Hartford/Newport Marathon Double - 11/12 October 2014 - First Sub 4 Double

Hartford CT - 11 Oct 14
3:54:45 Watch and 3:55:28 Gun
841/2419 Overall and 100/215 M40-44
Ninth 26.2 of 2014 and 20th Career 26.2
11th US State

Newport RI - 12 Oct 14
3:58:08 Chip and 3:58:28 Gun
241/791 Overall and 52/131 M40-49
Tenth 26.2 of 2014 and 21st Career 26.2
12th US State

Early in 2014 while perusing the Marathon Maniacs calendar I had noticed the Hartford CT and Newport RI marathons lent themselves to a very convenient double on the October long weekend.  I signed up. 

Race Plan.  Based on my less than stellar performance at the Lehigh Valley Marathon and even uglier job at That Dam Hill 12Hr on 20 Sep 14, I recognized that I needed to scale back my expectations.  My goal for both races was simple, run 9:00/miles and hopefully escape out of the weekend with my desired sub 4 hour double but I knew in particular that was going to be challenge on Day 2 in Newport RI.


All set for Hartford and Day 1

Race Day Hartford - 11 Oct 14.  Race morning in Hartford was cool (49F) with light rain throughout the entire race.  After meeting up for the Maniac photo it was time for the start by the State Capitol.  With the exception of top-tier runners, the race was not corralled and the first mile congested.  Luckily the half-marathon course split from the full course after the first mile.  After a couple of miles in downtown Hartford, the course than ran along the Connecticut River for a few miles before crossing into East Hartford.  I had got off to a good start but lost a few minutes for a bathroom break around mile 4.  I pushed hard for the next three miles to get back on pace, catching back up with the 3:55 pace group (running 9:00/mile) at mile 8.  I also ran into Kim Burke, a friend from the Annapolis Striders, running the race as part of her preparations for the JFK 50 Mile in November.  Since Kim and I were both targeting a 9:00/mile pace we ran the rest of the race together.  The course continued through a more suburban area of East Hartford a long out & back section to South Windsor CT with a few small gentle rolling rises.  The course atmosphere was quite good through this section particularly given the ongoing light rain.  The course returned into East Hartford around the 23 mile section before crossing back over the Connecticut River to finish in Bushnell Park.  I felt pretty good through whole race, largely keeping my pace under control, although by 24 miles I went from comfortably uncomfortable to just plain uncomfortable. I finished a few seconds ahead of schedule at 3:54:45.  Link to Garmin Connect. 

Running with Kim Burke was the highlight of the race

Hartford Complete

Transition.  After enjoying a quick but cold beer at the finish festival it was time to hurray back to my hotel room in Cromwell CT for a cold plunge and much need hot shower before driving the 90 odd minutes to Newport RI.  Packet pick-up, a nice pasta dinner at my hotel and it was time for bed and the second part of my sub 4 hour double.

Ready for Part 2 in Newport

Race Day Newport - 12 Oct 14.  Morning in Newport arrived cool (46F) but sunny.  The race started from Easton Beach heading into Newport proper.  The start was delayed for about 15 minutes while final preps to get the start line were finished.  I headed out with the 4:00 pace group and generally stayed around the group for the whole race, holding around a 9:00/mile throughout.  The Newport course was definitely more challenging than Hartford with at least double the climbing.  The race started by running in Newport proper along the south edge of the harbour, passing by Fort Adams SP and following the very scenic Ocean Drive around the homes of South Newport.  Garmin Connect. 

Running on Ocean Drive

Congestion was not an issue as the half-marathon started 20 minutes after the full, and the full pack was well spread out before any leaders from the half caught up.  After looping around Ocean Drive, the course returned to Easton Beach at mile 13 before continuing east.

Back into Easton Beach at Mile 13

The course headed out to Sachuest Beach including a short jaunt along Purgatory Rd.  After the out & back section by Sachuest Beach, the course than travelled along the final out & back  toward Black Point which included two solid climbs each way.  I had been running pretty well until the climbs but holding my pace through the climbing section was fairly challenging.  Mile 24 brought the course back to Sachuest beach and the last climb on Purgatory Rd before a gentle downhill to the finish.  The last couple of miles were a little ugly but I was able to roll through the finish line at 3:58:08 and complete the sub 4 hour double for the weekend.  Link to Garmin Connect.

Newport Complete

Sub 4 Hour Double Done

Expo, Start, Finisher Festival, Bling and Travel.  The expo for Hartford was held at the XL Center downtown and it was well organized with a good variety of exhibitors.  The start and finish were near Bushnell Park.  The start line would have benefited with being a little better corralled, although with the half-marathon course splitting off early this reduced race congestion after the first mile.  Hartford had an excellent finishers festival but with the rain leaving many people cold and the ground fairly muddy, there wasn't much of an incentive to stick around.  Parking was Hartford was surprisingly easy if you arrived early, I was able to get a free parking spot only 500 yards from the starting line.  I also attended the race's pasta dinner which was a well done event at the Hartford Club.  The packet pick-up for Newport was held in a pavilion tent at Sachuest Beach which also served as off-site marathon parking.  The packet pick-up was for the marathon seemed to go well but there a big line for the half-marathon.  A few of vendors from the Hartford expo also attended in Newport but the tent was quite crowded.  The Newport start itself was delayed due to the fact the start line was on a road that wasn't closed until about 30 minute prior to the gun.  I did find the self serve lockers at Easton Beach a convenient form of a bag drop.  The finish festival at Easton was a little barebones but had the essentials: water, food and beer.  Bling for Hartford included a long sleeve tech shift, good medal and a water bottle while Newport's shirt was a little bland but the medal was solid.  Newport also provides free race photos (similar to the Blue Ridge Marathon).

Hartford Bling

Newport Bling

The drive down from Toronto to Hartford was about 10 hours, drive Hartford-Newport about 90 minutes and the return trip was around 11 hours of driving.  I stayed in Cromwell just south of Hartford which worked well.  For Newport I ended up staying west of Newport which wasn't ideal given the solid toll on the bridge over the bay.

Final Thoughts.  I achieved my goal of running a sub 4 double and collect my 11 & 12 sub 4 hour states.  The Hartford Marathon was a well run large city marathon although due to the rain it probably wasn't as enjoyable as it could have been.  the course itself is potentially fairly fast.  The Newport Marathon  was much smaller, struggled a little in terms of organization but had a much more scenic (and challenging) course.  Achieving a double on these courses is very achievable with good pace discipline. Now on to a couple weeks of recovery and then serious base building in preparation for a 2015 focussed on running ultra-marathons. 

Lehigh Valley Marathon - 7 September 2014 - Not the Race I Was Looking For

Allentown - Bethlehem - Easton, PA
3:51:35 Chip and 3:52:03 Gun
498/1065 Overall and 48/86 M40-44
Eighth 26.2 of 2014 and 19th career 26.2
Second PA Marathon

Earlier this year when I went looking for a candidate race for a maximum effort at the start of Sepember, the Lehigh Valley Marathon was one of three candidate races based having moved back to the Toronto area over the summer.  I ended up selecting Lehigh Valley as it worked best from geography and a date, not to mention it was not full once I got around to signing up. 

Race Plan.  As I had progressed through my summer training, it became increasingly clear that I was not going to see the improvements I was looking for.  I had not recovered nearly as quickly as I had anticipated from the North Force DC 50 and Hatfield-McCoy as well as losing time over the summer between moving and getting sick for a couple of weeks.  On race morning I decided to push it coming out of the gate and then reassess as the race progressed.

Race Day.  Race morning dawned sunny with temperatures hovering just above 60.  The race started from the Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown PA.

Race Start in Allentown

The start was not corralled and it was fairly congested coming out of the gate.  The race bills itself for its net downhill and almost that comes in a steep hill just after the first mile.  I ran the first few miles strong but it quickly became clear that a BQ (a faint hope to start with) was clearly not in cards and even a PR would be unlikely.  After a couple of aggressive miles I decided to just take what I could get and dropped back to around 8:00/mile pace.  The course ran along roads and paved paths into Allentown.  At the 7 mile point the course crossed the Lehigh River and started to follow the Delaware and Lehigh Canal trail.  The canal trail was well pack gravel and was mostly in decent shape but there was a few muddy spots after rain the night before.  My left calf started to cramp up after about a mile or two on the trail which started to bring my times down toward 9:00/mile.  By the 12 mile point, I decided to stop and try stretching out the calf.  This bought me another few miles of good running.  The midway point of the course made a short out&back loop into Bethlehem PA before continuing on down the D&L trail.  By around the 18 mile point my legs informed me that they were done and I moved into salvage mode for the rest of the race.  At the 20 mile point I hit the only significant climb on the course on a road beside the river.  After the climb the trail was at least paved the rest of the way to the finish.  The last six miles probably averaged around 9:45/mile and I finally crossed the finish line in Easton PA at 3:51:35.  Link to Garmin Connect File.

Last section before crossing the Lehigh River into Easton

Bib Pick-up, Start, Finish, Bling and Travel.  The packet pick-up and expo were held in Bethlehem at the site of the old Bethlehem Steel Pant which was interesting.  Packet pick-up was relatively quick.  There was a small expo of local running shops and Runner's World Magazine (which is from the Lehigh Valley area) which I found rather crowded. 

Bethlehem Steel Plant

The start area was a rather barebones but was well supplied in the porta-pot department.  The finish festival was good, including a free beer, food and massage beside the finish line at the convergence of the Delaware and Lehigh Rivers.  The race provided  school transport back from the finish line to the start for those who had parked at the start.  Race bling include an averageT-Shirt, cinch gab and decent medal. 

I drove to the race from Toronto which was about a 6.5 hour drive.  I stayed in Allentown in order to be close to the start which worked well.

Final Thoughts.  My final result was not at all what I was looking for but it was what I got.  The race itself was fairly well organized but I do think if I was pushing to get a BQ, I would run a race without a gravelled section.  My summer training clearly had not been as effective as I had aimed for and I have to wonder if I made an error in fusing some elements of the Hanson Marathon Method into my program without the recovery and build up time after my June races.

Hatfield McCoy Marathon - 14 June 2014 - No Feuding, Just Challenging Running

Williamson WV
3:49:30 Gun
42/513 Overall and 7/32 M40-44
Sixth 26.2 of 2014 and 17th career 26.2
Tenth US State

West Virginia does not have that many road marathon options and given the number of positive comments about the race I heard from various Marathon Maniacs, it was a natural fit to conclude my spring marathon campaign.  I was looking forward to seeing if the race lived up to the reputation I heard about along with its billing by the Weather Channel as one of their 15 Toughest Marathons.

Race Plan.  I had some struggles in trying to plan for this race as I tried to weight the impact of a likely warm & humid day, potentially difficult course and having run my first 50 mile race the previous weekend.  In the end looking at a promising weather forecast, I decided to push for 3:45, aiming to run the first half in 1:55 and then take advantage of a flatter second half in 1:50. 

Race Day.  Race morning dawned bright and relatively cool but humid.  The Hatfield - McCoy Marathon starts in the parking lot of Food City in Goody KY.  I arrived with plenty of time to spare and spent some time talking with some of the over 175 Marathon Maniacs participating in this years race.  After the traditional Maniac Photo, it was time to get warmed up for the start which was rather loosely organized. 

Over 175 Maniacs Participated this year

It is a relaxed start

With a blast of the McCoy pistol we were off at 7am.  The first two miles were generally flat along US 119 before heading onto KY 319 through the village of Hardy.  I allowed myself to get pulled along with some of the faster starters, heading out a little to aggressively at under an 8:00 minute/mile pace.  The start of the third mile saw the beginning of steady climb that brought my pace back towards a more sustainable 8:30 min/mile with the climb getting progressively steeper as we approached the top of Blackberry Mountain (1270') at 7.5 miles into the race.  The descent of Blackberry Mtn was very steep, dropping close 500' in just over a half mile.  I was able to run that section quite fast but under control without overly trashing my legs.  By the 9 mile point to course had flattened out into a gentle descent parallel with the Blackberry Creek.  I was still running strong around an 8:30 min/mile but I could start to feel the effect of both the climb and the previous week's North Face 50 Mile in my legs.  The Blackberry Mtn section takes runners past many of the sites from the historic Hatfield - McCoy feud in the 19th Century.  I reached the midway point of the race at Matewan, WV at 1:49:30.  This year's Hatfield - McCoy Marathon also offered a variety of half marathon options, including running the first half of the course, the second half of the course, or both halves (double half marathon for 3 medals).  The second half of the course saw us cross back into Kentucky, running River Rd parallel to the Tug River, rolling in elevation by 50' to 75'.  I generally sustaining around 8:30 min/mile until near mile 16 when River Rd transitioned into "River Road needs a few decades of catch-up maintenance" into "River Track".  A thunderstorm on the previous day had left the track with a number of slick muddy sections that brought the pace down.  Near mile 18 the course reached the Tug Valley Country Club and crossed back into West Virginia over the infamous swinging bridge.  The challenge in crossing the bridge was that the runner induced vertical sway of the bridge made controlled running a bit entertaining.  Once over the bridge, the course followed a paved gold cart path for about a half mile before crossing back into Kentucky.  The last miles in Kentucky were a series of steady rolls along River Road before rejoining US 119 at the 25 mile point.  The course was more open through this section and the bright sun and climbing temperatures made this section a challenge.  I found my pace slipping down towards a 9:00 min/mile over these last miles.  The final mile of the course crossed back over the Tug River into Williamson WV, finishing in downtown area.  I met my family with 150 yards to go and my son was able to pace in to the finish at 3:49:30 to be greeted by the Hatfield & McCoy.

Crossing the line

My Map My Run file is linked here. 

Bib Pick-up, Start, Finish, Bling and Travel.  Race pick-up was held just south of Williamson at the Belfry High School.  This year's race pick-up included a 50 States Marathon Club Reunion as well.  The pre-race pasta dinner was in the school's cafeteria and was free to runners.  As mentioned above, the start at Food City in Goody was relaxed.  There was no race day parking at the start but plentiful shuttles were available from downtown Williamson.  The finish in Williamson was excellent and included concerts, BBQ and a street fair as well as a kid's race. 

Are you a McCoy?

Good, You're not a McCoy

Race premiums included a technical T-Shirt and draw bag as well as a good race medal and mason jar trophy. 

The Bling

Travel to Williamson from the Maryland mid-Atlantic was about a seven hour drive.  Flight options into the region are rather limited with the closest airport around 90 minutes away in Charleston or Huntington WV.  Commercial lodging is very limited in the region.  I stayed in Logan WV which was about a 30 minute drive from Williamson.  The race organizers do arrange for cots at both the Williamson and Belfry fire departments which can accommodate around 75 - 100 people. 

Final Thoughts.  I really enjoyed the Hatfield - McCoy Marathon.  This is a very well run event with a huge amount of local community support.  It is also a rather challenging race, although not quite a physically tough as the Blue Ridge Marathon.  With the big climb over Blackberry Mtn and likely warm/humid middle of June weather, this is not an easy race.  You also need to plan your travel arrangements well in advance for the race since accommodation is limited and fills early.  In hindsight, I may have pushed a little too hard in the first half of the race, but I don't think a time  under 3:45 was in the cards for the day.    

End of a great day

Next up, a easy of couple of weeks for recovery and then it will be time begin a hard push for a maximal effort at the Lehigh Valley Marathon on 7 September 2014.