People can avoid hills? Wild.
I learned there is a 29 mile rail trail near me that would be perfect for marathon training, but it's a bit of a drive and very rural, which in Florida means snakes and alligators.
great timing. I’ve done this race 4 times now and even though it’s considered flat as an out and back on a local rail trail, I don’t consider it flat at all. The first half is downhill, the second half… is not downhill at all. Funny thing about railroad grade hills is they NEVER end.
Congratulations! Sounds like an awesome race!Race report: Steel Rail Marathon 5/18/25
All this talk of hills….
View attachment 966551
The turn around at the half with an immediate 3 mile uphill after controlling my speed on the downhill usually gets me every time.
That being said, let me gives props once again to the race director, this is a smaller race, with a full, half, and 8K sharing the course and the start/finish line all with different start times. There was a total of just under 600 runners with 150+ running the full. It is always well organized with amazing volunteer and local police support. 6 aid stations (so 12 total out and back) were evenly spaced with water, electrolytes, and GU. All road Xings were staffed to stop all traffic for any runner, no matter their pace. They have consistently put on an excellent race year after year.
For me this year was different, I wasn’t going after a PR, just a consistent training run to prepare for a 50K next month. It also was an opportunity to test out my Elite 2s - technically nothing new on race day, I had 8 miles on them. Also looking for a different belt to carry my phone that I usually leave behind for races, I tried out the original flip belt.
How did that work?
I can’t say enough about Saucony and the Elite 2, I love them more every mile I run in them. The comfort level was already known to be fantastic for me as I like soft shoes. The course was wet and I felt more secure footed than any other shoe which surprised me, I was concerned as some race shoes don’t seem to have much grip, not an issue here.
The flip belt was a nice surprise as well, with a phone, car key, and 8 gels, I didn’t have much faith in things not bouncing. I was wrong, I don’t know how, it didn’t seem tight yet some how stayed in place and nothing fell out. I don’t think I would use it in an ‘A’ race but for long runs and definitely any Disney race where I want a phone, it is a win.
So the race itself - I don’t know that could’ve asked for much better weather, maybe a bit drier but nothing bad. 54 degrees with a dewpoint of 46 to start with 56/48 at the finish. All cloud cover and occasional mist but no real rain along a beautiful course through woods next to streams and lakes with an occasional road X where there was some fan support to help out a little. Instead of racing I wanted consistent miles with a goal of sub 9min as that is the pace I’m thinking about next month. We don’t talk about mile 1, it’s always too fast but then I settled in using 4 min run/30 sec walk intervals and feeling great at 8:30 avg for the down hill half. A little faster than planned but taking advantage of gravity and the new shoes. After the turn I went at the uphill just under 9 and felt soooo much better than usual on this course. From 16-22 the miles just sort of went by and I felt really good, it was like a fast training run, then I started to slow. 22-24 saw 9-1/2 minute miles and i discovered something I didn’t want to. Somewhere around mile 24 it doesn’t seem to matter what my pace is, my brain just doesn’t want to connect to my legs, going to have to work on that. The last 2 miles slowed to 10 minutes. I did go faster than planned and in the end had a 1:50:40 downhill half followed by a 1:59:40 uphill half for a finish of 3:50:20 when my plan was 3:55 so I am thrilled. Post race I felt fantastic and today is like any other, a little sore but fully functional and still going to do a strength workout, take tomorrow off, and probably take a walk or even slow jog Wednesday. I’m very sure 9 min/mile for 31 miles is a good target, I’m just hoping my mental game isn’t turning off at the 3:30 mark.
Anyways, the important part of any race, the finish
View attachment 966583
Marathon 16 is complete
And as mentioned last time, with Berkshire Brewing Co as a sponsor, yes, that medal is indeed a fully functional bottle opener and the included finish line pour is as fresh and cold as possible.
Amazing job!Race report: Steel Rail Marathon 5/18/25
All this talk of hills….
View attachment 966551
The turn around at the half with an immediate 3 mile uphill after controlling my speed on the downhill usually gets me every time.
That being said, let me gives props once again to the race director, this is a smaller race, with a full, half, and 8K sharing the course and the start/finish line all with different start times. There was a total of just under 600 runners with 150+ running the full. It is always well organized with amazing volunteer and local police support. 6 aid stations (so 12 total out and back) were evenly spaced with water, electrolytes, and GU. All road Xings were staffed to stop all traffic for any runner, no matter their pace. They have consistently put on an excellent race year after year.
For me this year was different, I wasn’t going after a PR, just a consistent training run to prepare for a 50K next month. It also was an opportunity to test out my Elite 2s - technically nothing new on race day, I had 8 miles on them. Also looking for a different belt to carry my phone that I usually leave behind for races, I tried out the original flip belt.
How did that work?
I can’t say enough about Saucony and the Elite 2, I love them more every mile I run in them. The comfort level was already known to be fantastic for me as I like soft shoes. The course was wet and I felt more secure footed than any other shoe which surprised me, I was concerned as some race shoes don’t seem to have much grip, not an issue here.
The flip belt was a nice surprise as well, with a phone, car key, and 8 gels, I didn’t have much faith in things not bouncing. I was wrong, I don’t know how, it didn’t seem tight yet some how stayed in place and nothing fell out. I don’t think I would use it in an ‘A’ race but for long runs and definitely any Disney race where I want a phone, it is a win.
So the race itself - I don’t know that could’ve asked for much better weather, maybe a bit drier but nothing bad. 54 degrees with a dewpoint of 46 to start with 56/48 at the finish. All cloud cover and occasional mist but no real rain along a beautiful course through woods next to streams and lakes with an occasional road X where there was some fan support to help out a little. Instead of racing I wanted consistent miles with a goal of sub 9min as that is the pace I’m thinking about next month. We don’t talk about mile 1, it’s always too fast but then I settled in using 4 min run/30 sec walk intervals and feeling great at 8:30 avg for the down hill half. A little faster than planned but taking advantage of gravity and the new shoes. After the turn I went at the uphill just under 9 and felt soooo much better than usual on this course. From 16-22 the miles just sort of went by and I felt really good, it was like a fast training run, then I started to slow. 22-24 saw 9-1/2 minute miles and i discovered something I didn’t want to. Somewhere around mile 24 it doesn’t seem to matter what my pace is, my brain just doesn’t want to connect to my legs, going to have to work on that. The last 2 miles slowed to 10 minutes. I did go faster than planned and in the end had a 1:50:40 downhill half followed by a 1:59:40 uphill half for a finish of 3:50:20 when my plan was 3:55 so I am thrilled. Post race I felt fantastic and today is like any other, a little sore but fully functional and still going to do a strength workout, take tomorrow off, and probably take a walk or even slow jog Wednesday. I’m very sure 9 min/mile for 31 miles is a good target, I’m just hoping my mental game isn’t turning off at the 3:30 mark.
Anyways, the important part of any race, the finish
View attachment 966583
Marathon 16 is complete
And as mentioned last time, with Berkshire Brewing Co as a sponsor, yes, that medal is indeed a fully functional bottle opener and the included finish line pour is as fresh and cold as possible.
ETA: almost forgot a couple of highlights - around mile 12 I had a guy come up beside me and ask “Galloway runner?” Ha, yes, first time outside of Disney that name has been recognized, talked to him for a bit. Then around 20 maybe I caught up to a couple ladies running the half and immediately recognized the Goofy Challenge shirt one had on. That’s the second time now I’ve talked to a runDisney person at a small local race, always fun to see.
