Five reasons to run the Richmond Marathon

By Henry Howard

After focusing on trail and ultra races for much of the past five years, I wanted to see what was possible for a fast marathon time.

So I set out to shoot my shot at the Nov. 16 Richmond Marathon in Virginia.

Here's what I found out: all of the training consistency in the past five years since my last real road marathon paid off.

My 3:16:58 time was a six-minute PR, as well as a Boston, Chicago and NYC qualifier. (Fun fact: NYC’s qualifying times are faster than the other two.) I finished fourth in my age group out of 146 and 522nd overall out of more than 5,200 participants.

I ran the first half in 1:38:43 and the second in 1:38:15, which illustrates my consistent pace throughout.

Several friends have asked about what made the difference for me. I believe the keys to the improved time were:

• The consistency in my training over the past seven years since my previous PR, a combination of 14,000 to 15,000 miles ran, cross training and proper recovery time.

• My ability to take in carbs on the run. I had a fairly standard peanut butter and banana in bagel in the morning, and a Honey Stinger waffle just before the race. Then I had a 40g of carbs SIS Beta gel at miles 2, 6, 10, 14, 17, 21 and 24. That’s 280 grams of carbs in roughly three hours.

• The Nike Alpha Vaporflys. Think about super shoes like supplements. They support your fitness and can give you a boost, but they cannot make up entirely for a seriously undertrained athlete. The responsiveness gave me an amazing boost and I kept a very steady and consistent pace throughout the race.

Why run the Richmond Marathon

The Richmond Marathon, held downtown, also offers a half marathon and 8K for participants. The marathon has about 800 feet of gain with a series of rolling hills in the middle of the race. Get through those and the final 10K or so is mostly flat with the longest downhill of the race escorting runners in all distances to the finish area.

I’m really glad I chose this race and would recommend it for first-timers, those looking to PR their marathon or anyone wanting to do a fun race.

Here are five reasons why the Richmond Marathon is a great race.

1. Pre-race information. The race directors emailed regular updates with working links to keep participants informed. All of my questions were answered and I was able to align my logistics without an issue.
   

2. Packet pickup. I don’t think I’ve ever been at a race with that many participants (20,000 plus) with such a seamless packet pickup. After parking, it was an easy walk to get my bib (using the QR code in one of the aforementioned emails), and then grab my shirt and check out the vendors in the expo area. I had zero waiting time for my bib and shirt.
   

3. Volunteers. Every single volunteer I encountered from packet pickup to race morning to on course to the post-race celebration was kind, knowledgeable and helpful.
   

4. Race course. The course itself was fun, extremely well supported by volunteers and offered several sections where tons of cheering spectators welcomed runners. But the race directors went above and beyond. Having three different races, sharing some of the same sections can be confusing to runners when not marked properly. However, the Richmond race was easy to navigate. For the marathon, there were water and Nuun water stations every two miles for most of the race, before showing up every mile for the final miles.
   

5. Post-race swag. Finishers were treated to the traditional assortment of bananas, water, chips and more. Additionally, marathon and half marathon finishers received a hat and blanket in addition to the medal. Boston Marathon qualifiers also got a koozie to celebrate their achievement.

   
   

I don’t know if I’ll ever go back to the Richmond race. But I highly recommend it to others to experience for all these reasons and more.