but as late as last night I was thinking 27:00. And it was super cold (19F) when I left the house. But my warmup felt a lot better than expected, so at the start I just ran, found a pace that I could stay with, and my hamstrings did not betray me. Bonus: the finish line is the 50 yard line at Michigan Stadium.
Boon Chiang Boh ran the Standard Chartered Kuala Lumpur International Marathon and finished with a time of 2:41. This was a PR by 7 minutes!
I ran a very poor race last year and prompted me to sign up with RC to improve my running. I followed RC program and ran the same race again this year and achieved a personal best.
