- Steve Prefontaine, Munich, September 1972

This country, this world is not short on tragedies and atrocities that we visit on each other. Every day, elsewhere in the world, there are explosions that kill civilians. These so rarely happen in the United States, however, that when we have something like the bombing in Boston, we pay attention. We’re exponentially more shaken and more personally impacted.

In the aftermath of the tragedy in Boston, runners everywhere felt the bombing even more personally, because it took place at the finish line, the dreamed-of final threshold, of a race virtually all marathoners dream of running.

The vast majority of us runners are a long way from running a marathon, or ever qualifying to run the Boston Marathon, and I’m wary of co-opting this tragedy to try to lend meaning to what we do. But we do have a kinship with the runners and others in Boston Monday, and it makes the bombing even more senseless to us. This is because runners understand that the time we have out there together during a race transcends all the other issues people find ways to have with each other.

Even if you’re competing in the Olympics for national pride, when you’re running a marathon, or any race, you are in a rare, and therefore precious, social bubble, in which the ethnicity, the political affiliation, or the religious beliefs of the runners, and even the spectators, volunteers, and others supporting the race, just don’t matter. Some groups unfortunately try to use the events as a public forum to spread their message on any of those matters, but for the most part, everyone out there shares the bond of struggling together towards a shared goal. It may be easier or faster or more familiar for some than for others, but everyone gets that the struggle and the goal are all that matters out there.

As importantly, in that span of time and distance between the start and finish line, if you do want to defeat someone, if you want to really beat the hell out of someone, then you only want to do it by seconds or minutes, through some combination of better ability, effort, training, and determination, not with your fists, or a gun, or bombs.

These realities are things that most runners come to understand, and that is why the sound of bombs at a finish line in Boston seems louder to us. We have a responsibility to understand this connection that everyone, from the beginning runner, to the elite Olympian marathoner, shares, because this is one of the bits of light that leak through the cracks between our running and the rest of our lives. These are the bits of light that whoever planted these bombs, and people like them around the world, clearly lack in their own lives.

So, the running we do today, as we still mourn the dead and keep their families and the wounded in our hearts, might be more important than on many other days, because the best qualities of running, and of humanity, must be recognized and celebrated in the face of actions that would seek to take advantage of and try to destroy them.

Frank Shorter, who was also with the US track team in Munich said, “We have to spread the word by our performance that barbarism only makes Olympians stronger.” I think that today, he would agree with swapping “Olympians” with “runners,” or maybe just, “us.”

The night before, check the weather, decide what you’re going to wear. If it’s going to be over 50 degrees at the start, don’t wear long sleeves and long pants. You want to dress for 10-15 degrees warmer than the temperature, because you will heat up. Most people are going to be out there for around an hour or more, and being overheated will not only hurt your performance and make you miserable, but it’ll increase the risk of getting dehydrated. Shorts and a short sleeved shirt will be a good idea. If you want, wear a long sleeve shirt that you can take off and discard at the start.

The night before, pin your bib number on, attach your chip to your shoe, make sure you have what you want to eat in the morning, and get everything together. You don’t want to be rushing around when you get up in the morning, or at the race.

Plan where you’re going to park, and have a back-up plan. The race starts at 8:00am.

You’ll want to be on-site by 7:15 am, and get in a ten-minute warmup and drills. You need time to park and get there, so plan to be at your parking spot by 7:00 or so. Work backwards from there – how long will it take you to get there? You should get up a good hour before you need to leave your home. Get up, eat and drink first, check the weather, and relax. Why an hour? Because you can’t run well if you gotta “go”, and you’d rather do what you gotta do at home, not in a porta-potty.

About 15 minutes before the start, start plowing into the crowd. You’ll probably have a colored bib that will assign you to a time-segregated starting area. Use it. It’ll make things easier on you, and it’s just rude to clog up the works for any faster runners.

The Course:

Most of mile one is just slightly uphill, running up Congress. It’s not too bad, and besides, you’re going to be packed in by people. Keep in mind – this is the largest 10K in Texas, and the fifth largest in the nation, which means a lot of people who have not run races before, many of whom have not been taught race courtesy, and many who have not been taught common courtesy. It is, however, a race for everyone, more than just for the gunners trying to turn their best time. Do not try to dodge around people too much – that burns a lot more energy than you might think. Plan ahead, pick a path, and make gradual course adjustments. If you need to pass someone or squeeze between people, don’t be rude, but don’t be shy. It’s still a freakin’ race. Politely say “on your left”, or lightly “accidentally” touch someone’s elbow slightly before you pass them so they know you’re coming through.

If they’re oblivious because they’re wearing headphones… well, that’s their problem.

Just past mile 1, you turn right on 11th street, up a short, steep hill. People that got too excited and took off too fast are going to suffer here. Remember your form – hips up under you. When you feel that release at the top, relax. Work from the top down, relaxing your face, your neck, your shoulders, all the way through your legs. Shake out your arms.

Left on San Jacinto takes you into a long downhill to 15th Street, the first part of which is steep. Do not fly down San Jac – this is where many of you will first see and learn from others around you that will make this common mistake. They’ll blow by you, then, if you’ve been smart, you’ll pass them going up 15th.

Keep your form under control. Find a balance between descending too fast and putting the brakes on too much. If you go too fast down this hill, you’re going to hurt going up, and be tired for the long uphill on the other side of Lamar. If you put on the brakes too much, and you haven’t been running a lot of long mileage, you’ll wear out your quads.

Left on 15th takes you into a lengthy uphill climb to Congress. The course then rolls slightly up to just past mile two, when you hit a steep uphill to West Avenue. When you get to the top, you have a steep downhill. Relax, shake out your arms, and let the downhill give you a recovery. Once again, find a balance.

Same thing past mile three, when you start going down a steep hill under Mopac. On the other side of Mopac, you turn left for a mile-long stretch of mostly gradual uphills on the Mopac access road, also known as Winsted. Thing is, it’s broken up enough by some short flats to recover. Just focus on holding a comfortable pace here. About 1/2 to 2/3 of the way down Winsted, you get a downhill and a flat to the RunTex Pawn Shop at Lake Austin Blvd.

When you start on the downhill, shake out your arms, relax your body, and try to focus on making your stride smooth and easy. At around mile four, you need to assess how you feel, how much you have left in the tank. Can you pick up the pace? If so, do it gradually, because the last mile of the course is a bear.

But first, just past mile four, you get the steep downhill to Veteran’s Blvd. If you’re feeling good, let it carry you just slightly, but still keep your form under control. You turn left on Veterans, and it’s pretty flat all the way out past Austin High to Cesar Chavez. Get into your revised, faster pace.

You hit Cesar Chavez at almost mile five, and it’s a long, slow uphill grind. You only have 1.2 miles left. You’ve trained hard, and you can gut this out. This might be a good time to start picking people off. Find someone a little ways ahead of you, and gradually catch them. Then pick another. Be smart about this – don’t go sprinting to catch people, but you can use this to get you through the last mile, and the hill.

You turn right on the South First Street Bridge, and you’re less than half a mile out. Roll into the turn, and think about increasing your footspeed again. Halfway across the bridge, the slope turns downward a little, and that’s another good point to pick up the pace at again.

Finally, when you turn right onto Riverside, you’ll have less than 200 meters left. Go. Keep your eyes on the next person you want to catch, or on the finish line. Again, increase your speed by increasing your footspeed, just like we do with strides – don’t be stretching and pushing your legs, that’s a good way to get injured.

Run all the way through the finish.

If you’re coming off the half marathon or marathon, you still have to be smart out there. You have to be smart about your choices, taking into consideration your limitations, the course, and even the conditions on any given day. Sometimes, slowing down or even, in the case of injury, stopping, are the intellectually and strategically soundest choices.

Good luck!

Get off your couch and out of your cave: it’s almost Spring! Team Spiridon is offering a ten-week beginners program on Tuesday, March 5, at 6:30pm. We’ll have our first meeting at the Austin High School track. This program will work for people coming off the couch, or for people already running a bit, that want to become more proficient or consistent.

We’re going to start this one slow, and get everyone up to the distance safely and… funly. If you’re already running a bit, you can still benefit from the workouts, and we can extend your distances appropriately. This program will also get you running distances competently, putting you in the right place to train for your first half or full marathon this fall.

Goal races

Our goal races will be:

• The Williamson County Regional Shelter’s Woof Walk Wrun 5K on April 14 (we’re a sponsor);
• The Petco 5K9 on May 11;
• And, for those people that are already running at this point, we’re also supporting the St. James 5K on March 30. That’s a more difficult course, though, and it’s not far off, so I wouldn’t recommend it for outright beginners.

another recycled post, from 2005, days before my second half marathon, which i felt was the “real” one, because it was the (then freescale) austin half marathon (i still feel the same way).

no iPod necessary tonight. i’m at the bar at halcyon, lovely cold amber bubbling in a glass before me.

tom petty’s playing – an american girl. earlier, journey, separate ways.

the songs of my youth. my youth – what a weird phrase to use. few memories exist where the radio isn’t playing. i remember life marked out in time with music, with rock and roll, on KLBJ, on Z-102, on cassette tapes and eventually cd’s.

i’m riding high. i feel myself rushing towards the surface from the depths, like one of the bubbles in my beer, driving smoothly upwards towards the heavens.

i went to take this picture after work, a mission that has bugged me for days. my coworker felipe went with me, walked part of the way, stayed behind to make a phone call. i ran across and along the access road, free on our first clear and crisp day in weeks, running past the people and the cars mired in rush hour traffic. i ran instinctively to a point on the grassier verge, turned, brought the camera up to my eye, and there through the viewfinder was the sun, low in the sky now, backlighting a glowing brushstroke of a cloud, and there, the sign, yellow, saying simply, “showtime.”

on tuesday, i was awash in emotions. maybe illness or fatigue, but a few times that day, i was overwhelmed, and i felt the warmth build up behind my eyes, before i’d push it all back. but one moment that day hit me more squarely, more firmly, as i drove up to the Runtex Store for Psychotic Running People, and saw the sign.

i had run my first half-marathon a couple of weeks ago. and as important as it was, as an accomplishment, and a catharsis, it still seemed like a part of the preparation for the freescale half-marathon.

so, i didn’t understand why, as i saw the sign, but even now, thinking of it, i feel again the same warmth, the same tightening in the throat. and this time, the words on the page blur in my vision, and the ink itself begins to blur in drops on the page.

there is so much in a life, so much to feel and know and remember, but nevertheless, there are those moments and events that we single out, that resonate more deeply for us, that we know will linger.

so much of life is preparing, so often for dreams, worthwhile or misguided, that may or may not come true.

this thing, preparing for this run, is a small thing for some runners, a small thing in this life, certainly a small thing in this world, but still… so many miles. so much effort, so much wanting and needing. so much love and encouragement from so many people, lifelong friends, new friends, old loves, even strangers, even from a friend now gone. so much wanting to help, to be a part of something, so much help from people for that friend’s daughter, for a little girl they may never meet.

i hear all the footsteps run, all the pavement and trail underfoot, i hear all those voices, i hear my own, cursing myself, praising myself, i feel everything of the last four months, i feel the echoes of preparations and hopes of a life already long but not done, all saying steadily, confidently, now, “showtime.”

At 15th and San Jacinto, the marathon and half marathon courses rejoin each other, just half a mile from the finish. The street will be divided with tall “gripper cones,” which become hard fencing closer to the finish.

Ahead is the hill you faced in the first mile of your race. Hopefully, you’re not feeling too beat-up by now, but even if you are, hopefully you already decided the first time you climbed it that you wouldn’t let it beat you today. Get your form under control, with your hips under you, your head up, and your arms moving, and make it your last big accomplishment of the day.

Only a handful of the 18,000 runners will truly be racing each other, but you can still treat it like a race, and use, or find, that little competitive edge in yourself to get you through the last bit of the race at a faster pace. Find another runner a reasonable distance ahead of you – half a block, maybe, and work to catch him or her – not all in a burst of speed, but in a steady, measured attack. Then, pick another, and do it again. Actually, a marathoner might begin doing this in the campus, or even on Duval, if they have it in them. Half marathoners may want to wait until after cresting and recovering from that big hill on 15th Street.

The hill on San Jacinto leads you to the right onto 11th Street again, and you get a downhill, just a few blocks from the finish. The sound of the band and cheering crowds, and legendary Ironman announcer Whit Raymond’s powerful, excited voice, will roll up the hill to you.

It’s time to burn the rest of the fuel.

At this point, go ahead and let the downhill carry you, though you need to stay in proper form, and loose and relaxed, to keep from injuring yourself or even wiping out.

At the bottom of the hill, you turn left, and it’s a block to the finish line. Smile, wave, cry – whatever you do, you’ve done something phenomenal, that so few people will ever even try to do. You chose to train. You chose to run on many days when the weather, or your schedule, or your will, were pushing back. You got through a day full of choices – whether to slow down, whether to walk, whether to stop. Maybe you didn’t win each of those battles, but everyone that you did win says something about who you are, and who you choose to be, and that’s what’s great about this sport.

A last thought about the course…

So, the hills. They scare people. They keep some runners from running Austin, quite frankly. I know runners that will only run “fast” marathons. But many of those courses are not necessarily as fast or easy as they seem, and, I think completely cherry-picking races kind of misses the point.

Personally, I’ve only run Austin four times, Chicago, a notoriously flat, “fast” course, three times, and Houston, another “flat” course, once. Chicago doesn’t even produce an elevation guide, because there’s only one hill, with 800 meters to go in the course. After 26 miles, it’s really just funny.

But Chicago or Houston aren’t necessarily any easier than Austin. The hills here are tough, but they have two benefits: they allow you to switch up muscle groups, so you don’t pound nothing but your quads or nothing but your hamstrings or nothing but your calves into mush. They also break the distance into smaller challenges, that are easy to focus on and get through.

And, the challenge is what we’re in this for. Like JFK said, we don’t do these things because they are easy, but because they are hard. Or, like Han Solo said: “Bring ‘em on, I’d prefer a straight fight to all this sneaking around.”

If you’ve trained properly, and if you’re disciplined and have a plan, then put your faith in those things – they’re stronger than the course, and so are you.

Race Day Tips:

Know where you’re parking, and how you’ll get there. Know the street closures, and have a back-up plan. Plan to be on-site by 6:00 a.m.!

Park near the finish, not the start. Yes, there are big state garages nearer the start, but they’re going to feel a long ways off at the end of your day. Also, because…

Gear check is not at the start – it’s at 8th and Congress, near the finish. It’s not that far from the start, and your gear will be more secure and you’ll get it more quickly since it doesn’t have to be packed up and moved across the course from the start to the finish.

Dress for 10-15 degrees warmer than the temperature. You should know by now what you like. Now is not the time to try new shorts, socks, jogbras, or shirt. That’s a sure entry to that popular game show, “What’s Gonna Chafe?”

If you reeeally don’t think you’re up to the challenge of running without the crutch of headphones, then you have a responsibility to keep the volume at a reasonable level where you can hear things like emergency and other official vehicles approaching, and to take extra care to be aware of your surroundings.

In case of severe weather, meteor strike, or uprising of giant, psychotic robot aphids, check KLBJ AM 590 for information. I’d also suggest following the marathon on Twitter, and using their smartphone app.

Have fun, run hard, but run friendly – thank the volunteers and law enforcement, wave at the spectators, high-five the kids. And make it your mission to help at least one fellow runner out there, by giving a word of encouragement on a tough hill, or just by chatting with them a bit. You’re all in this together.

I’ve had some questions from people, from, “Should I eat?” and, “Do I have to carry my own water?” to specific ones about the course, or whatever. They’re not dumb questions, and they’re important to know. If you have questions, about the course, about the race or whatever, post ‘em down below.

Miles 10.8-13.4 – The Dragon’s Back

At mile 10.8, the field splits, with two-thirds of the 18,000 runners turning east towards the half marathon finish. The marathoners, however, are just getting started, and they’re entering the hilliest portion of the course. This scares a lot of people. More about that later.

Enfield westbound is a half-mile of very gentle rollers, but a right turn onto Exposition takes runners into one of the toughest portions of the course – the hills of Tarrytown. Once again, you need to take on one challenge at a time, and accept that most people are going to lose a little time over the next two miles.

It’s also a good time to start being conscious of your form – you’re starting to feel the race by now, and the hills can bust up your posture. Keep your hips under you and your head up, going up and down the hills. If you do, you really feel the payoff when you crest these hills. Also, continue to be conservative on the downhills – be smart and bank a little time and a lot of energy. They’re a good time to relax, and still gain a little time, but with proper form – hips still under you, not kicking your legs out and heel-striking, and not getting winded.

After about half a mile of steady uphill, gaining about 65 feet, the road levels a bit at Windsor. Another couple of blocks in, you get a .2 mile downhill, but you can also see the big, wall-like hill looming ahead. Again, use the downhill to recover and regroup. I can also honestly say that this is the most pleasantly deceptive hill on the course, in that for some reason, people agree that it is nowhere near as hard as it looks. Granted, it looks absolutely hideous, and I’m just saying that running it is not… absolutely hideous. It’s about a tenth of a mile long, and it’s steep. Push your hips into the hill, and keep your arms moving – many runners don’t realize that your arms usually follow your legs, but your legs will follow your arms, as well. Pull the arm back crisply, let it glide forward. If you need to, pick a spot up ahead, run to it, then pick another. Focus on picking the feet up and putting them down, not on pushing. Don’t wear yourself trying to keep pace – the course will give you plenty of opportunity to make up what you lose in this segment.

At the top, you’ll get crowds and a band, and a bit of downhill, but you’re not out of the woods yet. A couple of small hills getting to 35th Street are deceptively difficult, and the steady climb on 35th over Mopac is a tough little quarter-mile stretch. Get rhythym back with the military band there in front of Camp Mabry’s gates, and when you feel the hill break under you on the overpass, give yourself a little moment to celebrate – you’ve conquered the hilliest portions of the course, and you’re over halfway done. Give the cars passing under you a fist pump, congratulate those running around you, and then focus on getting right back into a rhythm, because now it’s a matter of miles, the next 4.5 of which are on just the slightest of inclines.

Miles 13.4-19.4 – The “Middle Miles”

Recover coming down off the overpass. Left turn onto Jackson, and given what you’ve been running up until now, the road ahead looks flat – it’s not, and the next miles are not. Those miles won’t suck your soul dry of its will to go on, but if you think you’re on flat ground, and you’re not feeling as good as you would on flat ground, that can have an impact on your confidence. So, just go in knowing you’re still doing some work, and that the real payoff is not too far ahead.

A right on 40th takes you to Bull Creek, which undulates very gently, with flat sections, but still trending upwards, for about a mile, then giving you a gentle downslope to Hancock. The right turn there takes you into a long (quarter-mile), gradually-sloping downhill, then a short, sharp uphill to the left onto Shoal Creek.

The next mile on Shoal Creek is in a nice neighborhood, with more neighborhood-based crowd support – the nice people of the Allandale neighborhood sitting in their front yards with their kids and dogs. It’s pretty flat, and quiet, and well-shaded. Relax. Hold onto your pace, but this should just be a nice run.

A left turn onto White Rock takes you into a .35-mile very gradual incline, into a right turn, and into the 1.5 mile stretch that has always made the words of Douglas Adams ring in my head: “the long, dark teatime of the soul,” a term he used to describe the “wretched boredom” of a listless immortal character.  Not everyone agrees, though – my runners have been on it enough that they’ve gotten familiar with it (or numb to it).

It’s used in Austin races for a lot of good traffic-management reasons. But… it is dead-straight, and it seems dead-flat, but really, it tilts ever so slightly up and down, making you wonder why you don’t feel as good as you think you should. It’s also relatively desolate, mostly resistant to efforts to draw spectators.

At the end of the long road, the right turn onto Foster is the northernmost point of the course, and like some Jungian archetypal hero, you begin to come out of the wilderness, back into society, and back towards home. The stretch on Foster, and through the right turn onto Northcross, continuing up to Burnet Road, are some of the best-supported points on the course, with enthusiastic crowds lining the entire length.

The road here is essentially flat, with a bare incline through Burnet Road, up to the right turn onto Woodrow, where everything quickly changes – you’re turning fully towards home, and all that climbing of the past many miles is turned around…

Miles 19.4-22.7 – The Beginning of the End

You will immediately feel the change in your legs when you turn right on Woodrow. You’ll see the long-awaited downward slope – very slight, but unmistakable. This is where out-of-town runners tell Austin runners what many of us can too-easily take for granted – this is where all those hills more than pay off. So, this is an ideal time to assess how you’re feeling and what you realistically think you have left, and to start making some adjustments. Don’t be fooled, though. Yes, the trend is to downhills – you’ll lose 250 feet from now to the finish. But it’s not all sunshine and roses. It’s still six miles, and there are still a few considerable hills to deal with. Be realistic and honest with yourself. If you pick up the pace, do so gradually, by sensible increments, unless you really just feel outstanding. “Sensible increments” really depend on your training and preparation, but it’s safe to say that most people shouldn’t look to suddenly drop 25 to 30 second a mile here, unless they’ve kind of been sandbagging all along.

You’ll turn right on Arroyo Seco, where there’s usually great neighborhood support, including tables of cookies and snacks, and folks handing out orange slices around the left turn onto Romeria.

Almost at mile 21, you’re turning right back onto Woodrow, and the going is still good for almost three-quarters of a mile, until the left turn onto North Loop, which will throw a slight, quarter-mile incline at you, something like the first hill after the turn onto Exposition. Then, it’s a good-feeling downhill again, not too steep, through Lamar, to the right turn onto Guadalupe, which is flat to the left turn at 51^st Street.

There’s a water stop here, a block down, staffed by Team Spiridon, with several of its beneficiary animal welfare organizations, including Austin Pets Alive! and Love-A-Bull, anf some of the four-legged lives they save, pitching in. Grab some water, some Gatorade, take what might be your last energy glop of the day, wave at the dogs, and get ready for the final attack.

You have almost a quarter-mile of gentle downhill, then a slightly longer climb ahead – something like that early climb on Winstead, the access road of Mopac. But you’ve gotten here, through far worse. Keep your form together, put a determined smile on your face, and take the hill. If you thought Woodrow was nice -the course’s biggest prize awaits at the top…

Miles 22.8-25.7: The Big Payback

At the top of the hill, you turn right on Duval, and the bottom drops out of the course. Over the next two miles, you’ll lose almost 120 feet of elevation – enough to use without it pounding you or you having to fight to keep the pace sensible. And, there’s no turns – it’s just a straight line down Duval.

Turning onto Duval, reassess your condition again – unless you’re just hanging on, you’re three miles out, and you have an opportunity to make some serious time, with only two hills left – the small hill from 45th Street up to the water stop at 43rd, and the hill on San Jacinto that you ran up earlier – the one you decided you totally owned earlier in the morning, right?

At the end of the speedy descent, you turn left onto San Jacinto, which takes you through the University of Texas campus. Sadly, the students on Sunday mornings are apparently still hung-over, and this can be another solitary stretch of road, except for the always-great bands in front of Memorial Stadium.

Your job through campus is just to hang on, to hold pace, or to not walk. Just get to the other side, where everything opens up, and San Jacinto becomes a wide boulevard, mostly flat, with the promise of the finish just minutes ahead…

The big finale is coming… Again, if this is helping you out, or if after the race, you think, “Crap, I’m glad I knew that ahead of time,” then please feel free to shoot us a donation. Thanks!

For readers not part of Team Spiridon – welcome. Here’s the deal. Team Spiridon is a nonprofit group that raises money for local animal welfare organizations. I’m the author, Rob Hill, Team Spiridon’s head coach and Mostly Benevolent Dictator. I’ve also worked with the Austin Marathon and Half Marathon since 2007, and developed an overly intimate familiarity with this course. Maybe a creepy one.

If what you read is helpful to you, as it has been to thousands in the past when posted online, feel free to drop a buck or two as a donation. 100% of funds raised are distributed to our beneficiaries. Oh, and, the opinions here do not necessarily reflect those of the Austin Marathon’s organizers or sponsors, and this guide falls outside the scope of my work for the race. I’m just a huge geek.

The Austin Marathon and Half Marathon prides itself on improving every year, but this year, one of the greatest things will be something staying exactly the same… This is a landmark third year in a row with the exact same course. The course has changed, to some degree, 17 times in the last 22 years, almost always due to a combination of events outside the organizers’ control, and the desire to make improvements for the runners and the community at large.

While some runners avoid Austin because of its hills, and some running pundits even gripe and whine about the course, every year, thousands of runners return to the race, attracted by the city, the well-run event, and by what many believe to be a course that’s challenging, but fair, and continues to qualify more runners for the Boston Marathon than other, “flatter,” “faster” Texas races – something that the numbers bear out. I’ve even met countless runners who claim they consistently run faster marathon times in Austin than they do in Dallas, Houston, or San Antonio. So… no whining!

A lot of that probably comes down to a few things: softer, almost entirely asphalt streets, rather than the battering concrete streets of Houston or other cities; more variation in the muscles engaged during the race; and the significant paybacks in our course – plenty of long, gradual, usable downhills, in the right places.

The key to getting the most out of this course, or at least minimizing the chances of having a bad day, is having an intelligent plan of attack. Aside from proper training, nothing else will flatten hills and shorten miles like familiarity. This series of articles will hopefully give local runners a race-ready perspective on their home course, and will give visiting runners a vision and a plan for their race. I recommend following along on the course maps.

First off, make sure you’ve prepared well logistically. You might want to check out this article to catch anything you might have missed…

The almost 18,000 combined marathoners and half marathoners will stage by pace time from the start line at 16th and Congress, south around either side of the Capitol building. It is important to note that gear bag drop-off is south of the Capitol, on Congress, between 6th and 7th street. It may seem far because that big granite building is in the way, but it’s only about six tenths of a mile to where four-hour marathoners will queue up, so it’s in line with most other races. Plus, not having to transport bags means less opportunity for damage, and a quicker bag pick-up.

The race will be a joint marathon and half-marathon mass-start at 7:00am. From the start line, it’s three blocks on a very slight downhill to the first turn, a 90-degree right onto Martin Luther King Blvd. Some had concern last year that the first turn was be crowded… They (OK, me) were wrong.

Still, you should let any slow-down be to your advantage, to prevent the single biggest mistake you can make on this course (as on most) – going out too fast. The anticipation, the horn, the mass start, the fireworks – they are going to turn the opening mile into the streets of Pamplona. Let the crowd slow you down and calm you down – decide you’re going to be the calm runner in the crowd. Line up a bit on the left, so you’ll be on the outside-middle in the first, really tight turn, that comes just three blocks from the start line. You’ll be bunched up, but you don’t want to get pinched into the inside curb, or pushed too far out.

MLK is a good downhill, and a good place to start enforcing another rule for the day – be conservative on the downhills. You will see runners barrel down, actually burning more energy than they would on flat ground. Use the downhills – you can recover and relax and still pick up time, and you’ll end up seeing, and passing, those other runners. It just takes discipline, and proper form.

Those without that discipline and training are about to have their first rude shock, as they turn right onto San Jacinto, which is a long flat to “false-flat” – it looks flat, but really has just enough of a slope to make a difference. That leads into the first challenging uphill of the day, which all runners will see twice – now, and at the end. Going up the hill to 11th Street, feel solid and strong, and decide that you’re not intimidated by the hill. Remember how that resolve feels, because you’ll need it later.

11th pitches downhill to Congress, where you can see the massive finish line structure, a block to your left. There’s another good uphill for about a block and a half, and then the left turn onto Guadalupe. Guadalupe is a great, long downhill, for the better part of a mile. This is where you want to start thinking about settling into your pace, even though you’ll end up with slightly quicker times. The first water stop, staffed by Livestrong, is just past 5th Street, and runs down both sides of the block.

The course turns left at Cesar Chavez, past the fantastic St. James Men’s Chorus at City Hall, on to the right turn onto Congress. Over the bridge is a short downhill, and then the big, extended challenge of South Congress, which real Austinites do not call “SoCo.”

South Congress is really best seen as a series of climbs. The first is the steepest, up to the big beige wall of the Texas School for the Deaf. After that, it flattens a little for about a block or two – recover and relax. The next climb takes you up to about Monroe, even with the big brown church, before it levels out a bit again. The slope up to Live Oak is much more moderate, and then it’s a fairly moderate gradual climb to the right turn onto the access road of Ben White/Hwy 71.

The access road itself holds a sharp downhill, and a short, tough uphill that is often overlooked. At the top, however, about 5.5 miles in, you get the flipside of the long climb – the long downhill on South First. Just accept that the South Congress to South First portion of the course is going to take some time from you, much of which you’ll get back. South First is a rolling downhill with flat bits interspersed, but the descent will still be faster. These downhills are where those backwards-running and other quad-strengthening drills pay off…

You’ll cross over Lady Bird Lake again, turning left onto Cesar Chavez in front of City Hall, the only time you’ll see another part of the course coming at you. Think about what you’ve just beaten since you were last at this intersection, and work on settling into a comfortable rhythm. Cesar Chavez is mostly downhill, until you get to the climb up, the downhill, and the second climb on the ramp towards Lake Austin Blvd.

At Lake Austin Blvd., you’ll turn right onto Atlanta, which becomes Winstead – the southbound access road to Mopac. This involves a long, steady, tough climb up to West 10th, then a downhill and flat to where the course splits at mile 10.8, at Enfield Road, where the marathoners will go left, and the half marathoners will turn right.

If you’re a marathoner, I wouldn’t fight to keep pace on the ramp, or on the access road. I think it’s too early for all but the elites. If you’re running the half, you’ve got to see how you feel, with two to three miles left, keeping in mind that you’ve got one massive hill at mile 12,  and another minor one about two tenths of a mile from the finish.

You fullsies, take a breath here – for the remainder of this installment, we’ll follow the half marathoners from “the split” to “the merge,” where the two courses meet again.

The half marathoners will see a long, gradual climb for about a quarter-mile, then some gently rolling terrain until a long downhill a little over half a mile from the split. At almost 12 miles in, any half marathoner that doesn’t feel incredibly energized and strong needs to reserve some energy for what is perhaps the toughest hill on either course, what I like to call, the Stairway to Heaven.

Someday, it is my fervent hope to have Austin resident and Odin of Rock Robert Plant at the top of that hill… Until then, we are very fortunate to have the lululemon Angels out there providing some of the most amazing crowd support at the most critical time.

Coming up from the overpass over Lamar, Enfield, which becomes 15th Street, rises over 80 feet in less than a quarter of a mile. That may not sound like much, but it’s eight stories, in a very short span. Going into it, relax, shake your arms and hands out, and focus on keeping your form together – hips under you, head up! Pick a point up ahead, just get to it, then pick another one and repeat. Many marathoners joke that they’d rather run the full than run this hill. It is quite likely the toughest steep hill on either course.

It’s time to assess how you feel. You’re going into a long downhill before a short, gradual uphill, but you do still have a little over a mile left. If you increase your pace, it needs to be by small increments.

15th takes you downhill to just past the last water stop, at Nueces. It then pitches back up to Congress, then, it’s a good downhill back to San Jacinto, where you’ll meet up with the marathon course for the final stretch.

Continued on Wednesday…

Preparing this week: 

Get familiar with the course - it makes a difference. You’ve all seen how much better runs go in familiar territory. Go to the race website and check out the maps. Maybe even print one (just be sure to recycle it). My runners should all know the course well, because you’ve run every piece of it multiple times. But several of you… not so much with the attention-paying… Time to put it all together.

Drive the course - I even tend to stop at the bottom of hills, get out, and walk or jog up them, so I know in my head what it feels like. When you near the top, think about how it’s going to be to beat it and not let it wear you down.

Visualize - After driving it, look at the maps every now and then, and run the race in your head (at high speed – please don’t sit at work staring at a map for three hours). Run chunks of it in your head. Feel the rhythm of the stretches that will require more effort, and the ones where you’ll be able to recover. I promise you this will be a huge benefit to you. I PR’ed a 5K years ago, despite a massive hangover, because I had planned and visualized ahead of time.

Segment the Course - Break the course into manageable chunks of two to three miles each. Getting through each chunk will be an accomplishment, and it’ll be easier than going at all 13 miles at once.

Plan Nutrition - Part of knowing the course is knowing when you’ll take your nutrition. What I do is work backwards – I want my last Gu 3 miles out from the finish, and I want them every 30-40 minutes. Water stops are at every even-numbered mile. So, I know I’ll Gu at miles 10 and 6. Figure out how many you’ll need, and go buy them now – some stores sell out of everything but “Your Nephew’s Dirty Diaper” flavored gel before races. You can also get gels at some of our great local running stores, like Hill Country Running Company, Luke’s Locker, and RunTex, as well as at bike shops, REI, Academy, and an increasing amount of local grocery stores. You also need to know how you’re going to carry all that stuff, but you’ve probably already figured that out on those long training runs… right?

Have your outfit ready. 
Right now, the weather looks darned-near perfect. But our classically unpredictable Texas weather has taken its squirreliness to new heights lately, which, in truth, is incovenient. So, keep an eye over the course of the week on something like Weather Underground, which gives you a detailed hourly forecast. Stay informed, and then, just accept that the weather will be what it will be. That acceptance will give you another big advantage over people that are agonizing about the weather all this week. Things could go haywire, and it might be 29, windy and cold. Fine – what will you wear?

It might be 65 and humid. Fine – what will you wear?

The rule is to dress for about ten degrees warmer than the temperature. You should know by now what you like. Now is also not the time to try new shorts, socks, jogbras, or some shirts. That’s a sure entry to that popular game show, “What’s Gonna Chafe?”

I previously repeated the common wisdom that up to 40% of body heat is lost through your head. I was, like most people, and even the US Army, an idiot. Here’s what I do know – in the first mile or two, you’re going to feel hot, and you’re going to want to ditch clothing. I did that in 2006, when it was 29 degrees for the entire race (see: “idiot”). The thing is, blood flow that is going all over the place at the onset of exertion is soon redirected by your body to keep your organs and brain warm. So, keep the extremities warm.

In case of rain, have something disposable, or a trash bag with holes for the arms and head. It’s nice to be dry while standing around at the start line, then you can rip it off when you get moving.

Got Bodyglide? Bandaids?

Thursday and Friday:
Hydrate. Get a couple of liters of water in you a day, depending on your size. Use some Nuun tablets, ElectroMix or something similar – available at running stores, Central Market, Whole Foods, or bike shops.

Friday night:
This is actually your best night to get your carbs. Have a reasonable-sized plate of pasta, not too late in the evening. And get to bed at a reasonable hour. You can forego the clubs for one damned night.

Saturday:
Stay off your feet. This is not the time for a hike, lawn work, walking at the race expo for four hours like I did in Chicago trying to decide if I should buy and wear new clothes for the marathon when I know not to do that (I didn’t).

In the afternoon, go take a load off your feet (and mind) – see Run, Fat Boy, Run, at the Alamo Drafthouse downtown. You can even buy a ticket that includes an all-you-can-eat pasta dinner… Hurry,  though, because it will likely sell out… And, you’ll be blocks away from the finish line, which will be under construction. That will get you juiced.

Oh, and don’t forget to pick up your race packet. 

Eat early - eat at 5:30 or 6, be done by 7 or 7:30. Why? Because you want to be able to sleep, and you want the food to digest, so that it’ll be usable in the race, but yet not filling up your lower intestines demanding immediate release at mile five. Having to pee is fairly common, but you do not want to have to go twosies, losing time while your legs cramp up in a cold, nasty porta-potty. And if you try to hold it, your core will tighten up, expending more energy and messing with your mechanics.

Don’t drink too late - you want to be able to sleep without getting up constantly through the night.

Get everything together Saturday night, not Sunday morning: 

• Pin your race bib to your shirt or shorts. If you are slightly OCD like some coaches, this could take you half an hour to get it perfectly straight. It has to be straight. It just does.
• Put your gels, electrolyte capsules, (NO IBUPROFEN) whatever you’re taking on the course, in whatever you’re taking them in.
• Pack your gear check bag with your pre and post-race stuff (warm, dry clothes, comfortable shoes, morphine).
• Make sure you have what you need for breakfast.

And then… lay down. Relax. Pull up Netflix and watch Spirit of the Marathon, probably the best all-round marathon movie out there (check out the trailer. They ended up changing the name, but this is my favorite trailer. Dare you not to tear up and get antsy for the race. Freakin’ dare you).

Sunday. D-Day.

Before Friday, figure out your race morning plan. morning schedule – work it backwards:

• The race is at 7am.
• You need to be parked and out of the car at 6am AT THE LATEST.
• Maybe it’ll take you 30 minutes to get there, so you need to leave your place at 5:30.
• You want to use the restroom (#2) before you leave. Give yourself time (because you never know) – so, on the pot by 5:15.
• You need to allow at least an hour for your breakfast to digest, so you need to be eating at 4:15.
• Set your alarm for 4:15 (you’ll eat first). Yeah, this is insane. But so is running farther than you’d drive to the damned airport, so… what the hell?
• Set multiple alarms. Use your alarm clock, your phone, your running watch. Get a friend to call you. Leave nothing to chance.

On race morning:

• GET THE HELL UP. No snooze button. This is when being nervous is a good thing, because it’ll wake you up.
• Eat first, and have a glass of water, and coffee, if you need it.
• If you’ve done things right, you have an hour to check the weather, put on your laid-out clothes, make sure your bib number really is straight, and relax. I always turn on the local news to check the weather. On the other hand, one morning, the weatherperson’s first words were, “Wow, it is really unpleasantly hot and humid out there.” *&$%

At the race:

• DO NOT BE LATE. Period. Non-neogtiable, no excuses. You need to park, pick up your chip, drop your bag (if there’s a bag drop), not be overly frazzled, and be ready for a warm-up at 6:15. It’s showtime, and whether you’ve been punctual up to this point or not, it’s time to get your crap together. BE ON TIME.
• Don’t guzzle water. If you’ve hydrated properly, and had some when you got up, you’ll be fine with what you get on the course. Drink too much, and you’ll have to pee.
• Still, hit the porta-potty. There are tons of them around the start area. Don’t go for the most first ones you come to, because they’re probably the first everyone’s come to, and they have the longest lines…
• Do a few light drills to warm up. No, you don’t really need a warm up, but it’ll loosen you up, help you focus, and calm your nerves.

Get to the start area by 6:20. Make sure you line up in or near your projected finish time. Runners will queue up from the start, down Congress towards the Capitol, wrapping around both sides of the Capitol’s north drive. There will be tall signs with projected marathon finishing times – fastest at the front, most people between 15th street and the Capitol building. Me, somewhere in deep South Austin.

Find your friends. Then… relax. Soak up this moment. Look around at all the people that are about to do something pretty cool. You’re one of them. You’re probably also better trained and better prepared than most.

This is a lot of stuff, I know. But again, you’re running 13.1 or 26.2 miles, asking a lot of your body. You’ve all worked so hard, you deserve nothing less from yourself than to be as knowledgeable and prepared and mindful as you can possibly be going into this. Don’t waste anything you’ve given so far to carelessness. It’s a little late to be a slacker.

tapering (five days to go) 

emails are flying between my friends and me. no work is getting done. emotions are high. we want to be in chicago right damned now, regardless of the weather (though we update each other on the forecast twice a day). we want to be running it now.

marathoners call it “taper madness” – the wackiness that ensues during the two or three week period before a marathon when we back off the mileage and let our bodies repair and become ready. i ask melissa, a psychologist who’s running the chicago marathon with me, if there’s a biochemical basis for the weird psychosis. hours pass, i get more emails reminiscing about our favorite coaches, about weather, and, finally, “sure. but you are asking me to think in order to formulate an intelligent answer to that. and i just can’t do that right now.”

so, i’m left to my own devices. i eat a banana, and stare at the whopping third document i’ve reviewed today. a normal pace would have me at 60 per hour. why are we all losing our minds?

simply put, running is a natural ability, but training for and running a marathon is not a natural thing to do.

we train for 23 weeks. close to a thousand miles run – 30, 40, 50, 60 miles a week. we run four or five days a week. an hour monday, an hour tuesday, a hard workout for an hour and a half on wednesday, cross training or a half hour run on thursday, over an hour on friday, long runs for hours on saturdays.

those hours are squeezed into mornings before work, appended to the end of workdays when you feel like you only have the energy to open a beer and keep the couch from floating away.

people that choose and stick with this path are not likely to say, “I can’t,” and the training reinforces that. on the other hand, we say it more now than ever – “I can’t, gotta run.” “I can’t, I have a race.”

we push ourselves six days a week, for 23 weeks. exertion and fatigue become constants, as does the simple act of consistently, persistently committing ourselves to creating discomfort in our bodies and pressing on anyway.

“The will to win means nothing if you haven’t the will to prepare.” – Juma Ikangaa, 1989 NYC Marathon winner

it’s a compulsion, and if it didn’t start as one, it became one along the way. every run says something about us, who we are and what we can do – not about our speed but about our will. sometimes, we’re disappointed by how slow we were on a run or in a race, because we’re competitive and because sometimes we lose sight of the fact that the time doesn’t matter so much as how hard we pushed ourselves to get it.

one day, during a particularly hard workout on the track, a kid leaned out a passing car’s window, yelling some line i recognized from a movie about the day of judgment being on us, and asking, “how will ye be judged?”

the immediate response yelled back as we turned onto the stratghtaway – “by what i do here today.”

we watch the chicago marathon highlight video, and the sight of the runners and the cheering crowds shakes us. to some extent, it’s adrenaline – fight or flight response positively subverted, adrenaline charges as we recognize the scenario. but we can’t do anything with it right now, sitting at our desks, or at home.

we want the race, the pre-run jitters, we want to be surrounded by 40,000 other people who have made the same journey thus far, the same hegira from doubt and unchallenged limitations.

we don’t know each other, we might not even like each other if we did, but almost everyone out there “gets it,” and we are finishing a journey together, whether it takes us 2:10 or 6:10 to do it.

the thousands of spectators lining the course watch people go by see the determination and pain, and to some extent, they “get it.” some of them will be motivated, as i was two years ago, to make that same commitment, to see what they can make themselves do.

i think again of a coach I once had, saying that whether it’s the first time you cross the finish line, or the 50th, you are not the same person that started it.

the clock, the calendar, are running too slow. my friends and i want and need sunday to get here, so we can do what we have worked so hard to do, as best as we can on that given day. we want to run, so we can cross the finish line, and see who we will have become.

Preparing this week: 

Read the damned instructions – Some of you people run around like chickens with your heads cut off, with no idea what the heck you’re doing. Yeah, I said it. So, go to the race website and read the important stuff, like “What you need to know” and “Parking”. Beyond that, if you have any questions, ask me. If the answer’s on the website, though, you will pay a horrible price.

Get familiar with the course - it makes a difference. You’ve all seen how much better runs go in familiar territory. Unfortunately, this is completely unfamiliar territory for almost all of us. So, at the very least, go to the race website and study the map. By Saturday afternoon, I’ll publish a detailed course strategy.

Drive the course – Seriously. Use that free time on Saturday, to go drive the course. In the past, for some hills I’d never run before, I would even stop at the bottom of hills, get out, and walk or jog up them, so I know in my head what it felt like. Probably not necessary here. When you near the top, think about how it’s going to be to beat it and not let it wear you down.

Visualize - After driving it, look at the maps every now and then, and run the race in your head (at high speed – please don’t sit at work staring at a map for three hours). Run chunks of it in your head. Feel the rhythm of the stretches that will require more effort, and the ones where you’ll be able to recover. Plan where you’ll make moves with your pace. I promise you this will be a huge benefit to you. I PR’ed a 5K years ago, despite a massive hangover, because I had planned and visualized ahead of time.

Segment the Course - Break the course into manageable chunks of two to three miles each, and/or sections that make sense, like the downhill run on Duval, or the early long flat parts through Braker, Longhorn, United… Getting through each chunk will be an accomplishment, and it’ll be easier than going at all 13 miles at once.

Plan Nutrition - Part of knowing the course is knowing when you’ll take your nutrition. What I do is work backwards – I want my last Gu 3 miles out from the finish, and I want them every 30-40 minutes. For a half marathon, I will probably just take one Gu at about nine miles. If you want, you might take one at the mile 7.5 and 11 water stops. Figure out how many you’ll need, and go buy them now – some stores sell out of everything but “Your Nephew’s Dirty Diaper” flavored gel before races. You can also get gels some our great local running stores, like Hill Country Running Company and Luke’s Locker, as well as at bike shops, REI, Academy, and an increasing amount of local grocery stores. You also need to know how you’re going to carry all that stuff, but you’ve probably already figured that out on those long training runs…

Have your outfit ready. 
So, you lucky dogs, right now, it looks like the absolute perfect weather for a half marathon or marathon: 40-45 degrees at the start, with 60-70% humidity, and it’ll stay overcast through the race. A few days out, this might bear the slight odor of hopeful accuracy. But you know how forecasts go. So, just accept that the weather will be what it will be. That acceptance will give you another big advantage.

The rule is to dress for ten degrees warmer than the temperature. You should know by now what you like. Now is also not the time to try new shorts, socks, jogbras, or some shirts. That’s a sure entry to that popular game show, “What’s Gonna Chafe?”

Disposable clothes are the way to go to stay warm before the race, even into the first couple of miles. Dig out that old sweatshirt or Turkey Trot shirt. When you ditch it, it’ll be picked up and taken to Goodwill (actually, by some of your teammates, who will help with the cleanup). In case of rain, use the disposable clothing, or a trash bag with holes for the arms and head. It’s nice to be dry while standing around at the start line, then you can rip it off when you get moving.

Make sure you have any Bodyglide, Bandaids, etc. in advance – you don’t want to have to drive to the store late Saturday night.

Thursday and Friday:
Hydrate. Get a couple of liters of water in you a day, depending on your size. Use some ElectroMix or something similar – available at running stores, Central Market, Whole Foods, or bike shops.

Friday night:
This is actually your best night to get your carbs. Have a reasonable-sized plate of pasta, not too late in the evening. And get to bed at a reasonable hour. You can forego the clubs for one damned night.

Saturday:
To some extent, stay off your feet. This would be even more critical for a full marathon, but you really don’t want to go into any race with tired legs or sore feet. This is not the time for a hike, lawn work, walking at the race expo for four hours like I did in Chicago trying to decide if I should buy and wear new clothes for the marathon when I know not to do that (I didn’t).

Oh, and don’t forget to pick up your race packet.

Eat early - Eat dinner early, at 6:30 or 7, be done by 7:30 or so. Why? Because you want to be able to sleep, and you want the food to digest, so that it’ll be usable in the race, but yet not filling up your lower intestines demanding immediate release at mile five. Having to pee is fairly common, but you do not want to have to go twosies, losing time while your legs cramp up in a cold, nasty porta-potty. And if you try to hold it, your core will tighten up, expending more energy and messing with your mechanics.

Don’t drink too late - you want to be able to sleep without getting up constantly through the night.

Get everything together Saturday night, not Sunday morning: 

• Pin your race bib to your shirt or shorts. If you are slightly OCD like some coaches, this could take you half an hour to get it perfectly straight. It has to be straight. It just does.
• Put your gels, electrolyte capsules, (NO IBUPROFEN) whatever you’re taking on the course, in whatever you’re taking them in.
• If you’re using a gear check bag, stuff it with your pre and post-race stuff (warm, dry clothes, comfortable shoes, morphine).
• Make sure you have what you need for breakfast.

Figure out your morning schedule – work it backwards:

• The race is at 6:45am. I’m sorry. We don’t know why.
• You need to be parked and out of the car at 6:15am AT THE LATEST.
• Make sure you know how best to get to the race site. This is not like the Austin Marathon/Half, where you can wing it if you have to (though you should really have a specific plan then, too). Traffic will stack up – I’d come in via Mopac, take 183N exit, and stick to the 183 access road. From 183… you should be able to figure that out. Let’s say it’ll take you half an hour to get there, so you need to leave your place at 5:45am.
• You want to use the restroom (#2) before you leave. Give yourself time (because you never know) – so, on the pot by 5:20.
• You need to allow at least an hour for your breakfast to digest, so you need to be eating at 4:30. Chill and watch t.v. Everything you need will be ready from the night before… RIGHT?
• Set your alarm for 4:30 (you’ll eat first – immediately). Yeah, this is insane. But so is running farther than most of you would have to drive to the damned airport, so… what the hell?
• Set multiple alarms. Use your alarm clock, your phone, your running watch. Get a friend to call you. Leave nothing to chance.

Race morning:

• GET THE HELL UP. No snooze button. This is when being nervous is a good thing, because it’ll wake you up.
• Eat first, and have a glass of water, and coffee, if you need it.
• If you’ve done things right, you have an hour to check the weather, put on your laid-out clothes, make sure your bib number really is straight, and relax. I always turn on the local news to check the weather. On the other hand, one morning, the weatherperson’s first words were, “Wow, it is really unpleasantly hot and humid out there.” *&$%

At the race:

• DO NOT BE LATE. Period. Non-neogtiable, no excuses. You need to park, pick up your chip, drop your bag (if you’re using gear drop), not be overly frazzled, and be ready and milling about, by 6:15. There’s not a tremendous need for a warmup, but if you want to do a light one for ten minutes, that’s fine. I do suggest running through some of our basic drills, including the dynamic stretching/warmup things we do. It’s showtime, and whether you’ve been punctual up to this point or not, it’s time to get your crap together. BE ON TIME.
• Don’t guzzle water. If you’ve hydrated properly, and had some when you got up, you’ll be fine with what you get on the course. Drink too much, and you’ll have to pee.
• Still, hit the porta-potty. There are tons of them around the start area. Don’t go for the most first ones you come to, because they’re probably the first everyone’s come to, and they have the longest lines…

Get to the start line by 6:35. Find your friends. Then… relax. You’ve got a tough two or three hours ahead, but remember all the work you’ve put into training. And, running with Team Spiridon, you will fear no hill.

This is a lot of stuff, I know. But again, you’re running 13.1, and you’re asking a lot of your body. Keep in mind that this is not your goal race. You can push, but not against any “structural” pain. This is an important piece in your training, and also a great race itself, but it is not the time to derail your training.

Aside from that, go forth and have fun!