Running • Page 109

Nice job @Garrett! Way to push through the pain.

I count myself lucky that I can usually start near the front of the pack. Even in Boston I was in the first corral of the first wave, so if anything I was trying not to let the energy of the crowd push me into a faster pace than I wanted to run. Definitely didn’t feel like I had to weave.

I run into that more at local races, honestly, because a lot of people at those don’t know the etiquette. My favorite is at the annual local Turkey Trot, where 3-4 young kids sprint out in front and then completely die after 200 meters and almost get run over by the crowd.

 

I was late to a race one year and was quite a few corrals back from where I should have been. Granted this was like 3 months before I got a serious running watch so I had zero idea of my actual pace. Thankfully I had a decent coach in high school so I ended up doing a fartlek run for the race once I passed the 5K marker. I either picked a landmark or a runner before taking a break (“just running slower”).

I also didn’t like doing it because here comes this guy with a typical runners body sprinting past you while you’re struggling.

 

But congrats to you @Garrett
I also am not the biggest fan of full marathons. Once I get through this PTA program and figure out a schedule in a new job I’m gonna give it one more go for a BQ. But my main focus will always be the half-marathon. For me it’s a race I can be super serious about or one where I can spend a couple weeks truly training for it and still be happy with the results.

 

I want to see if I can get my half to the 1:30-1:40 window (current PR 1:50) for a lot of the same reasons. I can give 110% over 13.1 a lot easier than 26.2.

 

My wife actually ran one of these kids over a couple years ago. If it wasn’t so annoying we’d feel bad, but there is only so much room in Lincoln Park zoo in Chicago.

 

I think it comes down to parental responsibility. If you’re going to sign your kids up, you’ve gotta teach the etiquette side. A holiday race isn’t usually “that serious,” but I still like to go out and run well, and I don’t want to get hurt because some kid hit the wall after a minute of running.

 

Yep and as you know, easy pace is relative. As much as I like the idea of turkey trots and want to do them, thenot knowing where to be in the corral is my least favorite part. I think the race we do does a good job at marking the corrals for pace and then the casual runners don’t pay attention or respect it.

 

A lot of people just don't care. For many participants in those types of races, it's just a fun morning out with the family. Which is fine! But those types of "runners" often can't even fathom that there are people who are there to compete.

 

I did this once at a nighttime 10K. Could certainly say part of the blame was on the people organizing the race as they seemingly chose a route almost entirely without any street lights / any set up lighting to see a goddamn thing so besides the glow sticks and glow in the dark paint some people had on, it was basically running in the pitch black. We all headlamps that were mandatory, but almost none of the kids 10 and other did and they didn’t stay with whoever they were there with so they would just randomly stop to look at something or who knows what and then got demolished by countless people coming up after them lol

 

Coming up on 1400 days of my running streak. Upped the mileage this year and I have kept the minimum mileage at 4 miles for most of this year.

 

Sydney is officially the 7th World Major. Saw some chatter they might be adding an 8th (somewhere in South Africa) and maybe 9th (somewhere in China) before long.

 

Ultimately, I don't think this news pertains to me. I am not someone trying to chase the majors. I am more running marathons to improve my own time and because I enjoy the process of doing one. I see myself running Boston in 2026 and then New York at some point. That would give me three of the majors (Chicago being the other). After that, it's too hard to say for me. So on one end, I am happy for Australia and their running community, or other locations being considered. But on the other end, I have some fatigue of the overcrowding and focus on the major marathons. If people can run them and it gives them joy, that's great. However, with how some of the running influencers are, I think some people are putting too much focus on doing the majors instead of supporting some of the smaller marathons that could use the support more.

 

There is definitely too much focus on the majors. And I say that as someone who will cross a second one (Chicago) off his list next year.

My issue is that so much weight is put on those big recognizable races that we treat awesome accomplishments in smaller races as almost being secondary. Like, people who don’t know anything about running are definitely more impressed when I tell them I ran Boston than when I tell them my PR, even though the latter is absolutely the thing I’m prouder of, personally. I think it’s an extrinsic versus intrinsic motivation kind of thing. We value the majors because they are so revered, and will therefore look or sound impressive once we’ve done them. But my best races have come in smaller, lower-pressure environments, and I think there’s a lot of value to that too, especially if you’re a less experienced marathoner.

The majors are also just not set up to deliver personal bests in most cases. The logistical hurdles of races that size add a lot of challenges to an already challenging process. My buddy who does Boston every year told me it took him until his third or fourth try to get a good race there, both because it’s a really tough course and because navigating those huge races has a learning curve that is totally separate from just getting fit and fast to race.

My advice to any marathoner would be to not put so much weight on those big races. They’re amazing when you do them, but they shouldn’t be the only end goal. There are plenty of awesome marathons out there that putting all your eggs in the “I want to do all the majors” basket just doesn’t make sense to me. Who knows, I might even do them all in my lifetime, but it will be spread out over many years, rather than a push to get to them all right away.

 

I *want* to do New York. I would love to do Boston because it’s Boston, but that’s not happening anytime in the next 20 years for me. But the rest are definitely just a check mark.

That being said, after the MCM I want to emphasize having good crowds at whatever one I choose. That was a game changer.

 

Let me know if you have any questions about Chicago. It will be much easier compared to your Boston experience most likely, but there are some things to figure out still. I’m sure you have already looked into it some as well.

 

Columbus Marathon is really underrated for this. It’s a great midsize marathon, that is organized and supported really well.

 

Would love to hear about your pre-race experience the morning of the race! I'm sure it will feel more "normal" to me than having to get bused out of town 26 miles for Boston, but it's still a huge event.

 

Do you have your hotel yet or know about where you are going to stay? I ask because being someone that lives here, I had to train downtown, which is not a problem at all, but just some extra time you have to bake into the morning of plan. I assume you will be downtown already and walking over to the start area.

In general, for Chicago, I like to be down there around the time they open things. Corrals and gear check opened at 5:30 this year for a 7:30 race time based on your corral. Getting there early allows me to drop off my bag, stretch, warm up as much as possible, and get bathroom stops in with little stress. You could probably push this out a little bit since you just have to walk over. If you aren't staying walkable to the start/finish let me know because then you would be taking one of the train lines in.

I assume you will be in the A or the American Development corral. Those are great places to start and will make your experience pretty nice. You will have plenty of runners around you, but it won't feel too crowded once you get through the first few miles. I have a map layout of the corrals and gear check that you might find helpful. I'll try and add it later.

Not sure how you approach marathons, but depending on your fueling strategy, I would bring a bottle into the corral with you and start the race with it. It's less of an issue in the first few corrals, but the first couple water stops in downtown can be crowded and tough to get to. Just a lot of people going for stuff at once. If you have a bottle with you can just focus on settling in to your race and not deal with the first few tables. I had Nuun in it and thought it worked really well for me. I just reused a 20oz Gatorade bottle. And then it is easy to discard to the side once you are done with it. I would also plan on bringing throwaway clothes, hat, and gloves depending on the weather at the start while you are standing around. I would also plan to start in the middle of the corral instead of on the right or left side because as the start gets closer people will start throwing the throwaways to the side.

Last but not least, if you are downtown, be on top of food reservations for dinner the night before. That or take a train out of downtown. Your Boston experience will come in handy for that. Same with the expo and throwaways. If you can do the expo before Saturday, you should. I would say from what I have seen at Boston as a spectator and been told about other majors like London, Berlin, and NYC, I feel confident in saying logistically, Chicago is the easiest and most approachable of the majors. A lot of that is bc it is not point to point and you can stay walkable to the start/finish as an out of towner. This assumes those hotels fit your budget. But even if you have to train in it is not a big deal. It is also a great spectating course. If you have people planning to watch and they are willing to use the train they can probably see you 4-6 times on the course. Between the logistics, the course, and the crowd, I think you will enjoy running the Chicago Marathon.

 

This is an awesome rundown, thanks for taking the time to write it all down!

I haven't booked my hotel yet, but will probably look into that this weekend. Staying somewhere close to the start is definitely my plan. I stayed in Cambridge for Boston, which was kind of a pain when it came to getting to and from the expo, the buses, etc. Would rather pay a little more to be close and not have to worry about any of that.

I lived in Naperville for a couple years after college, and I'm a Michigan native, so I've been to Chicago a ton of times over the years. It will be nice to have a little more familiarity with the city.

Having a bottle at the start is probably a good idea for me period. I'm so bad at getting enough water out on the course even in the best circumstances. It's not my favorite thing to carry something, but I think it would do me good in most races.

 

Every other ad on Facebook for me right now is Wolaco running half tights. Anyone here ever heard of them/worn them? I recognize a few of the run influencers they’re using in the ads.

I need to get new tights and shorts and was hoping to find tights with better storage and they look decent for that.

Any recs for something similar?

 

I have not used that brand. The only newer brands that I have really messed with are Tracksmith and Bandit. The latter has good full and half tights from a storage standpoint. Tracksmith not so much, but I still like their products. I also like Brooks for half and full tights for storage.

 

I agree with you on not loving carrying a bottle with me. I make an exception for this race or other crowded distance races.

 

Tracksmith is my go-to running brand, but I don't really go for half tights, so I can't comment there. Their mesh singlets are the only singlets I will wear for longer races, though. Just another level in terms of moisture-wicking and chafe prevention. Every other singlet I've tried just gets saturated with sweat and feels like wet cardboard by the end of a long run.

 

I’ve been wearing the Brooks Glycerin Max for a little over a week and wow am I impressed with these! It was an adjustment initially, and I had a left foot hot spot for the first few runs. I resisted the trend of increased cushioning for so long and now these have definitely caused me to rethink my concepts on shoes. My feet feel so much less soreness all around and I fell much less fatigued on longer (5 plus) runs. The only negative is the lack of agility on trails/dirt, feels like an easy opportunity for an ankle roll. I guess the initial color way is another negative haha! If anyone was considering these, I would go for it!

 

Hit 3,000 miles on the year yesterday. Third year in the row of 3,000+. Anyone else chasing down some cool mileage goals for 2024?