Tag Archives: Road Running

Stillwater Marathon A Go

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The Stillwater Marathon was given approval by the Stillwater City Council yesterday, according to the Star-Tribune. In a previous post I talked about some of the problems the event faced, including 15 other marathon races within a month (either way) in the local area.  Many thanks to the commenters who added and subtracted some races for me.

The article didn’t give many details except that

… the City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to authorize St. Croix Events Inc. to conduct the first Stillwater Marathon on May 24. Organizers there also plan to offer a 20-mile race, a half marathon and a 12K run. The total number of participants would be capped at 5,750 runners.

The Stillwater race is set for the same day as the Med-City Marathon in Rochester.

The Team Ortho and Stillwater marathons will make the metro area home to three such races, joining the annual fall Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, which winds through Minneapolis and St. Paul.

It will be interesting to watch how these races do this spring.  One of the commenters indicated that the perception of the event’s quality will have a huge impact.  On this front, as of writing this post the marathon’s website is still “under construction.”

I want to be clear, I have no ill-feelings toward the marathon, I just know a lot of people where hurt and disappointed after the Indy Classic Marathon debacle of last year.  I wish the event directors much success with this.  I hope that this quote from the Star-Tribune pans out well for all the races:

Despite the idea that Minnesota is now expected to be home to four marathons within a month of each another, race organizers aren’t flinching about the crowded field.

“There are so many runners out there, I don’t think this will matter,” said John Larson, executive director of Team Ortho Foundation, which is organizing the Minneapolis Marathon. “Each race has unique features, whether it’s different pasta parties or the unique flavor of the city.”

[tags] Marathon, Stillwater, Minneapolis [/tags]

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Stillwater Marathon has Problems

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According to the Stillwater Courier the inaugural Stillwater Marathon has an uphill battle to come into existence.

When creating a new event there are usually a lot of hoops to jump through.  I’ve previously highlighted some of the problems that the Indy Classic Marathon had last year. So far the Stillwater Marathon has a different set of problems.  First, they need to get approval from city council. The organizers are hoping to have a marathon distance event over Memorial Day weekend in 2009.  But this week, the Stillwater City Council took the item off their agenda, delaying any decision indefinitely.

A group of Stillwater businesses developed a petition containing 39 signatures which is the likely cause for the council’s action.  The petition requested that the marathon meet the following conditions:

  1. that the marathon should not start or end in the downtown historic district or within one mile;
  2. that it not occur any weekend between and including Memorial Day weekend and Labor Day weekend;
  3. that if an approved route runs through downtown Stillwater, a user fee be assessed toward a “Beautification and Bathrooms” fund for the historic district;
  4. that all runners be through the district by 9 a.m.; and
  5. that alternate, adequate parking and transportation be enforced and spectators and participants be prohibited from parking in the city’s parking lots in the historic district.

From my understanding, this takes away much of the context that the event’s planners were hoping to do with the event.  In previous discussions with my running buddies we had talked about the event’s viability even if it gained approval.

It seems that there has been a huge influx of marathons in Minnesota (and surrounding states) in the spring-time.  Here is a list:

Updated: I just found another marathon… Team Ortho’s Minneapolis Marathon on May 31.  And also the Brookings Marathon in Brookings, SD.

Updated 12-17 The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that the Stillwater Marathon was given unanimous approval for their May 24th race date. Read more here.

Despite the idea that Minnesota is now expected to be home to four marathons within a month of each another, race organizers aren’t flinching about the crowded field.

“There are so many runners out there, I don’t think this will matter,” said John Larson, executive director of Team Ortho Foundation, which is organizing the Minneapolis Marathon. “Each race has unique features, whether it’s different pasta parties or the unique flavor of the city.”

That is 13 15 marathons within a month of Memorial Day Weekend and note that there are 2 marathons within a few hours drive of Stillwater during Memorial Day weekend. Oh and previous reports indicate that it won’t be an easy course, with lots of hills interspersed throughout.

Just some thoughts.  What are your thoughts?

[tags] Marathon, Stillwater [/tags]

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Week in Review

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Another week in the book.  It seemed to go by super-fast, without a lot happening either…

I didn’t run on Monday and belted out my Week 4 push ups. I completed a total of 97 push ups.  My core workout for today included Prehab: Core, Hip, and Elasticity.

Tuesday I ran about 4.25 miles from my house downtown and back.  It was a little cold (20) and windy.  Running into the wind wasn’t exactly pleasant but not unbearable either! Since I’m not doing all of the Core Performance workouts, I didn’t have any core work to do today!

On Wednesday though it was even colder with a wind chill of 3, which I didn’t realize until I got home.  The weather app on my phone said it was in the 20’s, but didn’t show a wind chill.  Learned the hard way! I ran 3.25 miles around a snow covered Powderhorn Park. The required 113 push ups really started hurting by the last 2 sets.  It was painful but I also don’t want to fail! Today was a physioball workout.  I also bike commuted to work which takes a bit longer when there is snow on the ground, not only riding but also the whole layering system takes time.  I didn’t slip or get too cold so that was good!

By Thursday I was exhausted and didn’t run.  I almost ran in the evening to blow off some stress but opted to just relax at home.  I did my Prehab:Core, Hip, and Elasticity core workouts though.

Friday morning was the coldest yet with a wind chill of 0.  I wore 4 layers on my upper body and felt comfortable, except for not wearing my face mask! It was a very uneventful 3.1 mile run.  On days like this it is hard to keep the body temp comfortable, when I was running into the wind my body was on the cold side and with my back to the wind it was on the warm side.  The joys of winter running! I also completed the required push ups – 140 to be exact. I almost couldn’t get the last set of 33 out – I had to pause a few times, but I made it!

Saturday was the weekly Polar Bear runs and it finally lived up to its name! We woke up with an inch or two of fresh snow on the ground and the temp was in the mid-teens with a harsh -3 windchill.  We ran a loop around the Mississippi River from Lake Street to Plymouth Ave which is just under 11 miles total.  The run out was brutal because of the wind and the River Road’s trails hadn’t been plowed yet for most of the run.  That made for a tough workout, between the poor footing and losing some of the normal return it required more energy to complete the same workout from 2 weeks ago.  We finished right at 1:26:00 for about 11.78 10.78 miles.  I did my push-up exhaustion test, completing 36, which keeps me in the middle column going into Week 5.

It was bitter cold on Sunday for the 7.25 miles that we put in.  It was an interesting morning though – Rob and I were followed by a weird stalker guy while driving to Fort Snelling.  He started tailgating us and honking his horn, matching our every turn and then passing us on the right when we entered the parking lot.  Rob called 911 to report him and we followed him around the parking lot before parking.  Then he pulled into the spot right next to us (on my side) and just sat there with a weird look staring at us.  He would also randomly just honk his horn. Rob got out and talked to some of the guys to tell them what was up and then when the whole group showed up we got out.  Nathan tried talking to him, but I don’t even think he rolled down his window.  Paul told him we had already called the cops and he finally left – we thought maybe he’d try and run us over but everything seemed fine once he left.   After that adventure the run was really good.  We ran on the snow covered trails of Pike Island.  Down on the island the windchill doesn’t feel as fierce but the temp was about 4 degrees with a -3 wind chill.  We didn’t see any deer until we got into the middle of the island and then they were everywhere.  It was a good run!

Weekly Mileage

Running – 28.6 miles

Biking – 7 miles

This Week Last Year

I posted a guest review of the Monster Mash Dash in Indianapolis and completed the third part of my training analysis which was for my Mid-South Half-Marathon.  And of course Foto Friday!  Last year’s mileage was 9.5 miles on the (indoor) bike, 1.2 miles on the elliptical, and 15 minutes on the rower.

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Week in Review

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This was a pretty good week all around.  I was feeling a lot more motivated to run and despite a very busy schedule at work this week I still managed to get some good runs in. The cooler weather has made biking to work a little bit more of an adventure!

Tuesday I went for a four mile run on my Downtown loop and finished in 30:14. It was a chilly 34 when I left the house, so I pulled out the pants for the first time this fall. It was a nice run though, especially enjoying the sunrise hitting the skyline!  I also threw in a couple of faster paced sections to see how my legs would react – went pretty well I think!

Wednesday I ran for 5 miles along the Greenway. It was a cool 42 with a slight drizzle for most of the run.  I finished in 38:36 and had another pleasant run!

Thursday I rode for 14 miles, but didn’t get a chance to run.  Riding feels pretty good, but you need gloves and something over the ears – I forgot both for part of the ride!

Saturday I ran with some of the guys on a new trail (for me at least) along the Minnesota River.  It was about 8.5 miles on single track and bulldozer track trails.  Ever tried running on bulldozer track? We took it pretty easy and finished in 1:17:29.  It was a fun run, dodging trees, jumping creeks.  Ahh that is what running is supposed to be like!

Sunday My ride twittered me that he was sick and wasn’t going to go to the group run and a quick call to another guy wasn’t answered, so carless I was left to run on my own.  I rolled over and enjoyed sleeping in. I ended up running 7.5 miles alone.  It was a cool 42 with wind gusts well into the double digits, I didn’t think to check the real-feel.  I had no real plan for the run, just that I was going downtown and the hitting the river.  I ended up making my way to the U of Minnesota’s campus via the East River Road before crossing Franklin Ave Bridge and heading home.  It was a nice run, except for the headwinds.  I’m glad I got it finished before the cold-wet snow started flying!

Weekly Mileage:

Running – 24.6 miles

Biking – 22.5 miles

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