I ran the Little Rock Marathon last weekend, finishing in 2:28:30ish. The race director took good care of all the elite runners, giving both the 1/2 and fullers the option of staying in the race hotel 2 nights prior to the race. I will note that their standards seem fairly relaxed and yet they gave us some nice little perks, with staging areas before and after and dinner before and whatnot. I again have to tip my hat because this is clearly not the norm in today's race circuit and if it is offered, there is often a very limited number of allowed elite spots. I had contacted the Woodlands marathon for instance and was not going to be offered any more than a comped entry, even though the marathon field was very limited. I have a number of issues surrounding this phenomenon but will just make note of the races that make an effort to help someone like myself.
The course at Little Rock is quite winding and undulating for about 18 miles but then smoothes out and allows for a steady finish, unless you catch a headwind, which we did, but I had been running conservatively for a number of reasons, and managed the second fastest last 10k of anyone in the race. The main reason I was backed off early was that I had another pretty severe allergy/asthma reaction prior to Sunday and was actually kind of just trying to steel myself and go 26.2. Turns out had I raced the 1/2, I would have probably at least been able to muster 3rd, I was surprised how many guys did the full, there were a number of former stud Africans that were clearly past prime but went out in the marathon.
Also overdo is my Mississippi River Marathon recap. I had a nice trip down to the delta and got a nice steady effort in, feeling like I ran about as fast as was possible without backing off the week prior. Two other decent runners were in the race, Wojiech Kopec and Justin Gillette. We ran together early but then Kopec took off and I had no illusions to try and match him early on, figuring he may come back, which he did. Justin initially moved in front of me but by 5 or 6 miles, he veered off for what I assumed may have been a pit stop and didn't rejoin me. He told me afterward in a somewhat Faulkneresque explanation that he didn't like running into a wind or over bridges. Surprising for someone who prides himself on traveling and running tons of marathons, as was his lack of congeniality.
I very much enjoyed the hospitality that the Delta Striders extended and made sure to soak up the area, which is truly unique and such a crucial one in the shaping our musical and cultural history. It's amazing how flat the delta is and one can understand how the bleak but severe river plane landscape can provide the backdrop and drive for creating a musical movement.
The course at Little Rock is quite winding and undulating for about 18 miles but then smoothes out and allows for a steady finish, unless you catch a headwind, which we did, but I had been running conservatively for a number of reasons, and managed the second fastest last 10k of anyone in the race. The main reason I was backed off early was that I had another pretty severe allergy/asthma reaction prior to Sunday and was actually kind of just trying to steel myself and go 26.2. Turns out had I raced the 1/2, I would have probably at least been able to muster 3rd, I was surprised how many guys did the full, there were a number of former stud Africans that were clearly past prime but went out in the marathon.
Also overdo is my Mississippi River Marathon recap. I had a nice trip down to the delta and got a nice steady effort in, feeling like I ran about as fast as was possible without backing off the week prior. Two other decent runners were in the race, Wojiech Kopec and Justin Gillette. We ran together early but then Kopec took off and I had no illusions to try and match him early on, figuring he may come back, which he did. Justin initially moved in front of me but by 5 or 6 miles, he veered off for what I assumed may have been a pit stop and didn't rejoin me. He told me afterward in a somewhat Faulkneresque explanation that he didn't like running into a wind or over bridges. Surprising for someone who prides himself on traveling and running tons of marathons, as was his lack of congeniality.
I very much enjoyed the hospitality that the Delta Striders extended and made sure to soak up the area, which is truly unique and such a crucial one in the shaping our musical and cultural history. It's amazing how flat the delta is and one can understand how the bleak but severe river plane landscape can provide the backdrop and drive for creating a musical movement.
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