Race Recap and Review: Couer d'Alene Marathon, May 29, 2011, Marathon State #1 - Idaho

My first marathon was May 29, 2011, at Couer d'Alene, Idaho, at, appropriately enough, the Couer d'Alene Marathon.  This was long before I had the goal of running a marathon in every state. In fact,  at the time I finished, I told everyone I ran two marathons that day - my first and my last.

The goal for this marathon was to simply finish. However, I scored my best finish time of my first five marathons, coming in at 5:12:21.

Packet pick-up/Expo: Grade C+: The venue was an unoccupied shop space in the Featherstone development, so it was not terribly big.  I don't recall many vendors as there wasn't a lot of room for them. There were some other festivities going on in the development for Memorial Day Weekend, including a bounce house for the kids, but the downside of that was that it made for a crowd when trying to get in to grab shirts and packets.

Nice hat!

Shirt/Swag: Grade: B.  The shirt was a standard tech shirt with long sleeves. Just a small logo and a few sponsors on the back. They also presented me with a brimless finisher's hat at the finish line.  If I lived in CdA or back in Wisconsin it would be a nice hat for winter running. I don't have a lot of use for it where I live now, though, other than as a hat to wear in the morning when I am camping.

Starting line: Grade: C+.  The half marathoners started later than the marathoners so they let us cut in line to use the portable toilets. Had they not done that there may have been issues.
Otherwise the starting area was pretty standard for a smallish race. They had music blaring and the race director DJing, I assume annoying the people living in the condos above on Memorial Day Weekend
Sunday.


Support:  Grade B-.  Standard stops with water, generic sports drink, and occasionally Gu.  I remember being very thirsty in the home stretch, so they probably could have used one or two more stations on the route.  To be fair, when I was running this course every step I took after Mile 20 was the farthest that I had ever run, so it might have been my inexperience in staying hydrated in marathon distances that was to blame.

Lake CdA

Course: Grade: A. Here's where the CdA shines (or at least did*).  Couer d'Alene is one of the most naturally beautiful cities in America and when utilizing the Centennial Trail - the beneficiary of the race - which runs along Lake Couer d'Alene it should be hard to screw up a course.

I-90 passing over the course

Buffalo Amongst the Gazelles

(*I note they have changed the course for 2014 to be two laps of the half marathon course, so I guess they figured out a way to screw it up after all. I would not have selected this race had that been the course configuration in 2011. The benefit is that they eliminated the one pretty big hill that was on the course when I ran it.)


Medal: Grade C-. I like the outline of the State of Idaho with CdA starred, but other than that it is pretty slim. No date - that is left to the ribbon - no color.

Finish Area: Grade: B-. The race finished and started in the same place as the Expo, with the same crowding problems. Though by the time us stragglers finished the marathon crowd had thinned.  They had fruit, water, a medal, and hat for me, so I can't complain.  The kids went to the bounce house while I wound down.

 Miscellaneous observations: 

• At about mile 22 we ran past a cemetery. I spotted a freshly dug open grave and thought about jumping in. 

Overall Grade:B+.  The beautiful course was the main attraction here, and that was enough to overcome some of the more "laid back" attitude of the organizers.  I'm glad I picked a destination race as my first marathon because it made the whole experience a little more special than it would have been if I would have just driven to Tacoma for a marathon.

Race Recap and Review: Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon, June 23, 2012, Marathon State #2 - Washington

I ran the Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon on June 23, 2012.

My goal on this one was simple: Finish. After my first marathon I swore I'd never run another one. But here I was, running my second one, but didn't feel nearly as prepared as I did for the first one.  I think there was a 6 hour time limit, but they certified me as a finisher at 6:15:44.

Packet pick-up/Expo: Grade B.
The Expo is the standard for for-profit races: Big, sprawling, but efficient.  Every runner has to come and pick up their own packet, no exceptions. This guarantees traffic for their vendors which lets them pump up the fee for exhibiting.  I wouldn't patronize the vendors because I was irritated I had to make a special trip to Seattle to grab my packet. It won't be an issue for me when I run the half in 2014 because I work in Seattle again.
That said I was able to get in, grab my stuff, get out.

Shirt/Swag: Grade: B+. 
Standard shirt. Nice gear check bag. Coupon for free McDonald's oatmeal. Good enough.

 Starting line: Grade: B+.

31 - My kind of corral!

There were a lot of people at the start and everyone was sorted into mandatory corrals. I always have mixed feelings about corrals, but based on the last time I ran the Seattle marathon and was irritated with the start in the same area, I like the corrals here.
There were enough portable toilets, which is always the first thing I look for in a starting line.


Support:  Grade B+.
Competitor has this figured out by
now and there were a sufficient number of aid stations. I seem to recall actual Gatorade rather than knock off stuff. The gold standard for support though is having Vaseline available, which they did not have.

Awesome-O?

One of the many bands on the course.

The bands are an interesting idea, but you can hear them for about a minute as you approach and run by.

Course: Grade: B+.
The 2012 race was the first year the R'n'R course became extremely similar to the Seattle Marathon course. In fact, the reason I decided to run this course is that they changed it to incorporate the I-90 floating bridge. I wanted to run that bridge, but did not want to do it in November during the Seattle Marathon because of the risk of wind and rain. Ironically, there was plenty of hard rain while I was crossing the bridge and on the Alaskan Way viaduct.
It is a nice course through downtown, the International District, around Seward Park, the I-90 Bridge, and the top level of the Alaskan Way Viaduct.
If you want to see it you can watch the course tour here.

Starting across Lake Washington on I-90.

Medal: Grade B.
It is a hefty medal.  The R'n'R series is not cheap, but they don't skimp on the medal. It is pretty, but not in my favorite 10% of my finisher's medals.



Finish Area: Grade:?I can't grade this, but it is because I am slow. Things were packing up when I finished. They had a medal for me, and I think they had some food left.  The UPS truck where I checked my gear was about ready to head out, which would have been a disaster for me, since my wallet was in the bag. My fellow runners seemed to have had a good time in the finish area, though.



Miscellaneous observations: 

• This run was the first one that I encountered where automatic texts could be sent to friends and family as you passed timing gates.  I set them up so my wife, who was home with the kids, knew I was still moving and not dead. They worked fine. 

• After I retrieved my gear, I looked at my watch and realized I could make the next ferry if I made the mile and a half run. I did, so I always jokingly refer to this run as my first ultra-marathon.

Overall Grade:B.  
If you do a lot of marathons or half marathons I'm sure you've heard plenty about the Rock 'n' Roll series. The event was competent, but has a definite corporate feel to it. I don't necessarily mean that in a bad way, but it isn't for everyone. Note I'm giving the event an overall grade less than the average of all of the parts.  That's not an accident.