I was wondering if anyone here has run the NCR trail marathon, and could tell me what it’s like, if it’s worth doing, etc.
I’ve been training for the philly marathon. I’ve never done one, so goal = finishing. But looking around to see what the alternative races might be, I saw the NCR, and am pondering signing up for that one instead.
Very tempting. I like running on soft surfaces, the course would be new sights (Philly marathon is mostly old stuff) and I tend to like smaller races, not larger ones. It’s not as ultra-convenient as the Philly marathon (starting line around 10 mile from my house) but is near enough.
There were a lot of reviews on line, mostly positive. (http://www.marathonguide.com/races/racedetails.cfm?MIDD=554061125)
The main complaints about it seem to concern the mile markers and the t-shirts. I’m optimistic about them fixing the mile markers, and really don’t care at all about the t-shirts.
The race looks like a lot of fun. I’m hestitant because of a bad experience with a smaller triathlon this summer (the “half” in the pinebarrens) that makes me think that i should get more info on a smaller race before signing up.
The mile marker problems shouldn’t happen again. The police sent the leaders down the wrong street at the beginning last year, which threw off the subsequent mile markers by about .5 miles.
Overall it is a good atmosphere if you prefer a change from the big city.
At that time of year, the trail can get rather firm, so don’t expect something cushy just because the race is called a “trail race.” Another thing to consider is that running about 10 miles out and 10 miles back on the trail in one direction with no turns can sometimes cause some nagging issues in the legs.
I ran it last year; it’s a decent course. The trail is a converted rails to trails line that they put a crushed gravel surface on. The NCR Trail surface is softer than asphalt, but it isn’t what I would call a trail race. It’s kind of a smoother version of the surface you would find down on forbidden drive. The course is an out and back with about 23 miles of it along the NCR Trail (11.5M out and 11.5 mile back). The trail is a very steady slight up grade (maybe 1/2%) on the way out and obviously it is a slight down grade on the way back. The grade is there but you won’t notice it. The difference between the outward bound leg and the return leg is the first\last 1.5 miles. The outward bound leg takes a different road down to the trail than it uses to return to the start finish. The only real hill on the course is the road that runs down to the trail. It’s a decent hill which you run down to start and run back up to finish. It’s about 3/4 to 1 mile of hill.
As for the mile markers, the course was accurate (and certified). The problem with last year’s race was that the officer and the lead runner turned onto on the wrong road as we headed down to the trail which caused us to run the course backwards. IOW, we took the return 1.75M road to the trail as opposed to the 2.25M road we were supposed to. Fortunately, the RD talked to the marshals, figured out what was happening within minutes of them directing us down the wrong road, and just had us run back up the other road when we returned to get the right distance. Thus, the mile markers were actually correct if we had gone the right way. It didn’t make any real difference but it did cause people to look at their watches really closely when we hit the first mile mark on the trail (M3).
All in all, it was a decent race. Personally, I found it to be more of a runner’s race than your classic big city event marathon. Whether you like it or not will depend upon what you are looking for in a race. The course will be accurate, you can probably start off at pace right away without a lot of bobbing and weaving, they will have aid stations for water and sports drink, the timing will be decent, and the competition should be fairly good. OTOH, you won’t have a lot of crowd support, there won’t be any bands on the course, and you will probably find yourself running a decent segment of the race by yourself.
I’ve done far too many 20 milers on that trail, but not done the NCR marathon. However, I’ve spectated and volunteered a bunch of times, too. It is nice, low key, usually well run, but the trail can get boring. Its all downhill on the way back, but so small of a grade that you can’t really tell except from between mile markers 5 and 6 (not marathon mile markers, but the trail markers).
I did it once in 94 while living in VA. It was my 3rd following Marine Corp and Boston and I liked it a lot - low key and flat. I started too fast for the shape that I was in and missed a BQ, but it could definitely be a fast course for you.
Thanks to all for the feedback.
Sounds promising. I guess it’s decision time… I hadn’t thought about the leg issues involved w/not turning, but it makes some sense.
Decisions, decisions…