Run to Win

This weekend saw the first running of the Cox Sports Marathon in Providence, Rhode Island, along with the Willow Tree Half Marathon and the New Balance 5k.

The weather might have made for a slightly tough 5k, but it was ideal for long races such as the half marathon and the marathon. The average temperature was in the low 50s with a high of 54°_F (at least by noon.) The race got off to a wet start with a gentle drizzle that turned into a mist early in the race.

The temperature noticeably warmed up once the precipitation stopped, but the sky remained overcast and a slight breeze throughout most of the race kept the runners from getting too over heated.

Being the inaugural running of the race, all of the winners of all three races were guaranteed course records. After the race, one of the race promoters asked me to email her some suggestions on how they can improve the races next year, so I am going to intersperse my suggestions along with this race report in the hopes that it can help out another race director that is trying to get a new race going.

The Expo

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I now own a marathon course record.

Well, it has been a very busy day as I prepare to head down to Providence this weekend for the Cox Rhode Island Marathon. I ran an easy 2 and a half miles at lunch time to stretch the legs out, and despite my best efforts to leave work 15 or 20 minutes early I was in a groove and wanted to finish the project I was working on so I left 15 minutes late. (This is not unusual, unfortunately.)

My plans for the weekend originally called for staying with a friend and his brother down in the area. My friend decided to buy a house today, though, so he didn’t really want to go down. Not a problem, because I had another friend that was running the marathon and I was going to split a hotel room with him. Unfortunately, he got injured. So I was back to staying with the original friend’s brother, but he is now going to be out of town this weekend. I found that out tonight, so I got a hold of my injured friend and he canceled the hotel room this morning. It made for an interesting start to my evening. I did sort out my hotel arrangements eventually, though, and I’ll be staying at the original hotel after all. Hopefully I can still take advantage of the 3:00 checkout time.

If anybody is going to be in Providence this weekend and wants to try to meet up, send me an email or leave a comment on this article. I will try to check it before I leave tomorrow morning, and will probably check it tomorrow afternoon or evening after I get to the hotel.

I do not have an overly specific race plan for this weekend. My original range of goals involved an 8 minute span, but since one of my teammates did so well in the Olympic Trials that I now have about a 2 minute goal span. I am going to aim for running at around 6:00 to 6:10 pace and hoping that if I do wind up blowing up in the latter stages of the race that I at least run a PR. That shouldn’t be too tough, and if everything breaks well for me then I’ll make my goals.

As you can see from the elevation profile, there’s a few good climbers but the course never gets over 150 feet above sea level. I’m hoping that my winter hill running through the snow will make this seem like a flat enough course with just enough variation to keep my muscles from getting overworked.

I had a couple of good weeks at about 60 miles since I ran ING Georgia, but my cold came back in the past week and I have been fighting off my cough. It is mostly gone now and I don’t expect it to be a factor during the race, but it did cause me to taper a little more than I would have liked to have before this race. Better to be a little undertrained than at all overtrained, though, so let’s hope I feel nice and rested come Sunday. There have been plenty of phantom and taper pains over the past week or so, but I don’t expect any trouble from my legs on Sunday.

Wish me luck!

Rhode Island now offers two marathons with the addition of the Cox Sports Marathon in Providence. It is one of 3 races that make up the Rhode Races running festival. A half marathon will start out with the marathon, and at a separate location there will be a 5k. The race will be on May 4^th, 2008.

The course begins at Johnson & Wales and goes through East Providence, Pawtucket and downtown Providence. Charlie Breagy will be directing the race, and Eident Sports Marketing will be promoting it.

I was considering running the Breaker’s Marathon this Autumn, but now I need to consider the possibility of getting Rhode Island out of the way this Spring. I am already registered for the ING Georgia Marathon 5 weeks earlier, so I will not have to worry about being in shape for the race. It would also save on having to drive as far. Whether I decide to run or not, the Breaker’s web folks need to update their website. It is no longer “Rhode Island’s only marathon!”