Fast fall marathons

Indy

blessing in disguise about Chicago...it always (it seems like) ends up being humid/hot AF. I'd do Indy. On the east coast I'd consider Richmond or Philly in November but those courses are not as flat and fast.

Try Fargo marathon.

Indy, Richmond, Philly

travel to St George Utah, you will not be disappointed.

Thanks for the responses everyone, I'll look into each of these. Curious if the St. George one is as fast as the elevation chart would lead one to believe. Also looking into maybe Portland or Long Beach and making a trip out of it. Has anyone run either of these and have any inputs? Detroit also looks cool as it goes into Canada and returns through the tunnel. I'd imagine that one is quite windy though

Toronto is the place to go if you can't go to Chicago. Gold label Marathon, flat enough, big city atmosphere and support, heaps of people to run with

Had some lady friends do st. George for bq goals, Cliff notes:

Medium long drive from Las Vegas

Warm af

have to wake up super early to get on a bus

Leg wrecking downhill

Kinda senic

Got the bqs they were looking for

My impressionnfrom them, the downhill is not fast or doesn't feel that steep, or rather it depends on your turnover.

I did a training run with them in South California in a similar elevation profile in Ventura and at the time I was living in flat rural area so I noticed the downhill immediately. I didn't feel sore until the next day. And then I was sore for almost 2 weeks. It's easily a 15 minute advantage over a flat course. My heart rate was barely aerobic and I did 1:20 for 13 miles like nothing. I could see another 13 being either just as smooth with the right training or the pounding catches up and everything crumbles. Not sure what that training would be.

Not trying to be a hero but are you serious about the 15 minute advantage? Do you really believe someone like Kipchoge could run a 1:45-1:50 on the St George course?

*not trying to be a jerk

this one is easy wrote:

Try Fargo marathon.

Not a fall marathon. In 2022, it's going back to its usual May date. It only moved to fall for this year. Otherwise, definitely flat and fast, at least if it's not windy.

Deebo wrote:

Chicago marathon rejected my application (9 seconds too slow :/). Any suggestions for fast fall marathons? Preferably in the midwest, but willing to travel. Just can't be after the time change because my motivation drops drastically. I did Indy last year and blasted my goal out of the water, but goals are bigger this year and I'd like to switch it up if there's another good option.

Columbus puts on a pretty good event. My PR (2:30) is from there. Start is awesome, lot of crowd support in the first half and throughout the course, and can run fast there too.

Some of those downhill races with like 4k-5k of elevation drop they say add 10 minutes to your time to convert it to a regular course. St George

Definitely not a guaranteed BQ for everybody though. Quads can go out early if u aren't careful

Weather is usually good for Columbus, too. Many recent years 40-55 with low or moderate humidity (and for exceptions, I think slightly colder days have been at least as common as, say, >60 days with significant humidity). It's for a good cause as well (Nationwide Children's Hospital).

Yea i bet..

Think commrades downhill vs uphill years. Has someone won both within a short period of time. I bet the time differential is substantial.

I compared son of Utah Kenneth Richardson, ran same times of 2:27xx for St George and Long Beach(#1 baby)

So bottom line, maybe it doesn't matter. It's the day and your prep, and who else shows up.

Comrades, same course, up and down. it's an ultra though. This person has run it several times with mixed results.

Bongmusa Mthembu

Comrades Marathon 2018 (Down) 5:26:3

Comrades Marathon 2017 (Up) 5:35:3

Monumental Marathon in Indianapolis

FYI - the poster is referring to the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. There is a Toronto Marathon as well but Scotia is the big, gold label one.

Deebo wrote:

Chicago marathon rejected my application (9 seconds too slow :/). Any suggestions for fast fall marathons? Preferably in the midwest, but willing to travel. Just can't be after the time change because my motivation drops drastically. I did Indy last year and blasted my goal out of the water, but goals are bigger this year and I'd like to switch it up if there's another good option.

For those that continue to recommend Indy.