Being the first year for the Canton Marathon I figured it is my duty as a runner and a blogger to write a review. I really enjoyed the event, but there was definitely room for improvement.
The Good: The community seemed to embrace this event and it showed. There was a lot of coverage in the local newspapers and magazines leading up to the race which made the build up very exciting. The spectators were not as plentiful as in bigger races but I was surprised at how many came out given the size of the race. What was lacking in quantity of spectators was made up in quality. The spectators were awesome! They even offered fruit, candy, cooling stations and a "last chance" bar. My favorite spectators were the nuns at the monastery near Malone College.
I was also partial to the spectators at miles 12, 18, 20, 21 and 24 (my family and friends). I have to give a shout out to my nieces and nephews that ran with me and made me feel like a rockstar and my cousin that dressed in a banana suit. I love you all so much! Thanks for the support!
The volunteers were great too. They were ready with water and Gatorade and a smiling face. A big thanks to all that volunteered! There was water or Gatorade at every mile which was great for a June race.
Even the police officers directing traffic offered support as we ran by. The community really came together to welcome all the runners and cheer us on through a difficult course.
The finish line was on the fifty yard line of Fawcett Stadium. As we approached the finish line they announced our names and where we were from. That was a nice touch!
The Bad: The course was surprisingly hilly for an Ohio race. I thought I had trained on hills to prepare but central Ohio does not have the caliber of hills that we faced in this race. The first hill was not as bad as I thought it would be, as it was a gradual incline over five miles. In my opinion. The worst hills were at mile 13 and 25. But it felt like non-stop hill climbing throughout the whole race, when I got to the bottom of one there was another one waiting just ahead.
The course was not completely closed to traffic which can be a little stressful for runners. I had one near miss and another scare during the race. In my opinion the course should have been on less travelled roads that Stark County could easily close to traffic until the end of the race.
The Ugly: Road kill on a marathon course is unacceptable. The Canton marathon course had several along the route. I am a super slow runner and therefore I was not crowded on the course. This made it easy for me to spot and avoid the road kill, but I can imagine some faster runners were not so lucky. At mile 23 I was sure that I was going to join the several rotting carcasses on the road. Luckily, I made
it to the finish!
In the beer tent I mentioned the road kill to a couple race coordinators and they said that they couldn't help it that the city didn't do it's job. My suggestion...have someone with a pick up truck, a spot light and a shovel drive the course early in the morning on race day. I'll say it again...road kill on the course is unacceptable.
Overall: An awesome inaugural event. I was happy that I ran this race and I will be back!
Friday, June 22, 2012
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Let's Be Honest
If I'm being honest, and I promised myself I would be honest in this blog, I must admit that I've been lazy. Both in my running and my writing. During the last month or so I've avoided Don't Hit the Wall because I've also been avoiding training and I couldn't justify writing about running if I wasn't actually running.
Why wasn't I running? Good question.
I think there are a couple reasons why I started to slack. I was burned out from the training for Nashville and disappointed in my performance at that race. I also started to feel overwhelmed with anxiety and depression and I began to use how I felt as a crutch for what I did (or in this case didn't do). I felt like I wasn't strong enough or worthy enough to accomplish what I had set out to do. And I was terrified at the idea that even though I intended to honor my father's memory I could fail. I didn't handle any of this very well.
Despite my issues, I still had a race to run on June 17th in Canton. I realized I was in trouble a couple weeks back but rather than working hard, I started trying to gain approval from others for not running the race at all. Apparently, my support system is just too supportive. Time and time again I was told "You can do this Laura!", "Your Dad would be so proud.", "Just take it easy. You'll be fine."
Three days before the race, the race director sent an email offering free deferrals and changes to the half marathon. I thought I had found my reprieve. But when it came time to choose my race I stuck with the marathon, despite my concerns. This race meant too much to me to bail out at the last minute. I knew I was in for a rough day.
The race was extremely difficult. My lack of training started to rear its ugly head at mile 15 and was exaggerated by the seemingly non-stop hill climbing. When I first decided to run this race in January I was certain that the significance of the day would overwhelm me with emotion at the finish line. In reality, I was so exhausted that I only felt relief as I crossed the finish line with my worst finish time to date.
Over the last few days I've been reflecting on the experience and what my Dad would have thought of it all. He probably would have given me a hard time about my lazy training and he would have had no sympathy for my lame finish time. He would have said that if I wanted to do better I needed to work harder. And he would have been right. But he would have been proud that I finished. Running a marathon is hard, no matter how much you train and he would acknowledge that.
I still miss my Dad desperately and I'm glad I have running to keep his memory alive in my daily life.
I've learned my lesson and I promise to work harder!
Why wasn't I running? Good question.
I think there are a couple reasons why I started to slack. I was burned out from the training for Nashville and disappointed in my performance at that race. I also started to feel overwhelmed with anxiety and depression and I began to use how I felt as a crutch for what I did (or in this case didn't do). I felt like I wasn't strong enough or worthy enough to accomplish what I had set out to do. And I was terrified at the idea that even though I intended to honor my father's memory I could fail. I didn't handle any of this very well.
Despite my issues, I still had a race to run on June 17th in Canton. I realized I was in trouble a couple weeks back but rather than working hard, I started trying to gain approval from others for not running the race at all. Apparently, my support system is just too supportive. Time and time again I was told "You can do this Laura!", "Your Dad would be so proud.", "Just take it easy. You'll be fine."
Three days before the race, the race director sent an email offering free deferrals and changes to the half marathon. I thought I had found my reprieve. But when it came time to choose my race I stuck with the marathon, despite my concerns. This race meant too much to me to bail out at the last minute. I knew I was in for a rough day.
The race was extremely difficult. My lack of training started to rear its ugly head at mile 15 and was exaggerated by the seemingly non-stop hill climbing. When I first decided to run this race in January I was certain that the significance of the day would overwhelm me with emotion at the finish line. In reality, I was so exhausted that I only felt relief as I crossed the finish line with my worst finish time to date.
Over the last few days I've been reflecting on the experience and what my Dad would have thought of it all. He probably would have given me a hard time about my lazy training and he would have had no sympathy for my lame finish time. He would have said that if I wanted to do better I needed to work harder. And he would have been right. But he would have been proud that I finished. Running a marathon is hard, no matter how much you train and he would acknowledge that.
I still miss my Dad desperately and I'm glad I have running to keep his memory alive in my daily life.
I've learned my lesson and I promise to work harder!
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