Two loops, 569 feet of clmbing per loop. Delaware Marathon May 17th. Climbs are not gradual lasting miles, they occur at specific points, mile 7 and 20 climb for a half mile each or so and a short steep 4 block climb at mile 12 and 25(ugh). Is this a reasonable race to attempt a Boston qualification for someone close? It fits into the plan I am writing for an athlete.
Are you asking if a marathon course with nearly 1200 feet of steep climbing is going to be hard?
If you are on the cusp and worried about qualifying, that is not the race to run. A ton of climbing there. If you have some flexibility really want a Boston qualifier around that time frame can can drive a state away, skip that one and go run the Pocono Run For the Red marathon in Stroudsburg PA. Crazy fast course
No.
Hmmm… that sounds suspiciously like running two loops of the Caesar Rodney half-marathon.
If that’s the case, I wouldn’t do that. (I did the half last year, I’m doing it this year, I like it as a half, but it isn’t a fast course. and, in general, i’m not so into 2-loop courses, but some people do like the way that they let you be pretty precise in pacing.
I actually like having some hills in a route, to give your legs some variety. But that four-block climb at the end of the race was a bitch.
Sounds like it could prove challenging. I have 2 anecdotes:
- The loop I run near my house is 12+ miles and has one major hill: Almost exactly 1 mile and less than 300 feet of climbing. Instead of running an 8-8:20 mile, that one takes more like 10 minutes running at the same intensity. The downhills on the other side do not make up for it (but provide a little relief).
- The Seattle marathon has very few hills until miles 20-23 that add a few hundred feet. Those hills probably slow down typical BQ hopefuls 3-4 minutes and slow down the best runners 2 minutes, I reckon.