The Running Thread—2023

[kps7795]

Monumental Half Marathon Quick Summary
Indianapolis, IN Saturday October 28

- Huge race with 10,000+ runners and the worst porta potty lines and corral layouts I've ever seen.
- Basic, boring expo.
- Fun crowd support on much of the course.
- Course goes through downtown Indy and some neighborhoods. Too many pot holes and cracked pavement to watch out for.
- Amazingly flat course!!! It was glorious.
- I got a PR! Beat my previous PR (from 2020) by almost 4 mins! 10:01 pace down to 9:44. Super proud of myself!
- I'm local, but there are lots of hotels and restaurants within walking distance.

IMO, it's not a destination race, but I'd recommend this race to anyone wanting a super flat course with likely cooler weather.

View attachment 805938
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This sounds really great (other than the potholes and cracked pavement). Congratulations on your PR!

 

[Dopey 2020]

Just gonna drop this here…



Did this just happen or did I miss it earlier?

 

[michigandergirl]

Monumental Half Marathon Quick Summary
Indianapolis, IN Saturday October 28

- Huge race with 10,000+ runners and the worst porta potty lines and corral layouts I've ever seen.
- Basic, boring expo.
- Fun crowd support on much of the course.
- Course goes through downtown Indy and some neighborhoods. Too many pot holes and cracked pavement to watch out for.
- Amazingly flat course!!! It was glorious.
- I got a PR! Beat my previous PR (from 2020) by almost 4 mins! 10:01 pace down to 9:44. Super proud of myself!
- I'm local, but there are lots of hotels and restaurants within walking distance.

IMO, it's not a destination race, but I'd recommend this race to anyone wanting a super flat course with likely cooler weather.

Congrats on your PR!!

I was there too - I ran the full.

We stayed at the Hyatt right downtown and it was so easy to walk to all things - expo, start/finish, restaurants.

I totally agree those porta potty lines were a disaster!! My friend & I almost missed the start we waited so long.

I thought the crowd support was decent for the first half, but was seriously lacking on the back half. I also didn't enjoy sharing streets with traffic with us only having one lane in the later miles.

I really did enjoy the flat course and the 52 degree weather was amazing.

This was not a PR effort for me. I knew it could be a rough go as I've had some health issues crop up this last year. I held a slow, steady pace until mile 21, then hit the wall and had to walk a lot, but I finished.

I chose the Indy full because I needed to run a marathon between Oct 28 and Nov 5 for my NYC marathon virtual. I figured it would be better to run in a supported race and Indy is only about a 5 hour drive for me. I'm glad I did it considering how badly I struggled. It would have been so much worse if I had chosen to run 26.2 in my neighborhood.

Overall a decent experience and now I get to run the NYC marathon next year!!

 

[Naomeri]

Just gonna drop this here…

View attachment 806159

Did this just happen or did I miss it earlier?

Just happened this morning

 

[avondale]

Monumental Half Marathon Quick Summary
Indianapolis, IN Saturday October 28

- Huge race with 10,000+ runners and the worst porta potty lines and corral layouts I've ever seen.
- Basic, boring expo.
- Fun crowd support on much of the course.
- Course goes through downtown Indy and some neighborhoods. Too many pot holes and cracked pavement to watch out for.
- Amazingly flat course!!! It was glorious.
- I got a PR! Beat my previous PR (from 2020) by almost 4 mins! 10:01 pace down to 9:44. Super proud of myself!
- I'm local, but there are lots of hotels and restaurants within walking distance.

IMO, it's not a destination race, but I'd recommend this race to anyone wanting a super flat course with likely cooler weather.

View attachment 805938
View attachment 805939

Congratulations on that big PR!

 

[avondale]

I totally agree those porta potty lines were a disaster!! My friend & I almost missed the start we waited so long.

This happened to me at the 10k that runs with the Marine Corps Marathon one year. Slow security check led to huge port-a-potty lines, but I knew I had to go before I started running. This is how I learned that start lines often stay "open" for quite a while...both in the case of a lot of runners to start and then afterward, just in case. But nerve-wracking to hear the race officially start while you're still a couple people away from the potty!

 

[StarGirl11]

thought this might be a good as of a place to ask. Anyone know a spring full that isn’t too hilly (the flatter the better) that’s not the weekend right after Princess. Looking to find a spring full.

 

[GollyGadget]

thought this might be a good as of a place to ask. Anyone know a spring full that isn’t too hilly (the flatter the better) that’s not the weekend right after Princess. Looking to find a spring full.

Have you tried https://findmymarathon.com/ ?

I don’t have any in mind but that’s a great resource for finding marathons that fit your desires.

 

[MissLiss279]

thought this might be a good as of a place to ask. Anyone know a spring full that isn’t too hilly (the flatter the better) that’s not the weekend right after Princess. Looking to find a spring full.

Fargo Marathon is pretty good. I really enjoyed it. I think it is June 1st this year - technically still spring.

 

[camaker]

thought this might be a good as of a place to ask. Anyone know a spring full that isn’t too hilly (the flatter the better) that’s not the weekend right after Princess. Looking to find a spring full.

Tobacco Road Marathon on March 17th in Cary, NC is pretty flat. It's where I have my current marathon PR.

 

[jrsharp21]

thought this might be a good as of a place to ask. Anyone know a spring full that isn’t too hilly (the flatter the better) that’s not the weekend right after Princess. Looking to find a spring full.

The Woodlands Marathon in The Woodlands, TX is one of the faster courses in the country due to the flatness. I live here and I can only think of one, maybe two spots that have any type of any significant up hill grade.

https://www.thewoodlandsmarathon.com/Race/TheWoodlandsMarathon/Page-50

 

[flav]

thought this might be a good as of a place to ask. Anyone know a spring full that isn’t too hilly (the flatter the better) that’s not the weekend right after Princess. Looking to find a spring full.

Ottawa, ON, Canada at the end of May is pretty flat. It is often quite warm though. 2024 will be the 50th edition of the race.

 

[StarGirl11]

The Woodlands Marathon in The Woodlands, TX is one of the faster courses in the country due to the flatness. I live here and I can only think of one, maybe two spots that have any type of any significant up hill grade.

https://www.thewoodlandsmarathon.com/Race/TheWoodlandsMarathon/Page-50

That would have been perfect if it wasn’t the weekend after Princess. We’re over in Katy so I’ll keep that in mind for another year.

 

[jrsharp21]

That would have been perfect if it wasn’t the weekend after Princess. We’re over in Katy so I’ll keep that in mind for another year.

Oh yeah, that would have worked out well since you are right down the freeway. I am trying to decide if I want to run it myself. I keep telling myself I will be good to go for another marathon after Dopey.

 

[lookingforsunshine]

October mileage: 71.6 miles (16:19:16 time)
Oddly this is only .3 miles more than I did in October last year, but I spent 17:37:25 running then. I am definitely getting faster. I keep inadvertently PRing the 5k and 1 mile during my training runs.

My schedule right now is M- easy + strides, Tu- speed, W- off, Th- endurance (upping my run interval time— I’m at 4:1 now), F- recovery jog, Sat- long run Sun- XT

I missed a couple of runs this month but nothing major (I think a speed workout and a recovery jog). And one weekend I didn’t have a long run scheduled bc I was at Disney.

Feeling great heading into Wine & Dine! I’m going to try to PR the half…

 

[Naomeri]

I have a dilemma about my 4 mile run tomorrow: do I just run in my jack-o-lantern hoodie, or do I break out a costume?

 

[Dopey 2020]

A good month, on target for Dopey and feeling good about W&D (heading down in the AM). Don’t know about getting a PR but sure will have fun trying.

 

[Bree]

October 2023 brought stomach bugs and dropping a cast iron patio umbrella stand on my foot Told y’all I’m injury prone Foot is still tender, but I was able to run this week and should be fine for Wine & Dine if I wrap myself in bubble wrap.

 

[GollyGadget]

I have a dilemma about my 4 mile run tomorrow: do I just run in my jack-o-lantern hoodie, or do I break out a costume?

Whatever is warmest

 

[Naomeri]

Whatever is warmest

Yeah, I’ve decided on thin running clothes, then my skeleton-in-a-running-costume from W&D 2022 layered over top—can’t get much warmer than a full body suit