First Inaugural ING Marathon - Atlanta, GA

Race Day:
3/25/2007

Weather:
With a high of 85 degrees, the heat was literally record breaking in Atlanta on race day. However, the race directors were smart in starting the race at 7a.m. and kept us out of the sun for a reasonable amount of time. With luck, future race days will have the advantage of cooler temperatures.

Also, look out if you have allergies. The pollen count was about 2300. Every car on the road was covered in a thick layer of yellow dust. Take your claritin!

Course:
This was without a doubt the most difficult course I've attempted. A loop course with many rolling hills made this race quite a challenge. While the suburbs of Atlanta are naturally hilly, the directors have to put some serious thought into remapping the course.

Beyond the actual mapping of the course, I'd say there are three things that you have to look at when evaluating a race: Start, Finish, and Aid Stations. Atlanta started on time and early enough to beat the heat. The finish line was not congested and i was actually very impressed with the efficiency of moving runneres through the gauntlet of chip collection, medal, and carbs. The race directors did an excellent job. However, the aid stations are where they lost me.

Problem #1 - The aid stations were far too small, particularly in the areas of the course where the marathoners and half marathoners ran togethor. They need larger tables and more volunteers. Having to come to a dead stop to get a mouth full of water is completely unacceptable.

Problem #2 - How do you run out of poweraide at everystation?? I ended up getting one cup of very dilluted poweraide around mile 13. Other than that, it was nonexistant on the course. Not having a sports drink on the course is a good way to send a lot of your participants to the ER. Next year they better stock up!

Experience:
There's nothing like staying with family when traveling for a marathon. Beyond the free room and board ... there is just something more relaxing about not having to deal with a hotel. While the course did not lend itself to setting a PR, I was happy to show Atlanta how DC does the marathon.

Conclusion:
All in all, this was a good marathon. I was impressed with how they did considering it was the first year. While there are a lot of bugs to work out, I can see this being a very successful and popular marathon in the coming years. Atlanta is a running town and its about time they got into the marathon business. If you're itching to go to Atlanta or are a local and can do it on the cheap ... go for it! Otherwise, maybe give them a couple of years to work out the bugs.

Final Grade: C+

Ocean Drive Marathon - Cape May, NJ

Race Day:
3/25/2007

Weather:
Windy and Chilly! When we woke up in the morning the weather was pleasant; mid-40’s and sunny. I guess that doesn’t mean much at the Jersey shore, because where it was pleasant for us near the finish is was very windy on the rest of the course. Overall we trudged through a steady 20 mph headwind throughout almost the entire course, with serious gusts over all the inter-island bridges. But, with a 9:00 a.m. start, the organizers made the best of it. Not much the officials could do with the weather except (as Dave suggested) reverse the route as determined by the weather.

Course:
Outside of the weather, this was a perfect point to point. The course ran from historic Cape May, NJ, north to Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, Avalon, Stone Harbor, and then to Sea Isle City, a.k.a. Paradise (where I’ve most of the summers of my life). For most of the race we traveled on the closest road to the beach, except through Wildwood and Sea Isle City, where there was a boardwalk.

The scenery was great and I would have appreciated it more, had the wind not taken up most of my concentration.

Overall the course was flat with the exception of the inter-island bridges, but they weren’t all that bad. The roads were good, however be prepared for sever crowning. I tried to run on the sidewalks or the far edge of the road to save my knees.

All the towns we traveled are summer beach towns so there aren’t a lot of people down there in March. However, for 600 runners the crowd support was good. After all Dave and I came equipped with our own mobile cheering squad. So all was good! Medal:Medals are good… After all that wind, I’ve never wanted to feel a medal around my neck so badly. Personal

Experience:
Dave is running Boston in three weeks, so this was a training run for him, therefore I was happy to reign it in and block the wind for him. Dave and I crossed the finish line in 3:41, but it was special because we did it together! Not to mention the family was there at the finish to congratulate us!

Conclusion:
Switch the direction of the course with the weather and I might be back. Otherwise, I’m very happy I did this race for reasons of personal significance, but I have no desire to suffer like that again.

Final Grade: B

L.A. Marathon - Los Angeles, CA

Race Day:
3/4/2007

Weather:
Hot, hot, hot! Wow, 80+ degrees can take a lot out of you when you're used to training on a treadmill. While the weather can't be controlled, the start time of the race could have easily been changed. An 8:15 start time is simply unacceptable in the heat of L.A. Let's start a little earlier next year, please ...

Course:
Devine was heralding this course as significantly faster than previous years and the extreme down hill over the first 8 or so miles would lead me to believe them. However, the fact that many elite runners were banning the race in protest of Devine not paying out last year's prize $$ in a timely fashion, slowed down the average time quite a bit. Don't be fooled by the average times ... this course is fast (assuming you are prepared for the heat).

As for scenery, I would have preferred a run through Beverly Hills but I guess Mr. Hefner doesnt want my Cliff Shots and banana peels in his front yard.

The crowd support was excellent. The Fire Dept. was happy to hose you down if the heat had gotten unbearable at several points on the course but was also courteous enough to leave room for those of us that prefer not to run with soaking we shoes weighing us down.

Medal:
No complaints here ... its hanging proudly on my wall.

Personal Experience:
I held myself back and ran a 4:31 in L.A. Not my best, but not my worst either. This trip taught me that you shouldn't be so stingy with your leave. The "red-eye" on Sunday + Working on Monday = A pissed off Tommy!

Conclusion:
Find a way to loop through Beverly Hills and start a little earlier ... I'll be back. But, I damn well wont be taking the "red-eye" again!

Final Grade: B