Are you one of the 3,000-plus runners who are going to be chugging 26.2 miles on Sunday in the inaugural Sony Ericsson City of Oaks Marathon or the Rex Healthcare half-marathon through the streets of Ralegh? We'd like for you to tell us what you are doing to prepare for this event and also tell us afterwards what it was like? Also, we'd like you to post your pictures here on Triangle.com if you have a friend snapping you as you pound the pavement.
I beat my goal time, and had a great time. I kind of hit the cramping wall about mile 10, but plowed on through it. Great event, great support! My wife raced as well, and beat her goal time, and we celebrated with a Red Oak toast.
Been a tough summer for training with the heat, but will be interesting to see how the race transpires on a cool morning. After picking up my packet yesterday, there is a lot of excitement. I worry about the 'toughness' of the course for the average runner, but we shall see.
Here's a few pictures of the members of the St. Timothy's Titans Cross Country team pitching in at the mile 16 refreshment stop:
http://www.structuredmethods.com/marathon/index.html
What a great marathon it was! Organization and course was excellent. Volunteers were in full force, cheering us on along with doing their jobs. The citizens of Raleigh, many of whom obviously knew certain runners, nevertheless cheered for all the runners along the way. Their encouragement and support was an important part of making this new marathon an unforgettable experience. I'm thankful to the race committee and all the smiling faces lining the route. This was my first, but my stepdaughter has run a number of marathons and Iron Mans. She said this was definitely the best marathon she has participated in.
I've done a couple of marathons and Raleigh was great.The scenery, the weather, and the people have been wonderful.This has been a memorable experience.Hopefully this race will be available next year.
I blew my knee in a race a few years ago, so I experienced the marathon as a volunteer. I applaud the leadership for taking a gutsy move to revive the Marathon. Other than the typical heavy traffic, I think it was a great event! Good job! And Mayor Meeker finished respectively, so congrats to him and all the other runners/walkers. I hope we see an article on Iris, the infamous 80+ year-old N&O writer/marathoner.
The City of Oaks was my first Marathon as well as my first race of any length. I've lived in Raleigh a year now. I've been training for a good bit of it around Lake Johnson and around the city. Today I ran and finished the race with a time much faster than I had expected. It's such a great course to run, and its right here in Raleigh! I will look forward to 2008.
Great marathon today (my 4th)...well run and we were lucky to have great weather. But man were the hills (especially on the second half) tough. The hills getting to Umstead were tough but bearable, the hills in Umstead hurt...and then to have to tackle Ebenezer Church after that was just torture. I thought someday I would like to try and qualify for Boston...today's race has removed that desire. Organizers did a great job...I will try and improve my time next year now that I have a better understanding of what I am in for...
The City of Oaks organizers did a fabulous job! This was my second half-marathon and fourth race. I survived the Army Ten-Miler and was a little apprehensive about yesterday's run, considering how many water stations ended up running out in DC. I'm happy to report there was plenty of water and sports drinks, and especially pleased that there were enough refreshments and water at the finish line. In spite of the hills – oh, those hills were brutal – I had a great time. Great job, and thanks!
My first half-marathon
I've done 2 standalone 5k races, 6 5k races as part of sprint triathlons, 2 10k races as part of Olympic-distance triathlons, but this is my longest road race. I've been following a 14-week Runner's World plan with between 4 and 5 run days/week, with a maximum of 36 miles in my longest week. I had an injured/inflamed IT band at week 8, during which I did not run. Rest, ice, compression, and elevation (plus a foam roller) helped me through that. I pre-ran the course on 10/28, my longest single run, and feel confident that I can achieve my stretch goal on race day.
We'll see how I do! Will report back Monday.