Anyone do Marine Corp Marathon yesterday!?
It was my first race and I had a blast! Definitely a great course and was thankful the weather didn’t seem to get too bad until later in the day! The first 5 miles were a bit brutal with the uphill and the crowds but after that everyone seemed to thin out and it was super pleasant (barring the last 0.2 mile straight uphill).
This was a fascinating look at what people did at the finish line of the MCM. A bit of a r/running x r/dataisbeautiful crossover article.
Such a cool perspective, looking at humanity with so many of their barriers broken and in a moment of triumph!
I paced my Vietnam era Marine vet dad and he managed to get third in his age group! He lives in Costa Rica so the temperature/humidity was no issue for him. I’m so glad we made it before the early closures and feel bad for those who didn’t. All around it was an awesome time.
It was my first marathon too. Goal was 3:30. Started cramping on the bridge and ended up walking/jogging the last 4-5 miles. 3:38 finish.
Third marathon but 1st MCM! Absolutely loved the course and had so much fun running through the city despite the humidity being brutal. Training was great up until the last 4 weeks so I figured my sub 4 goal would be a huge stretch especially with the hills and weather. But the crowd support and Marines somehow got me through with negative splits and 3:58 finish (40min PR!). Huge huge shoutout to everyone who was on the course cheering on the runners and especially the Marines at the last water stop - I honestly don’t think I would’ve finished strong and broke 4 without them//their energy.
I will say the past 48 hours have been brutal but totally worth it for such a great race. Can’t wait to bring some friends to run again hopefully soon!!
(Posted part of this in another thread)
This was my first marathon. The start and finish were absolutely brutal.
I had self-reported a 10min pace or so when I signed up so I got put in the last wave of runners. But my speeds improved mightily during training so by race day I was shooting for a 9min/4hr time.
I should have just snuck to the front since it was totally unenforced. I passed the 4:15 pacer at 7 miles and didn’t stop weaving through people until about 12 miles.
I hit a bit of a wall turning onto the mall but powered through. Ended up with an official time of 4:05 and a GPS 26.2 time of 3:58 which I totally believe.
But I believe my app not just because it got me to sub-4, but also because my track in the app was dead accurate, I did so much weaving, and took the long way around almost every corner just because there were fewer people on the outside of each turn.
And only the few, the proud, the Marines would make the last 0.2 miles of a marathon go straight uphill.
Anyway, this was my first marathon and I’m overall happy with the result. My goal is to repeat next year with an official sub-4 time.
It was my first as well! The hills were unexpected but manageable but that humidity was something else. Luckily my friends and I had enough cardio fitness to really not be winded through most of the race, and we kept it rather slow since it was our first. My buddy also stepped on an applesauce packet and a brown gel packet, both of which exploded all over me and was fun trying to wash off at water stations while jogging 🙄
The foot pain today though, my god…
I loved it. I was fine with the hills and heat, I did better than my Chicago finish three weeks ago.
I loved the variety of nutrition on the course - Applesauce, sport beans, clif blocks, and untapped - not a single gel!!
I think the course needed more frequently water and portapotties, especially at the beginning.
But the shirt… so damn ugly. And only men’s sizes. I’m so tired of women being left out of the race shirt situation. This one was straight to landfill :(
Definitely needed more water stations especially with the high humidity. I’ve run multiple world majors and was told this race was on par with them. In my opinion, this race was definitely not.
Considering the location and target audience of this race, I was shocked that non-runners were allowed in the runner village and the security was kind of lax.
There should have been a bigger gap between the bikes and runner waves. Also, there should be some time gaps between the corrals to help spread the runners out.
The electrolytes were pretty watered down which seems kind of useless in high heat/humidity.
I raced the 10k and set a PR at 41:xx and then jogged the middle 10ish miles of the marathon with my girlfriend and her friend, who knocked down a very respectable 3:35:xx on very limited train (due to an injury-ridden cycle). Awesome day, great crowds, and a wonderful time despite the somewhat brutal weather towards the end.