Glass City Marathon Preview

     Can you believe there is only a few days left this year, where did the time go.  I don't know about you, but I have been thinking a lot about what races I want to run this next year.  Most of the summer and fall races haven't opened their registrations yet, but the spring races sure have.  Now is the time to pick which event and what race distance you wish to embark on.  My spring will open with my 3rd run-aversary, a 5K, followed up by the Glass City Marathon!

     The Glass City Marathon features four race options that allow everyone to participate.  The thing I love most about this event is how well it caters to runners of all abilities.  Those of you that have run multiple races before would feel comfortable at this event, but for those that have never run a single race or a "big city" race will enjoy the small town atmosphere with a big city feel.  

     So the Glass City sounds like the perfect event for you, but you just need to decide which race distance to run?  Well here is a quick rundown to help with your choice or click here to visit their website.

5K

At a lot of races the available 5K doesn't always get the same treatment as the those participating in the longer distance events.  At the Glass City Marathon, the staff does quite a bit to ensure this doesn't happen.  When I ran this race two years ago, I was so impressed on how 5K participants got the same start through the corrals as the half and marathon runners got.  The course was quite nice, but what was really exciting was the finish.  The race concluded just like the others with a grand finish in the Glass Bowl Stadium.  This was only my second race I ever ran and I did not feel intimidated at all the entire time.

5 Person Glass City Marathon Relay

I was really considering this as an option this year as my friend Katie from my Strangers to Sole Mates Ragnar team put together three teams for this year's race.  It allows those that are ready for a longer distance than a 5K, but isn't quite ready for a half or full marathon.  How it works is a team of five runners will complete the entire marathon distance. Each runner will run one leg of varying distance handing off a runners belt containing your scoring chip to the next team member at each relay exchange zone. The course is the same as the marathon course. Exchange zones will be marked with flags and cones. Hand-offs must occur within these zones.  One nice feature to this option is if you want to be part of a relay team and also participate in the half marathon or marathon event you may do so by acting as the first leg of the relay team and continuing on the course after the first exchange. To do this you will be required to register for both the individual event and the 5-Person Marathon Relay.

Relay Leg Approximate Distances
Leg 1 – 5.1 Miles
Leg 2 – 6.1 Miles
Leg 3 – 4.4 Miles
Leg 4 – 5.3 Miles
Leg 5 – 5.3 Miles

Owens Corning Half Marathon

I ran this race last year and absolutely loved it.  You get to see some of the best parts of the city with great fan support almost the entire time.  If you want to read my race recap from last year click here.  The half marathon course will begin in the center of the University of Toledo campus between lot 10 and Lot 6 on Stadium Drive. Heading north into the quiet neighborhoods of Old Orchard and Ottawa Hills, the course leads you to the area’s finest Metroparks system utilizing the University Parks bike Trail. A loop through Wildwood Metropark then back through Ottawa Hills to a short tour of the UT campus concluding with a grand finish in the Glass Bowl Stadium.  Walkers are welcome and will share the same start time and route. The half marathon course will remain open until 11am.

Glass City Marathon

 The marathon course will begin in the center of the University of Toledo campus between Lot 10 and Lot 6 on Stadium Drive. Heading north into the quiet neighborhoods of Old Orchard and Ottawa Hills, the course leads you to the area’s finest Metroparks system utilizing the University Parks bike Trail. A tour through Sylvania leads you to Olander Park, passing the statue of Sy Mah then back down the bike trail to a short tour of the UT campus concluding with a grand finish in the Glass Bowl Stadium.  This course has little elevation changes, smooth paved roads, and is expected to provide very fast race times and a memorable experience.

  

When it comes to training plans, and if you are a regular reader to my blog you know that this can be a hard decision to make.  Just type a Google search for a training plan and you'll get hundreds if not thousands of suggested ways to train.  What I did was cherry pick the best parts of two different plans the Hanson's Marathon Method   and the Hal Higdon Method along with suggestions from my friends that have trained for many many races.  If you have never run a mile or looking to make the jump to the next unfamiliar distance then I would say go with Hal Higdon's plans.  He has plans for all skill levels and all distances and gives great descriptions for each plan to help you choose the right plan for you.  If you are looking to do the half or full marathon and have a few races under your belt and want to push yourself to achieve that next PR than Hanson's Marathon Method may be for you.  Tread carefully, this plan requires total dedication and a lot of time as you are running lots and lots of miles 6 days a week.  I would suggest that you read the book before you attempt the Hanson's plan.

     As of now my plan is to run the Owens Corning Half Marathon, only because I am running another half marathon six days later with my Strangers to Sole Mates reunion.  If it wasn't for my reunion I would have chosen to run the full marathon.  If you are like me and have events so close together you need to take that into consideration into what distances you plan to run.  You know yourself better than anyone and for me I know how much time I need to recover from a marathon versus the half marathon, which is why I chose the half marathon.  Another thing you need to consider is your fitness level and how much time you can devote to your training.  This is the one thing you really need to have a come to Jesus conversation with yourself about.  I don't care if you are going to run the marathon or the 5K, any of these distances can be a humbling experience if you don't properly train and stay within your fitness abilities.  Find the best training plan that fits your schedule and you can honestly commit the next 2 to 4 months of your life to.

     I hope the info I provided about the event and available training plans will help aid you in your choice of which race you would like to embark on.  I hope to see you all toeing the line April 26, 2015.