Sunday, May 29, 2016

Black Moshannon 10K Race Report (Philipsburg, PA)


I try to write race reviews for a website named, BibRave.com, but I never include anything particular about how my race actually went.  I figure people that don't know me don't really care.

All in all, this was a tough, challenging race.

I finished in 1:16:01.32.  Ouch!

Mile 1 -- 10:41.82
Mile 2 -- 12:56.19  (This had an incline that could have been part of the Blue Ridge Half Marathon a month earlier in Roanoke)
Mile 3 -- 13:50.13
Mile 4 -- 13:37.62
Mile 5 -- 11:22.92 (Out on paved road)
Mile 6 -- 11:37.33 (Little bit of a downhill)
Last .2 -- 1:55.41

This was the course profile:


Very mixed feelings about this race.

All but two volunteers were friendly and excellent; those are things that we should all be thankful for as runners, all the time.

There were some severe communication issues, though, that could have been avoided.

This race has been going on since 1981, but it hasn't embraced some of the tenets of racing in 2016.

Tough course, which had a 2.7% grade over 1.84 miles that was between 1.46 and 3.29 miles, according to one runner's profile on mapmyrun.com.

The first four or so miles are on a road that was covered with mixed gravel and dirt, while the last almost two were on fairly smooth paved road.

Communications? Nowhere on the race's web site did it indicate an elevation profile or that it might have been good to wear trail shoes as regular road shoes just didn't allow for decent enough traction very early in the race.

I think sometimes that community races or races that have been going on three decades or more never think about what the race may look like to somebody that is brand new to it.

Especially when you list the race on one of the national event listing websites, such as runningintheusa.com, where I found the race listed.

Although I'm from around the area of the race, my family moved from there just before I turned 10 to Texas. Almost 50, I had never been to the park before and having flown into Pittsburgh from Houston, I approached the Park from the west along Interstate 80.

It was probably the most remote approach (north) from the other three directions, but there was no signage along a "not even two-lane road" to indicate that I was going in the right direction towards the park.

But the most glaring issue was the fact that you didn't have water available until just past mile 3, which is through almost all of the incline, especially when it warmed up on a part of the course that wasn't as covered as it was in other parts of the Park.

There was another water stop at almost mile 5, but stations at miles 2 and 4 would seem to be more appropriate - and to list it on the website to be able to plan for it (or to carry water if it wasn't satisfactory).

Normally for a 10-kilometer race on a flat course, you may or may not need to have water at all, but on a warmer day with a hilly course it just could have been more evenly placed.

And while there was EMS at the finish and maybe around ~100 runners (the race had 121 finishers the year before), it just seemed as if somebody could have easily run into a rough spot where they would have been out of touch with anyone for a mile (between mile 2 and mile 3 and mile 3 and mile 4).

This viewpoint was exacerbated by the fact that a runner who was sitting and waiting for somebody between miles 2 and 3, maybe more early in mile 2. They were OK when I asked them (and before I made it to mile 3 there was a vehicle that was coming to get to them). Additionally, there was an "older than me" runner who was bobbing and weaving a little bit ahead of me. I caught up to him, let him have some of my water and then advised everybody I came in contact with ahead of me to just make sure he was alright.

Would I recommend the race to a friend? Yes, but I would arm them with information that I've shared here that isn't disclosed on the race's main webpage.

To the race: Think about everything possible that somebody who isn't from your area needs to know to get to your race, where to start (there were people from Altoona and State College - in the area - that were asking) and many other things.

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Texas' Fastest Marathon Courses - Mid-2016 Update


Last late year, I put together a listing based on the average marathon times of all marathon courses in Texas from results captured by MarathonGuide.com (or calculated from timer's websites if the event was not listed there).

Since we won't see another marathon until late September, it is time to update the listing based on results earlier this year.  Please let me know if I'm missing anybody!  - Jon

1,000 finishers and over
4:25:45 - Houston Marathon (2016; 7,807 finishers; 4:30:29 in 2015)
4:34:56 - Austin Marathon (2016; 3,072 finishers; 4:37:28 in 2015)
4:38:03 - Dallas Marathon (2015; 2,747 finishers; 4:42:46 in 2014)
4:46:57 - Cowtown Marathon (2016; 1,252 finishers; 4:52:37 in 2014)
5:01:43 - Rock 'N' Roll San Antonio Marathon (2015; 2,494 finishers; 4:49:41 in 2014)

500-999 finishers
4:29:16 - The Woodlands Marathon (2016; 874 finishers; 4:26:01 in 2015)
4:37:02 - Bryan-College Station BCS Marathon (2015; 639 finishers; 4:43:33 in 2014)

250-499 finishers
4:29:35 - El Paso Marathon (2016; 314 finishers; 4:26:42 in 2015)
4:31:43 - Fort Worth Marathon (2015; 284 finishers; 4:38:19 in 2014)
4:52:21 - Big-D Texas Marathon (2016; 490 finishers; 4:54:18 in 2015)
5:18:16 - South Padre Island Marathon (2015; 378 finishers; Debut year)
5:31:24 - Texas Marathon (2016; 329 finishers; 5:19:50 in 2015)

Under 250 finishers
4:13:57 - Marathon 2 Marathon (2015; 101 finishers; 4:30:15 in 2014)
4:29:02 - Galveston Mardi Gras Marathon (2016; 148 finishers; 4:29:13 in 2015)
4:38:33 - HITS Running Festival - Austin (2015; 44 finishers; 4:38:24 in 2014)
4:43:30 - Tyler Rose Marathon (2015; 164 finishers; 4:31:34 in 2014)
4:44:35 - Gusher Marathon - Beaumont (2016; 75 finishers; 4:40:47 in 2015)
4:44:41 - Irving Marathon (2016; 206 finishers; 4:34:52 in 2015)
4:50:23 - New Year's Eve Marathon - Allen (2014; 140 finishers; 4:59:36 in 2014)
4:51:45 - McAllen Marathon (2015; 183 finishers; 5:01:39 in 2014)
4:51:47 - Chosen Marathon for Adoption - New Braunfels (2015; 163 finishers; 4:46:49 in 2014)
4:58:52 - Hill Country Marathon - Marble Falls (2015; 57 finishers; 5:11:30 in 2014)
5:02:04 - Seabrook Lucky Trail Marathon (2016; 175 finishers; 5:00:52 in 2015)
5:02:07 - New Year's Day Marathon - Allen (2016; 77 finishers; 5:24:16 in 2015)
5:08:54 - Davy Crockett Bear Chase - Groveton (2016; 68 finishers; 5:13:33 in 2015)
5:15:10 - Frankenthon Monster Marathon - Cedar Park (2014; 129 finishers; 4:36:06 in 2013)
5:21:05 - Grasslands Trail Run Marathon (2016: 78 finishers; 5:47:16 in 2015)
5:25:39 - USA Fit Marathon - Sugar Land (2016; 238 finishers; 5:22:46 in 2015)
5:22:50 - Surfside Beach Marathon (2016; 79 finishers; 5:09:10 in 2015)
5:27:45 - Miracle Match Marathon - Waco (2016; 111 finishers; 5:13:18 in 2015)
6:21:41 - Dust Bowl Series - Dalhart (2016; 39 finishers; 6:12:46 in 2015)

2015 Marathons not in 2016
4:49:48 - The Army Marathon (2015; 419 finishers; 4:38:04 in 2014)
5:12:57 - Love. Run. Marathon. - Huntsville (2015; 51 finishers)

Overall
4:13:57 - Marathon 2 Marathon (2015; 101 finishers; 4:30:15 in 2014)
4:25:45 - Houston Marathon (2016; 7,807 finishers; 4:30:29 in 2015)
4:29:02 - Galveston Mardi Gras Marathon (2016; 148 finishers; 4:29:13 in 2015)
4:29:16 - The Woodlands Marathon (2016; 874 finishers; 4:26:01 in 2015)
4:29:35 - El Paso Marathon (2016; 314 finishers; 4:26:42 in 2015)

4:31:43 - Fort Worth Marathon (2015; 284 finishers; 4:38:19 in 2014)
4:34:56 - Austin Marathon (2016; 3,072 finishers; 4:37:28 in 2015)
4:37:02 - Bryan-College Station BCS Marathon (2015; 639 finishers; 4:43:33 in 2014)
4:38:03 - Dallas Marathon (2015; 2,747 finishers; 4:42:46 in 2014)
4:38:33 - HITS Running Festival - Austin (2015; 44 finishers; 4:38:24 in 2014)

4:43:30 - Tyler Rose Marathon (2015; 164 finishers; 4:31:34 in 2014)
4:44:35 - Gusher Marathon - Beaumont (2016; 75 finishers; 4:40:47 in 2015)
4:44:41 - Irving Marathon (2016; 206 finishers; 4:34:52 in 2015)
4:46:57 - Cowtown Marathon (2016; 1,252 finishers; 4:52:37 in 2014)
4:50:23 - New Year's Eve Marathon - Allen (2014; 140 finishers; 4:59:36 in 2014)

4:51:45 - McAllen Marathon (2015; 183 finishers; 5:01:39 in 2014)
4:51:47 - Chosen Marathon for Adoption - New Braunfels (2015; 163 finishers; 4:46:49 in 2014)
4:52:21 - Big-D Texas Marathon (2016; 490 finishers; 4:54:18 in 2015)
4:58:52 - Hill Country Marathon - Marble Falls (2015; 57 finishers; 5:11:30 in 2014)
5:01:43 - Rock 'N' Roll San Antonio Marathon (2015; 2,494 finishers; 4:49:41 in 2014)

5:02:04 - Seabrook Lucky Trail Marathon (2016; 175 finishers; 5:00:52 in 2015)
5:02:07 - New Year's Day Marathon - Allen (2016; 77 finishers; 5:24:16 in 2015)
5:08:54 - Davy Crockett Bear Chase - Groveton (2016; 68 finishers; 5:13:33 in 2015)
5:15:10 - Frankenthon Monster Marathon - Cedar Park (2014; 129 finishers; 4:36:06 in 2013)
5:18:16 - South Padre Island Marathon (2015; 378 finishers; Debut year)

5:21:05 - Grasslands Trail Run Marathon (2016: 78 finishers; 5:47:16 in 2015)
5:25:39 - USA Fit Marathon - Sugar Land (2016; 238 finishers; 5:22:46 in 2015)
5:22:50 - Surfside Beach Marathon (2016; 79 finishers; 5:09:10 in 2015)
5:27:45 - Miracle Match Marathon - Waco (2016; 111 finishers; 5:13:18 in 2015)
5:31:24 - Texas Marathon (2016; 329 finishers; 5:19:50 in 2015)

6:21:41 - Dust Bowl Series - Dalhart (2016; 39 finishers; 6:12:46 in 2015)

2016 Texas Marathons by Event Finishers


23,314 - Houston Marathon, 1/16-17 (7,823 marathon, 11,081 half, 4,410 5K)
20,294 - Cowtown Marathon, Fort Worth, 2/27-28 (373 ultra, 1,263 marathon, 6,326 half, 3,110 10K, 2,902 adult 5K, 6,320 kids 5K)
12,129 - Austin Marathon, 2/21 (3,225 marathon, 8,114 half, 790 5K; not including 166 marathon to half)
  5,195 - The Woodlands Marathon, 3/5 (878 marathon, 3,277 half, 900 5K, 140 marathon relay)
  2,055 - Big D Texas Marathon, Dallas, 4/10 (492 marathon, 1,563 half marathon)

  1,876 - El Paso Marathon, 2/21 (314 marathon, 1,023 half, 539 5K)
  1,515 - USA Fit Marathon, Sugar Land, 1/31 (260 marathon, 928 half, 327 5K)
  1,455 - Seabrook Lucky Trail Marathon, 3/18-20 (175 marathon, 45 marathon relay, 419 Saturday half, 51 half marathon relay, 321 Sunday half, 143 Friday 5K and 301 Saturday 5K)
  1,235 - Gusher Marathon, Beaumont, 2/27 (77 marathon, 311 half, 847 5K)
  1,196 - GE Irving Marathon, Irving, 4/16 (205 marathon, 536 half, 253 10K, 202 5K)

  1,062 - New Year's Day Marathon, Allen, 1/1 (77 marathon, 477 half, 508 5K)
     902 - Galveston Marathon, 2/14 (146 marathon, 556 half, 200 5K)
     734 - Miracle Match Marathon, Waco, 1/31 (41 ultra, 145 marathon including relays, 298 half, 150 10K)
     601 - Texas Marathon, Kingwood, 1/1 (325 marathon, 276 half)
     385 - Surfside Beach Marathon, 2/20 (53 marathon, 308 half, 22 kids K)

     170 - Davy Crockett Bear Chase Marathon, Groveton, 4/23 (69 marathon, 83 half, 18 5K)
     165 - Amarillo Marathon, Amarillo, 4/9 (29 marathon, 121 half, 15 relay)
     112 - Dust Bowl Series Marathon, Dalhart, 3/23 (39 marathon, 48 half, 1 10K, 24 5K)

The next Texas marathons are:

To be posted soon!