Pocono Mountains Run for the Red Marathon

It is not accurate to call the Pocono Mountains Run for the Red Marathon an easy marathon. It is a very fast marathon, but the descents are as quad-trashingly brutal as you will encounter. I can usually jog a day or so after a marathon, and I comfortably run a week afterward. After Pocono, I was having difficulty walking almost a week later.

So, what was my opinion of the race? I absolutely loved it.

Such a thing as an accidental personal best?

I’ve run a lot of organized marathons recently (five in the past six months), but most have been paced like long runs rather than all-out races. Each has been faster than the previous one; since I’ve been slowly recovering from some nagging injuries, this strategy has been good for me both physically and mentally. I’ve managed to stay focused with my recovery without piling on massive weekly mileage totals, and the events are fun motivation. It works for me, at least.

After a mildly disappointing 3:17:40 at Boston, I agreed to jump in with some fellow Crazy Leggers on their latest Boston-qualifying attempt. I need a BQ time, as I’m returning the Boston in 2010 for the third year straight. The Pocono Mountains Run for the Red Marathon boasts a huge Boston-qualifying finisher percentage, mostly due to the massive elevation drop over the middle of the course. My goal was to tag along and run between a 3:08 and 3:12 BQ (my age group’s time is 3:15:59). I’m a relatively big guy and have sturdy quads, so I can hammer downhills. So, I simply intended to run on feel… and kill me some downhills.

Resting up before the race

The course is mostly rolling/flat for the first eight miles, but there is plenty of descent over the middle ten. There are a number of gradual uphills during this portion, but each is followed by a down. Even the more nasty hills around mile 20 through 23 aren’t so bad.

The following splits probably say everything you might want to know about the course:

Split	Time	Distance	Elevation Gain	Elevation Loss	Avg Speed	Avg HR
1	00:06:58	1.00	162	623	06:58	153
2	00:07:04	1.00	123	98	07:04	141
3	00:06:40	1.00	58	110	06:40	141
4	00:06:55	1.00	96	79	06:55	145
5	00:06:50	1.00	84	60	06:50	144
6	00:06:42	1.00	43	49	06:42	141
7	00:06:48	1.00	68	109	06:48	141
8	00:07:24	1.00	52	87	07:24 (BR break)	139
9	00:05:46	1.00	0	300	05:46	145
10	00:06:13	1.00	117	207	06:13	147
11	00:06:26	1.00	22	263	06:26	144
12	00:06:25	1.00	25	153	06:25	145
13	00:06:28	1.00	112	224	06:28	148
14	00:06:33	1.00	33	74	06:33	150
15	00:06:31	1.00	74	162	06:31	149
16	00:06:13	1.00	44	211	06:13	151
17	00:06:38	1.00	76	85	06:38	150
18	00:06:27	1.00	66	178	06:27	154
19	00:06:37	1.00	167	123	06:37	152
20	00:06:52	1.00	88	183	06:52	152
21	00:06:50	1.00	114	120	06:50	153
22	00:06:55	1.00	101	158	06:55	152
23	00:06:50	1.00	80	118	06:50	154
24	00:06:50	1.00	136	139	06:50	155
25	00:07:04	1.00	211	191	07:04	154
26	00:07:13	1.00	202	49	07:13	156
27	00:01:38	0.23	11	175	06:59	159
Summary	02:56:02	26.23	2,365	4,327	06:42	148

Weather was cold and windy at the start, but I was amped enough to run through the wind for the first few miles. I was warm within minutes. Low 40s at the start, and high 50s at the finish. After a port-a-potty stop during mile 8, the hills started, and though I felt good I was scared when I saw the 5:46 split leaving Mt. Pocono. Over and over I made up gobs of time by simply running the downhills faster than everyone around me. Major quad and calf sacrifice was involved, but in exchange for a little muscle wear and roughly a 3:08ish race effort, I ended up with a 2:56:01 PR time.

Mike and Paul ready for some work
Gonzo started the race with a tweaked calf muscle, and the hills were extremely tough on his injured legs. This course is definitely not one for nursing an injury. Thankfully, he dropped out before he did too much damage. I’m looking forward to his next healthy race, where he’s going to easily go sub-3:10.

Mission accomplished
Mike, on the other hand, hammered the hills and ran a personal best of 17 minutes for his first Boston qualifier! The dude has put in the work over the past year, and all the investment finally paid off. Crazy Legs will be well-represented in Boston for 2010!

• « Previous post
• Next post »

• Recent Posts

  • California Flowers
  • Off Montana Interstate 90: Returning
  • Glacier National Park: Peaks
  • Glacier National Park: Lake
  • Off Montana Interstate 90

• Twitter

  • @jeremyjustice Verdict? in reply to jeremyjustice 1 week ago
  • Large-item trash pick-up is miraculous. 2010-07-21
  • @Cara Though it might sound like a "not enough thought" gift, everybody appreciates cold hard cash when they're getting married. in reply to Cara 2010-05-21
  • I almost know what I'm doing with WPF. I also almost like it, too. 2010-05-20
  • Despite being well into Clydesdale territory (190+) and way undertrained, I put in a sub-3:13 today at Poconos for my Boston four-peat! 2010-05-16
  • @jachee Hahaha! in reply to jachee 2010-05-14
  • More updates...

• Me

  • Résumé
  • LinkedIn profile

• Archives

  Select Month April 2010 December 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 March 2009 January 2009 October 2008 September 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004

• Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries RSS
  • Comments RSS
  • WordPress.org