International road marathon comparison - M-Z

This is the second part of my marathon comparison posting covering marathons M-Z that I've run and so it's just for ones I can write about first-hand. Part one is here.

After each description I show my estimate of how many minutes to add on to your perfect time due to the course/conditions for a three hour marathoner to give a comparison. Like this: ADD X MINUTES

Marrakech Marathon, Morocco (January) - Maybe not the most effective organization but it's a great city to visit and weather will tend to be at least comfortable, but possibly hot. The course is mainly outside the old town with the souks and windy little side-streets so has some desert-like views but it's all on flat roads so is very fast if the heat stays low. ADD 2 MINUTES

Napa Valley Marathon, California, USA (March) - Scenic point-to-point run through the Napa wine region with your weight in wine as a prize if you win (they're smart - the winner is unlikely to be big). The course rolls slightly but is quick in general with comfortable, if potentially wet, conditions. ADD 1 MINUTE

New Forest Marathon, England (September) - A scenic run through this forest in the south of England on roads with very small trail sections. Some gentle rolling paths and wind can slow the pace slightly but generally a relaxed and enjoyable smaller race. ADD 3 MINUTES

New York City Marathon, New York, USA (November) - The world's biggest marathon with multiple start areas and routes that stay separate until several miles into the course. This one has to be on every marathoner's to do list despite the fact it's fairly tough due to the bridges acting as nasty hills. If you want to run fast here then you need to qualify to be at the front but the times required are tightening from 2012 due to the popularity of the race (for a senior man it will be 2:45, with times dropping for masters' age groups). It's a fun race with a chance to see plenty of NYC, much of which you might not need to really see, so this is really about the experience and it isn't cheap (I can't think of a more expensive entry fee for a road marathon). Don't expect to be running in those early miles or where the starts merge later on unless you're very near the front. ADD 3 MINUTES (much more if not in the front corrals)

Newport Marathon, Oregon, USA (June) - An ideal race to go for a time plus some scenic views of the sea, a large bridge and along a river in the beautiful Oregon coast. Small enough that everyone can run immediately but fast and flat enough to let people nail the race, especially since the weather tends to be ideal for running. Only remotely difficult bit is a tiny hill in the first few miles, unless you decide to do the oyster challenge and eat as many oysters as you can as you go past the oyster farm on the way out and heading back (current record 80 oyster shooters).  ADD 0.5 MINUTES

Night of Flanders Marathon, Belgium (June) - The marathon isn't the main event here as it's more focused on the 100k which has previously been the 100k World Cup race. But the courses are the same and the 100k just includes more loops through the countryside and small Flemish villages. The novelty here is that it starts in the evening and so some of the marathon is in the dark while most of the 100k is. Flat, slightly windy and with each lap going past weekend revelers in bars (who seem to be oblivious to the race). ADD 2 MINUTES

Oakland Marathon, California, USA (March) - Oakland doesn't have a great reputation and has very high crime rates, even though it's just across the Bay from San Francisco and near much less dangerous places. The marathon starts with a gradual then steeper climb up to Piedmont, which is the rich part of town and takes an effort. Then after 10 miles there's downhill into Oakland proper and flat, speedy roads. The front-runners spread out so if you go significantly under 3h pace then you'll run though much of the dodgy part of Oakland solo. So each time you see a cop blocking a road for the race, you'll be happy. This shouldn't be an issue for most people but I felt unsafe running along (having run through ghettos in Africa and several third world countries). ADD 3 MINUTES

Oslo Marathon, Norway (September) - A course that mainly goes along the bay in one of the richest and most expensive countries in the world. A chance to see Viking ships but if you want to do a Scandinavian marathon then Stockholm is prettier and more fun, not that this is a bad race at all. ADD 1 MINUTE

Paris Marathon, France (April) - Starting along the Champs-Elysees by the Arc de Triomphe so that it's a very wide start allowing the field to spread out on the very gentle downhill. Then you get the chance to see most of Paris' sights, two very French parks and a finish back at the Arc de Triomphe. Fast course, beautiful course and it includes a trip to Paris - highly recommended. ADD 1 MINUTE

Portland Marathon, Oregon, USA (October) - Although Portland is a very green city in every way, this course shows less pretty parts of town and has a big bridge crossing around 16 miles. A relaxed atmosphere and not too large a field, plus a focus on making the race good for beginners and be female-friendly means this is a chilled race. People aren't fighting for position at the start like at many races. It'll probably rain and could be cold and windy so this isn't a super-fast course but is good as a first race or if you want to avoid the over-competitiveness you get at many races (particularly near the front). ADD 3 MINUTES

Prague Marathon, Czech Republic (May) - As my first marathon, this feels particularly special to me and Prague is always a great city to visit, particularly the ancient old town where the race starts and finishes. The course has been improved slightly since I ran it but still involves some running on boring roads away from the center. Fast, although some people may not like the flat cobbles near the start and finish. ADD 1 MINUTE

Quebec City Marathon, Canada (August) - Not many marathons in August but this is a fun one that includes a chance to see a large part of the city along the water then finish at the bottom of the old town. Easy first half including some bike paths then there's a steep climb up to a big bridge halfway through and a prevailing headwind to the finish which can really slow everyone down. ADD 4 MINUTES

Reykjavik Marathon, Iceland (August) - Iceland is an interesting place to visit and the race coincides with their summer festival so the locals do the two things they're famed for - drinking heavily and being promiscuous (the latter is just what I've heard). The course is mainly along the Atlantic coastline and typically is windy, plus even August is generally cold. So even though this course isn't fast, it's the road marathon I've done the most and somehow led to four PBs in a row. But beware that if you run faster than 3h pace you'll be on your own for most of the time. ADD 2 MINUTES

Robin Hood Marathon, England (September) - This race in Robin Hood's locality in Nottingham follows the half marathon route, which is quite hilly, then heads off around man-made rowing lakes where there can be headwinds. A medium-sized marathon where a Brit is almost guaranteed to bump into a runner he or she knows. ADD 2 MINUTES

Rome Marathon, Italy (March) - This is one of the best road marathons out there and even has a quick course. Undoubtedly the most impressive city marathon course given you run past so many world famous sights (unlike, say, London which avoids most tourist areas). Starting and finishing at the Colosseum then including the Vatican, Roman Forum and everything else you'd want to include on a trip there. Some cobbles but they're flattened and shouldn't be an issue for 99% of people. Do this race and fit in a longer trip to Italy if you can. ADD 1 MINUTE

Salt Lake City Marathon, Utah, USA (April) - A net downhill, but starting at almost 5,000ft which takes a tiny toll on sea-level dwellers. The start is around dawn with the views of the mountains surrounding the city just starting to be lit with purples and blues, so that distracts you at first before some rolling hills. The half starts at the same point then splits off a few miles in before joining back up near the end. Some freeway running but generally a decent course for views. ADD 3 MINUTES

San Francisco Marathon, California, USA (July) - Even though its at sea-level with mild weather, this is probably the hardest city marathon course I've seen given the significant hills (ok, trail runners, it's flat in mountain terms). Starting pre-dawn means cold and probably misty conditions but the main draw is the chance to run over the Golden Gate Bridge on an out and back. I loved the course despite the fact it slowed me down a lot. Great excuse to visit a cool city too. ADD 4 MINUTES

Santa Rosa Marathon, California, USA (August) - This small town race in wine country is very fast, despite the short sections of graveled trail. Basically a two-lap course along a river with a small field and so an ideal course to go for a PB if you don't mind potentially running alone. ADD 1 MINUTE

Seattle Marathon, Washington, USA (November) - One of my favorite marathons and a good reason to go to Seattle just after Thanksgiving. Not a fast course but lots of running by the water before coming back inland to the finish, which includes some sharp hills. Another race run concurrently with the half marathon, but the half takes a short-cut so marathoners pop out into the back of the pack half runners, which can be really motivating given the mutual support runners provide to each other. ADD 3 MINUTES

Shakespeare Marathon, England (April) - A marathon in Shakespeare's base of Stratford-Upon-Avon which rolls through country lanes for two laps. Usually very close to the London marathon so it tends to include people unable to get a spot there. An ideal way to run through some gentle English countryside without doing a trail race. ADD 3 MINUTES

Silicon Valley Marathon, California, USA (October) - Out and back from San Jose to Los Gatos along a canal for most of the course. The first half is gradually uphill then the return leg is fairly easy and the parks and greenery is better than you usually see in the area (I used to live there). ADD 2 MINUTES

Stockholm Marathon, Sweden (May/June) - Another of my favorites, this involves two slightly different laps across the islands of Stockholm with the only hard part being the double crossing of the long bridge back to the main city. It's scenic, involves visiting a great (if expensive) city, and usually has really pleasant weather although has been too hot a few times.  ADD 2 MINUTES

Tri Cities Marathon, Washington, USA (October) - A small race through all three of the cities that make up the Tri Cities, along the Colombia River. Completely flat except the four river crossings but these hardly affect your speed, although it can be windy so that's the only risk. Great for a PB attempt, but this may involve running alone given the small field. ADD 0.5 MINUTES

Valencia Marathon, Spain (November) - This race used to be in February and filled a gap in the calendar nicely but has since moved to November. A surprisingly good-looking city with some interesting modern architecture which you see along the route. It's also a well-designed course that is completely flat and easy. ADD 0 MINUTES 

Vilnius Marathon, Lithuania (September) - One of the things I love about running is that way it takes me places I wouldn't ever think of going otherwise. Lithuania is one of those places and it's a beautiful small city with plenty of Gothic architecture, windy little streets and, I found, rain. The course varies from old city streets to bike paths through woods plus it's not got any obvious difficulties. ADD 1 MINUTE

Warsaw Marathon, Poland (September) - As with Vilnius, I probably wouldn't have visited this historic city if it hadn't been for the marathon. It's a larger race but not as interesting since it includes some Eastern Bloc-style views of concrete faceless buildings and boring main roads as well as some of the old town. ADD 2 MINUTES

Zurich Marathon, Switzerland (April) - I usually prefer to run in the mountains when in Switzerland, for obvious reasons, but this marathon is executed with typical Swiss efficiency. Plus it has great views the whole way since most of it is out and back along Lake Zurich with the mountains adding a perfect backdrop. The course does have some gentle rolling sections but is still fast. If you miss out on London, this is a more than adequate alternative. ADD 2 MINUTES

I'll try to update this with additional marathons when I run more of them, but for now that's been fun to remember some fantastic trips in the past few years. Hope you find it interesting and useful.

Silicon Valley Marathon

This weekend was a speed session on the relatively flat Dean Karnazes Silicon Valley Marathon through San Jose to Los Gatos and back. I'd hoped to really race this but the lack of training due to the (hopefully gone for good) overtraining syndrome meant I just wanted a decent training run at high effort.

Then I got man 'flu during the week and a crick in my neck, so I wasn't sure it'd even be sensible to start. By race day I was barely sniffling with not much of a cough and I had most of the movement back in my neck, so I thought I'd be ok to run.

It started downtown before dawn and the conditions were just about perfect, not being too hot and no rain or wind. And since the half marathon version is run at the same time, it made it difficult to tell who was in what race. Luckily I had Amy to crew for me and she was able to tell me who was ahead.

The last few years the winner hadn't broken 2:40 so I wanted to aim for that and be able to train in the following week. However, within a couple of miles there was a marathoner zooming off too fast for me. He looked like he was heading for around 2:30 and there was no point in trying to hang with that pace. At half way he was four minutes ahead and I was dead on 6 minute miling in 1:18:30, so I was right to let him go.

The miles to half way were uphill, but not too steeply, so coming back and heading towards San Jose again would be a net downhill, although only of 250ft. A hardish 20 mile run seemed like a good idea, then a cruise back to the finish for the last 10k. So at 20 miles I took it easy, yet found I was still keeping up around a 6:20/mile pace, which felt very positive.

However, my plan of taking it easy to the finish changed when I saw 3rd behind me with two miles to go. I reasoned that I might as well hold on to 2nd after 24 miles of decent effort, so I sped up and raced in the last section at full speed. At least I had another gear to shift into, and I felt like I'd not pushed things too much, which was the aim. Only 2.5 months until the Phoenix marathon where the aim is to give it everything (I'm even going to do focused training just for that race...mind you that didn't work last year when I instead picked up an injury in December).

I was really happy that the illness and neck didn't affect things and that I didn't have to drop out or DNS. In the end I ran 2:38:36, so it was a bit ahead of the time I'd aimed for, but I blame 3rd place for that.

The course was decent enough and well marshaled, plus I've now seen the Los Gatos Creek Trail and can use it to train on, so a good weekend's work. It's always worthwhile to try the local races and it certainly is a novelty to not have to get up to early to travel miles away.

San Jose Rock 'n' Roll Half



Oh crap! Lots of women about to overtake me.

 Since receiving an email with last minute race details, I haven't been particularly enamoured by the Rock 'n' Roll race series. It included a couple of annoying tips and rules. Firstly, it suggested running very easily and not pushing yourself - not what racing is all about. For a flat, sight-free race round San Jose, it's not like you can take in the views. But I suppose it does have bands at several parts of the course for 'atmosphere' of sorts.

The other thing in the email really showed me that it's only about making money and not about creating any kind of enjoyable running experience. It said that for those who can't make the expo, there's luckily an alternative for picking up the bib and chip. But only 350 people could pick up on race day instead. And they ONLY had to pay an extra $30 for the privilege. On top of up to $120 to enter the race...a half marathon (some of their halves cost even more if entered at the expo and aren't much cheaper even if entered a year in advance).

I have no issue with organisers making money from races instead of just doing it for love of the sport or charity. But these guys take the piss and must turn a lot of people off races when they see the mercurial attitude of the organisers. Admittedly, they do attract big crowds and focus on getting beginners to run, which is a very good thing when obesity is such an issue, but these events are only half like the mega events of the London/NYC etc marathons and don't have the courses, spectators or experience to offer, even though they do have the scale (and toilet queues, congestion etc associated with it).

So, although it's certainly good to get people involved in running, it doesn't help deal with obesity or get people healthier if they hardly train then never run again. This is also shown by the fact that, apart from the elites, hardly anyone runs these races and most power-walk. As I came into the last mile, I passed people on the way out at mile four. Lots of them.

I have barely run in the last three weeks, just doing the three marathons at Tahoe, so had a bit of a chance to recharge. But I was still run down at the start line and not in the mood for any mistakes by the organisers, given what I wrote above.

In fairness, the event was well run with plenty of volunteers at water stations (do they realise they aren't helping the community but offering their free services just so the company in charge can make more money?). The start corrals could be entered by anyone, meaning there was little point to them, especially when you could state any predicted finish time anyway. Mind you, I easily squeezed in to the front with just a couple of minutes to spare, so can't complain that it mattered.

Then we all went off and Meb Keflezighi zoomed off to defend his title, one month before attempting to defend his NYC marathon title too. I could see him for a couple of miles (just) and started off as I meant to, but could feel my legs were heavy.

After three miles I decided it wasn't going to be my day and I should just settle in for a jog, so people started to overtake. Another mile and I saw Amy, so I tried to tell her I'd be slowing down, but she was next to one of the bands and clearly couldn't hear. Oops.

I took it a bit easier then found about four or five of the elite women overtaking me. I stayed at my pace and was feeling fine so thought that maybe I'd not let them get away, after all who likes getting chicked? Even if I wasn't going to have a good day, I could focus on gaining those positions back.

Seemed like a good idea while I went through half way in around 38 minutes. Then I felt the heavy legs again and just settled into a pace behind a guy, then a girl. Not too fast, but I managed to hang on for 1:17:29, which isn't too slow, even if it's a few minutes off what I'd aimed for.

Can I stop now?

The course was just roads and showed off a chunk of San Jose but not anything particularly pretty to take my mind off the pain. I didn't end up taking it easy, except the middle couple of miles. I'm sure a lot of PBs were achieved as it is a fast, flat course, but not for me. And Meb won by a couple of minutes in 1:01:45, just slower than last year.



Meb high fiving after his win.


However, it all feels a bit empty - a hard and mainly unsuccessful effort in a not very memorable race. Trails are more fun, but this sort of thing is needed to work on speed.

Probably no running until next weekend's Golden Hills marathon in Oakland. Might have to jog it to continue my resting, which at least means it'll be a relaxing and fun race. I'll also get to meet Ann Trason at the event, basically the biggest name in female ultra running ever. She's the RD.

Anyway, that's the end of a slightly bad tempered posting. Apologies, but when you see the contrast between today's event and some of the excellently organised trail races, which have really passionate people trying to make sure everyone gets the best experience possible, this type of road race can seem soulless.

Skyline 50k Trail Run

You know it's time to cut back when you stop loving running. The last week or so I've just been so tired and lethargic that I haven't enjoyed my training runs or had the energy to do much at all during the day.

I skipped my run yesterday and had no desire to get up this morning when the alarm went off at 5am. Mind you, that's not too unusual. But when there's a local, historic (29th year!) 50k trail run with just under 5,000ft of climbing to get up for, I'd generally feel at least a bit excited even in my sleepiness. I very nearly decided to not go.

Even when I started at 7am, I just wanted it to be over so that I'd have my long run in for the week and the last longer one for a month. That's not the way to think about it and defeats the point of running if there's no enjoyment. There was a pack of six guys, including me, who started pretty fast along the easy trail along the edge of Lake Chabot. Faster than I felt like going, but I knew that some fast times had been run on the course, with a CR under three hour marathon pace on trails and with a fair amount of ascent. I let myself sit behind the five guys who kept up the effort and gradually pulled away over a few miles until they were all strung out.

Each steep climb of a few hundred feet made my legs feel useless, but at least I had some energy for the flats and downhills. But it took about 10 miles to feel any sense of fun in the race and I was tempted to just stop earlier and give my body a rest as I didn't feel normal. Not ill, just not apathetic and wanting to call it a day.

Luckily there was some great single track and the course had great views through Redwood Regional Park. It overlapped the trail I'd seen at the Redwood 50k and was a joy to run. I was soon glad I'd got up early and felt better, although I still couldn't take the steep hills and walked a few small sections. So by around halfway I'd run a while near Chikara Omine and went past him on a downhill. I'd met him at the San Francisco marathon a week earlier, plus he'd been at Western States. In fact, four of the top five finishers had run Western States five weeks earlier, so it shows there's a great ultra pedigree in this part of the world.

From that point I ran completely alone with nobody visible ahead or behind. I ran hard and picked up the pace to see if I could improve on the third place I was in, but had no luck. So the race finished with last year's top four making up four of the top five and me squeezed in at third. Joe Binder improved on his second place in 2009 to win in 3h37m, then Jean Pommier in 3h43m, me in 3h46m, Chikara in 3h51m and Victor Ballesteros in 3h59m.

The post-race bbq gave me a chance to meet these guys plus a few more locals. It had been a lot of effort and I'm very happy I got a chance to do such a cool, fun race. However, it took a while to get into and I need a break from racing so I can feel that excitement again. Am really happy with the time I got too, but I'm glad it wasn't a road marathon as I wouldn't have had much pace and it wouldn't have gone as well as last weekend.

Luckily I get a forced break anyway with my wedding in a week, then honeymoon. So that's something to really enjoy and take my mind off racing for a few weeks. Then I can come back refreshed and with a passion to run again, just as it should be. Every ultrarunner I speak to absolutely loves getting out on the trails and I want to feel like I did at Miwok again, where I was running along, taking in the view and grinning from ear to ear.

Last big training weekend - Quicksilver and Redwood 50ks

San Jose sunrise

Always worth getting out of bed for

This aid station is passed three times as a crossover point

San Jose

The tower is about the highest point and can be seen from my apartment window...but it wasn't part of the course unfortunately

Quicksilver Lake

Mud in Redwood Park, after the rain had stopped

I thought I'd not have to deal with mud as much over here...it took one week of living in California

Misty Redwoods

Rare sun in between the rain

Although Miwok can still be felt in my legs, I purposefully planned another weekend of trail runs to help me get ready for Western States. Conveniently, there are two 50ks over the weekend of 8th-9th May in or around San Jose - the Quicksilver 50k in Quicksilver Park with 5,500ft of climb on Saturday and the Redwood Park 50k (near Oakland) with 4,500ft of climb on Sunday. So, it was similar to last weekend with another 100k and another 10,000ft to force my body up...and down.

The races were complete contrasts - beautiful sun for Quicksilver, then torrential rain starting a couple of minutes before the gun at Redwood. Foolishly I only opted for trail shoes on Saturday so ended up sliding all over the place on Sunday.

Both races were organised excellently and had feasts at the aid stations. Quicksilver also had a huge bbq at the end and that was a great chance for runners to mingle, especially as there were multiple distances, and hence finishers spread out over more time, both days.

I really enjoyed Quicksilver and had my camera out again to capture the great views of the hills around San Jose. As expected, there was a great atmosphere and runners passing in the opposite direction made for an extra level of support for all. I managed to keep up a reasonable pace without having to raise my effort level high and finished in a respectable 7th in 4h19m, feeling fine to keep going for much longer. Leor Pantilat won in an impressive 3h30m and I met him the next day as he was directing the Redwood race.

At Redwood, it was interesting to have a few people come up to me and who knew who I was from Miwok. Not sure how they recognised me, but it was good to be getting into the local scene and meeting people so soon after moving down from Oregon. It promised to be stunning too, with Californian Redwoods everywhere. But the heavy rain meant visibility was down and even the initial 500ft climb at the start had me losing my footing and sliding around.

Redwood had an interesting concept for a course. It also offered a 10k, 20k and 30k race, and each option was built of combinations of a 10k loop and 20k loop. So the 50k involved the 20k, 10k then 20k again. I kind of liked this, especially as it gave me a chance to see the 20k loop in the sun as well as the rain. The second time round was certainly easier as the rain clouds had temporarily gone and much of the course had drained to make it more solid. I still didn't appreciate the sections with my two least favourite things in races - mud and sand. At least these were short, even if the long, narrow, muddy downhill miles were more like a luge track and almost made me fly off the course.

I was glad to finish Redwood and had hips as tight as a Scotsman. Some stretching and the good, old (new) recovery tights will hopefully fix me right up. And it was a nice bonus that I won with my 4h31m time, something I'd not expected. The next guy was 29 minutes back and third was another half hour. Clearly the slippery conditions and lack of prize money had led to slow times. But a win's a win, so it rounded off another confidence booster for the race to Squaw Valley. Three weeks 'til Comrades so I hope I can have a good taper and not lose anything. Then we'll just have to see how much I can recover from that in the four weeks 'til Western States. It's come around so soon, but I'm about as ready as I could be this year.