I’ve never worked so hard for such a slow time as I did this past weekend. I ran a HM that was a point to point - almost all in a SW direction. On the day there was a strong westerly wind of 20 mph with gusts over 30 mph. The course was right along the coast and exposed for 90% or more of the course.
At times, I was laughing at how slow I felt. My time was over six minutes slower than a few years ago on the same course on a less windy day. I am coming off a back injury and running volume isn’t the same as a few years ago, and I wasn’t able to get in any long run over 11 miles in the past six weeks. Normally, I get to 15-16 mile long runs at this time of the year, but I was hoping to be within 2-3 minutes or so of my previous time. I definitely feel the wind played a big role, and all times across the board seemed pretty slow. My placing in the race was virtually the same as four years ago, but pace was over 30 sec slower per mile.
What experiences have others had when a race is pretty much a headwind the whole way?
Find someone to hide behind.
If that doesn’t work, run backwards!
Just think positively and imagine how great your hair is gonna look in the race photos
.
I did Hyannis one year where it was very blustery down by the beach, and just about every person hid behind me (6’3" with relatively wide shoulders, yeah, I can see why they did so). I held pace into the wind, then once we turned off the beach everybody left me in the dust. Think I lost three minutes in the back half of the race after having provided the wind protection for the first half.
As a cyclist I thought running in the wind wouldn’t have much effect. Why? I have no idea. But I’m always surprised at how much it effects my running speed/effort. I also feel like wearing a hat forwards acts like a parachute, never thought about researching if it does.
Just think positively and imagine how great your hair is gonna look in the race photos
This wouldn’t even work for me, as I really don’t have any!
At times I tried turning the upper body a bit, but don’t think it made any difference.
I have heard of terribly strong headwinds called “The Thumb Of God”
I don’t know *exactly *where the name originated, but I have a feeling it came from somewhere in the Midwest or Great Lakes region?
That one is very exposed. I’ve done the half twice and the marathon once. Some snowy days as well as a miserably windy and rainy day when I did the marathon - think it may have been 2018.
I ran it in 2017. 2018 was indeed the miserably rainy year.
I went through half and went “damn, I feel good!†And then we got off the beach and I went “oh no.â€
Philly’s Broad Street Run is a 10-mile point-to-point road race due south with no turns, except when going around City Hall
I can’t think of any days when there’s been a considerable headwind to deal with the whole way, but those years when it’s been sunny & clear, many people got sunburnt on only the left side
.
So I’ve been chasing a sub 2:40 marathon the last couple years and my two favorite marathons in my state are both point to point. In 2021 I ran a 2:42:14 into a 10-12 mph headwind for 20 miles so I’m pretty sure I would have gotten it that day. This past December ran a 2:40:28 into a 6 mph headwind for 25 miles so I definitely would have gotten it that day if calm or any tailwind. Frustrating, but it’s a crap shoot with weather in the winter.
If you have a stryde power meter just like biking. you just go by power not speed due to conditions to compare of course. For fitness and results.
That said running into the wind one way sucks mostly because once we get behind an excepted pace the effort feels harder.
many tests done on runners and getting false info or having to run longer then excepted ( told the test is 20 min but then it goes 40 min) makes them have more perceived effort and feel like it was a bad result even if it was good.
Does anyone remember the Fat Cyclist blog from back in the day? I stole this quote
Just like with cycling, you have to train in the wind or else it plays mind games with you. I’m planning on running later today with temps in the low 80s, wind about 22 mph, and gusts over 30 mph. Just a regular spring day in West Texas!
I heard lightheir is 2km/h faster running into the wind when he wears his tighty whities.
.
point-to-point Cape Peninsula marathon, Green Point to Simonstown. When the southeaster blows times are 5-15min slower…
I was lucky the time I ran it, no winds to speak of and got a 3:08 PR.
One year they reversed the course to go from Simonstown to Green Point due to a forecast of strong southeasterlies. On the day it was in fact a strong southwesterly. They didn’t try that again…
In the headwind years you’d see echelons forming across the road behind the bigger guys. At 6’2" with a swimming background I was always towing a string of little guys hiding in my wind shadow…
last year in Wyoming, final half of the half marathon was both uphill and into a 20-30mph wind. Here’s the pace profile, blue line over course elevation.
I was mostly running until then, after that it was run when I can, walk when I have to… bit of a grind.
Thought I’d do about 2:30, ended up at 2:53…
Just like with cycling, you have to train in the wind or else it plays mind games with you.
You’re not wrong there.
I did the Ironmaori Toa full distance in December in Napier, New Zealand. The course was three out and back-ish laps and the run was four out and back laps. By lap two on the bike there was a strong headwind on the out section and by the time I hit the run, which was down an exposed coastal path, it was evil. It was a small field (250 or so) and most of the run lap was just you and the wind. It pretty much broke me.
I ran a 1:13 half last year in mid-March on a good weather day and I just ran the NYC half in 1:15-mid a few weeks ago. Both half marathons fell on the same weekend a year apart, and towards the end of my triathlon base build. I think I came into NYC in the same sort of shape or better but it was 30 degrees and the race went point to point into a 20mph headwind. My best guess is that made the course ~1:30-2:00 slow. It was a little disappointing to see a time I want to try to come close to in a 70.3 in an open half but the wind (+ cold temps) really slowed things down. Even if you’re on a loop course and the wind is half/half it’s like running uphill/downhill. You lose more time running into the wind than you get back with it. The elite men & women were all well outside of their PBs. I wouldn’t think too hard about your race. You’re going to be more exposed on the coast with winds like that. If the effort was there, then that’s the time you had on the day. It’s like adjusting your 70.3 run pace in warm weather. Maybe see how other people did from one year to the next at that race. The people who finished around me had similar or slightly faster PBs than me.