Paul Hanrahan ran the Medibank Melbourne Marathon and finished with a time of 3:48:07.
Nine days before the Marathon my right foot plantar fascia was so painful I could hardly walk on the foot. The physiotherapist examination was that I have plantar fasciitis, which I iced, took anti inflammatory tablets, strapped and no running. I checked with Michael my running coach about not completing the kilometers leading up to the marathon and the reply was comforting to hear, that the fitness was already in the bank, just do what is required to get the foot better. The day before the Marathon I did the 15 minute run and decided that I would still attempt to run the marathon.
Completed a 15 minute warm up run before the start of the marathon along with stretching. My decision was to run the race as per my plan and if the foot pain got to bad, I would walk the remaining distance. The strapping on the right foot changed my running form, pain started to get worse after 10 km, but I was able to finish the marathon without walking.
Scott Bialas ran the Detroit Free Press Marathon and finished this race in the time of 4:31:52.
There were moments in this race where I felt better than I had in the previous three marathons I ran. I had moments of doubt early on, but I was feeling great between miles 6 and 16. I took a ‘HotShot’ to fight what I felt was a possible cramp coming on – and dealt with slight nausea between miles 16 and 18. Between miles 18 and 20, I was feeling better and tried to pick up my pace. I thought I would pick up the pace at mile 20, but I experienced heavy-duty leg cramps. I persevered and finished, but you can see my splits sucked after mile 20. I’m bummed that I didn’t do better than previous years, but I’ll come back next year and try to improve… try not to cramp.
It was a warmer day than normal, but I didn’t mind – didn’t have to wear gloves and my legs felt fresh. I tried to hydrate and stop at most of the water stations. I also had Perpetuem mixed with 6 oz of water, in 4 bottles on my running belt – this gave me 54 grams of carbs. Plus I took one GU every hour. Between Miles 13 and 18, I had a bag of small dates, which I consumed instead of the Perpetuem, which was affecting my running after drinking a few ounces.
About one month ago, my paces were adjusted and increases for all of my runs. I don’t know if the paces of my first two months were too easy, but I think I would have been better off going to a track or running a 5k to help RunnersConnect put together my training schedule. But I really want to thank you because my legs/body felt great leading up to my race – absolutely no pain. I really struggled with Carb Loading and nutrition while running, but was too cheap to shell out the money to put together a nutrition plan – I think that may have cost me a few miles before I cramped…
Peter Spuhler ran the Denver Rock n’Roll Half Marathon and finished with a time of 1:33:25. This was a new personal record by 12:14.
Ran the 10k version of this race last year and liked the course so much that I decided at the time that I’d like to come back and do the half marathon. Spent most of the summer training for this half. I actually went into the race not knowing what kind of pace I would be able to maintain but knowing for sure that it would be considerably faster than anything I’d done for a half marathon previously (my previous PR is around 1:45). One of my running buddies did a half just a week ago at close to 7 min/mile. This gave me some confidence and motivation that I could maintain a similar pace. I was able to maintain close to a 7min/mile pace throughout the race. This race is mostly downhill for the first 4 miles and then a slight uphill for most of the second half. I went out a little faster than I normally would to take advantage of the downhill. The uphill went better than I expected but I definitely struggled around mile 9 when I started to get some side stitch. I was able to maintain and not slow too much until mile 11 at which point the course went downhill slightly so was able to accelerate slightly to the finish. I did break (smash!) just about every PR at any distance from 1 to 13.1 mi, so I’m quite pleased. I’m very pleased with the progress I’ve made over the summer and am hopeful I can continue to get faster.
Pascal Brabant ran the Toronto Waterfront Marathon and finished the race event in the time of 04:56:44.
It was rainy and slippery during the race and my garmin watch was really off did 44,6km in my watch in lieu 42,2 and my paces were over estimated. When l analyzed my race I realized that I kept a pace 6:50-6:55 up to 30K. I thought I was doing faster due to my watch issue that exaggerated my pace. My plan was to accelerate between 30-40K but I was not able to do do so when arrived the time. One thing that is sure it was a strong marathon; I never walked and kept going through out the race and finished with the last 2,2K at a pace of 6:25. I just need to get a better handle on my last 10 k between 30 and 40K.
Tineke De Groot-Schroder ran the TCS Amsterdam Marathon with a finishing time of 3:50:42. This was a personal record by 6 minutes, 6 seconds.
My 8th marathon, first training with RC, and a PR! Now I am proud, yesterday a little bit disappointed because my goal was to run sub 3:50. Up to New York marathon about 3 weeks.
Paul Kilbank ran the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon and finished in a time of 2:04:58, which was a PR by 5:40.
Generally pleased with knocking off 5:40 from my earlier HM in the spring 🙂 Thanks for the support during the training cycle from both RC coaches and RC members! I’ll build upon these results to aggressively pushing for a 1:55 in the springtime (7 months out, so lots of time, right?!) … and then shift my focus to a “respectable” FM race.
So, the good: definitely feeling stronger and able to hold a faster pace longer. Another plus was my problematic hamstrings and strained hip flexor area cooperated without any real discomfort. And, the bad: followed a pace bunny since my Garmin wasn’t synching. For whatever reason they threw away their sign @ 3km which made it tough to follow given the crowds … and @ 6km they said we’re doing well being up almost 3 minutes 🙁 sigh 🙁 Looking at the official splits it wasn’t that bad but as a result I felt very drained very early. And I ended up taking a few unwanted recovery jogs in the second half. So I’m going to work on gauging my own pace better and perhaps invest in a new GPS next time instead … The race itself was pretty well organized and there were tons of friendly volunteers keeping the show going.
Luis Figueroa ran the Bay State Marathon and finished with a time of 4:35:54.4, which was a PR!
1st marathon. 10 months prior, I had collapsed during a road race due to coronary artery disease which I did not know I had. It took several months to clear the blockages and I was finally cleared to train and race hard again in June. Just enough time to train for a marathon which was a personal goal.
Kate Blanco ran the Melbourne Marathon and completed this distance in the time of 4:17:09.
This is the third time I have done this race and it was the toughest and slowest due to strong gusty winds on 3/4 of the course. I underestimated how wind can impact performance and suck out your energy. I stuck to my planned pacing/nutrition and drafted when I could but by half way I was starting to feel tired and a little peaky and by 30 km taking brief walk breaks and then it all headed south. The last 6 km were into a head wind. It was tough for most runners. Good news is I didn’t cramp this time and my legs felt ok. I have pulled up really well after the race too. It’s been a good experience and I finished 12th in my category.
Amanda Eisenhart ran the Baltimore Marathon, finishing this distance in the time of 03:53:50.
With a finish time of 03:53:50, it’s not my best marathon time, but I lost my legs after mile 19. I was on pace to PR and hit my goal time until that point. From about mile 20-23, there were about three or four points where I had to walk for a minute. I was glad to push through, finish, and keep it under 4 hours. I’m not sure if I was a little dehydrated; I think I was well fueled, so I’m leaning towards dehydrated or just not quite recovered from being sick.
The race itself was really great; the volunteers were wonderful and the people that did come out to support the race where amazing! (And the medal is the best one, yet!) Time to enter the recovery phase, process and learn from this go round, and on to the next one! My BQ goal still stands, and I will keep going until and chipping away until I’ve reached it.
Carl Johnson ran the Baltimore Marathon and finished with a time of 4:01:58, which was a PR!
It was my first marathon. On September 1, 2015, I quit a 2 pack a day habit, and started running the same day. I stuck with it, and 410 days later, I ran my first marathon. Thanks so much for all the help along the way!
Aukse Rudokaite ran the Chicago Marathon and finished in 4:48:52. This was a massive PR by 30 minutes!
Race was great and spectators did great job supporting runners. Weather mid 60s and sunny all the way. I did not hit the wall although on mile 24 and 25 I got heavy legs and had to do a short walk/run. That resulted pace in mile 24 11:00 and mile 25 12:00. Last mile I just put my best and took off and finished with 10:30 pace.
I would like to take a minute and thank all RC team! I think your training schedule is amazing. I was worried a little as training was going easy for me although, running almost all Marathon non stop and feeling great after showed that your training schedules works. Thank you and I am looking forward training for my next Marathon! For now I will do couple half to improve speed. My Goal is Boston and NY!
Rhonda Alexander ran the Rock N Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon with a finishing time of 2:54:44.
Shawn Stewart ran the Chicago Marathon and finished in a time of 4:00:35.
Running Chicago is special in of itself. I was trying to get well under 4 hours and I felt by training all summer in the Texas heat would help me out on race day. That didn’t end up happening as I kinda fell apart at mile 18 or so. No sure what happened. I didn’t have an injury, pain, etc….just really heavy legs.
My Garmin spazzed out at mile 1 as we came out from under a tunnel……my pace / distances were never on track from there. I felt I had 4 hours in the bag all along, but having no firm grip on my time didn’t help. Lesson learned on that. I’m already looking at another race in January. Time to get back on the horse.
Brandon Tuss ran the Volition Half Marathon in 1:44:23, which was a PR by 00:01:02.
Hurricane Matthew was rearing his ugly head here in the Charlotte area for this race, with pretty steady rain and wind throughout. The course was wet but totally manageable. Went out pretty fast, which was my intention, and held steady through about the first nine miles. Once we hit the turn for home, which covers those last 4+ miles, it was a bit disheartening for the wind to be completely in your face and the rain picking up stream. Not ideal, but then again it allowed me to persevere and trust in the training that got me to this point. I did my best to not be too cerebral on this run, and just kept telling myself, ‘stay strong’ and ‘one step at a time.’ I knew I had my goal time in my sights, I just needed to hold on and finish strong…
Which is exactly what I did! Crossing that finish line with a fist pump when I saw the timer below 1:45 (my goal all along) was one of the biggest highlights of my running career. The fact that I did it in no so ideal conditions makes it even that much more special. It took me three tries to dip below that 1:45 threshold and I can at last say I did it!
Rafael Diaz ran the Chicago Marathon with a finishing time of 4:04, which was a PR!
My fist Marathon. We were aiming to finish at 3:50… I could not keep the pace after km36. I´m happy that I finished the race without walking, that I completed my first Marathon after more or less a year after starting running. I know I could have performed better.
In January I did my first Half Marathon and our goal was to kill it under 2 hours and I finished 1:59. In August I did my second HM and our goal was to finish under 1:50 and I did in 1:48 and now in October, Chicago marathon, my first marathon, our plan was to finish at 3:50 and well this time it was not possible to reach our goal. Anyways, plenty of work to do, plenty of room for improvement. Looking forward to it
Chris Carrier ran the 2016 Chicago Marathon and finished with a time of 3:49:21, which was a PR by 23 seconds!
My training all along has been to try to achieve what I felt was a reasonable progression of 3:45 from my 2014 PR of 3:49:42. Last year, having never failed to progress at any distance in my short (3 year) running career, I was quite defeated when I found myself slowing at the 21 mile mark. My pace-band strategy involving a slow start and a planned negative split, which despite having worked so well the prior year, failed me. Despite being close to place at mile 20, I finished TEN minutes off.
This year, I modified a few things, trained smarter, thought about nutrition a bit more, fueling (electrolytes! that’s it!), the weather was to be cooler and I planned to run with a pace group of 3:45. Then, a day before, I read an article telling me what I already knew — that going out on a steady pace was fine for a pacer but detrimental to those following. I decided last minute to modify my strategy to run the first few miles slower, then run steady – a bit faster perhaps – to catch up near the half and then run.
Well, it worked in someways but not others. For one, I got too far behind the pace group at the start, so they started around a minute ahead, meaning catching them even at the half wasn’t advisable. I got close and felt I was right on target so I didn’t mind. I was running my own race and it was working, I was right on schedule… until about mile 21.
My targeted pace of 8:35 slipped to 8:39, then 8:44 and 8:47 by mile 22. From there, the wheels fell off. But rather than do what I did last year, I was determined to stay moving as fast as I could. I continued to drop in pace down to the last .2 miles where I did accelerate and managed a small PR by 23 seconds. I’ll take it!
Melanie Brooks ran the Chicago Marathon and finished with a time of 4:11:42. This was a massive personal record by 53 minutes!
After two bad marathon experiences, I thought that maybe long distance running wasn’t for me. However, I decided I would try the Chicago marathon lottery one more time, and if I got in, then it was just meant to be— and it was! I won the lottery two years in a row, which I find pretty lucky. I didn’t leave my training up to luck though, I joined RC 4 weeks into my training, and only missed one run out of my whole 18 week training schedule.
I ran my first marathon last year and finished in 5:04:50. I ran my second marathon….sick)-: I shouldn’t have ran that marathon at all, but I was stubborn and paid the price – I finished with a 5:14:32.
Fast forward to Sunday, I had never felt better and stronger than on Marathon morning. I was just so grateful to be at that starting line. It felt like a blessing just to be there, healthy and uninjured, and I wanted to give it my all. I still can’t believe I finished with a 4:11:42, that’s a 53 minute improvement- what a difference a year makes! I have learned so much, since joining RC. My training plan prepared me perfectly, and all the feedback I got from the coaches and other RC members was invaluable. Also, without my coaching call with coach Danny Fisher, I would not have been as well prepared as I was on race day. Thank you RC, for making me a stronger and more confident runner. Third try was a charm, and it shows that not giving up will eventually pay off…
