2017 Akron marathon - Marathon & Relay
Last year I ran the half marathon at Akron marathon. At that time, I just moved to OH for about 2 months and did not know many runners. I also never ran any marathon and was still training for my first marathon at Run with Scissors. I had a good time running the half marathon as the course took us through different parts of Akron and it was a good way to get to know the city.
About a couple of weeks after I finished the half marathon, I registered to run the full marathon at Akron this year. I heard from many people who ran the full that the fun part was the back half as the runners run through neighborhood block parties. A couple of days before the race, the race organizer sent out emails warning about the heat as it would get really hot on the race day (approx. 80-90F). I was not quite worried about it because Pro Football HOF marathon was also very hot!
This year I ran both the marathon and the relay. I signed up for the marathon last year but I talked to the dean and told him I would form a relay team to represent the College and I did. I found 3 other professors and an alum to join the team to represent the college. It was my first relay team run.
On Friday Sep 22, we went to pick up the packets together and took pictures. In the past, I'd only been to the packet pickup alone. Meeting up with other people and picking up the packets together was a new experience.
I came home. Had dinner (ritual meal: spaghetti anchovie made by hubby) and prepared the gears. Here is flat Sydney.
Overall, I like the organization of the race. I like that the course goes through different neighborhoods in Akron. I also work at U of Akron so running the local race means a lot to me (I also ran Eau Claire marathon races while I was in Eau Claire, WI). I will definitely sign up for the next year Akron marathon :)
About a couple of weeks after I finished the half marathon, I registered to run the full marathon at Akron this year. I heard from many people who ran the full that the fun part was the back half as the runners run through neighborhood block parties. A couple of days before the race, the race organizer sent out emails warning about the heat as it would get really hot on the race day (approx. 80-90F). I was not quite worried about it because Pro Football HOF marathon was also very hot!
This year I ran both the marathon and the relay. I signed up for the marathon last year but I talked to the dean and told him I would form a relay team to represent the College and I did. I found 3 other professors and an alum to join the team to represent the college. It was my first relay team run.
On Friday Sep 22, we went to pick up the packets together and took pictures. In the past, I'd only been to the packet pickup alone. Meeting up with other people and picking up the packets together was a new experience.
I came home. Had dinner (ritual meal: spaghetti anchovie made by hubby) and prepared the gears. Here is flat Sydney.
On the race morning, my teammate and I drove to the race together as we only live 5 minutes from each other. We left around 5.15am because we were afraid of traffic. Got to Akron about 5.45. Went to the restroom and walked around. I went to take a group photo with Medina County Road Runners at 6.30am.
Because I ran both the marathon and the relay, I was the first leg of the relay. We started at 7am. I told myself I would take it slow the first 5 miles to see how I felt. This was actually a "training run" for me for the double marathon at Run with Scissors in October. I knew I was going to run 10-12 miles the next day and did not want to hurt myself before then.
The first 5 miles flew by. The weather was not bad. Still cool and runnable. In my opinion, the first leg (6 miles) was pretty boring. We ran through the Y bridge, which was pretty long and seemed endless. I tried to keep my pace at 11 min/mile.
After crossing the Y bridge back to Akron, I passed the slap bracelet to Leg 2 person and kept running with her the whole time until she passed the bracelet to the 3rd-leg person. At that point, I'd reached Mile 12 of the race and the weather started to get warm.
I walked up the majority part of Market street hill until I turned right on Portage Trail and entered the nice neighborhood. The weather was really hot at that point that I had to use he cooling towel that I bought specifically for this race.
Mile 18-22 sucked. It was very hot and some parts were rolling hills. I walked most of it with friends that I met on the course. After we passed the party block and went up Garmen street, I started to feel better. I ran/walked down Market street to the finish line.
My time was not great but I was 6 minutes faster than the last road marathon (HOF marathon). Considering this was a kinda harder course, cutting 6 mins off the marathon time was considered a success for me :)
Below is the picture of me "sprinting" to the finish line with a big smile.
I finished in 5 hours and 24 mins. Went straight to the pizza and beer tents. It's too bad that the relay team chips were not recorded :( so we did not know what our total time was. I will have to contact the race organizer to find out what happened.
Overall, I like the organization of the race. I like that the course goes through different neighborhoods in Akron. I also work at U of Akron so running the local race means a lot to me (I also ran Eau Claire marathon races while I was in Eau Claire, WI). I will definitely sign up for the next year Akron marathon :)
Comments
Post a Comment