Forums >Racing>2.62 Micro Marathon
A few times when my wife, a non-runner, has seen the 26.2 stickers, she'd joke that what she would want is a 2.62 mile sticker. Well, just a few minutes ago an email arrived announcing a 2.62 micro marathon in my area, and each participant will receive a 2.62 sticker. Now, she'll have to enter a race, won't she?
So, if anyone lives near Arlington Heights, IL here's a race option for you on May 19th: http://www.got2run.org/
I'm pretty pumped about this because not only do I have another race option, it's being organized by a local running club that I didn't even know existed.
jfa
There goes the neighborhood.
Hoodoo Guru
I just got that e-mail also. Somehow, "micro" and "mini" just don't go with "marathon."
The tangents are moot.
When I was a HS'r in mid 70's El Paso TX the county hospital sponsored a 2.62 mile race that they called a micro-mini marathon. I still had the shirt up until a few years ago when the wife put her foot down and forced me to clean out some of the moth-eaten ones. I wish I'd gotten a sticker.
Course Information 2.62 Course (Click here for course map)The 2.62 course winds through the beautiful Scarsdale area. A water station will be are located at approximately the 1.5 mile mark.8K (4.97) Course (Click here for course map)The 8K course follows the 2.62 course until just near the end, then continues out on a different loop finally finishing at the same location as the 2.62. The hope is that parents running the 4.97 will have be able to run with their kids during the 2.62 while still having the opportunity to complete a longer run if desired. There will be an additional water station at approximately the 3.5 mile mark.
Good thing there are multiple water stations. What flavor GU will they have, and how do I sign up to be a pacer?
I'm sure I'm not the only one who sees the emergence of the 2.62 mile "micro marathon" as blatant cash grab? The 5k is already an accessible enough distance for anyone looking to get into the sport. Surly this distance is marketed towards non-runners who want the mystique of the marathon without the training or the bloody nipples.
My first reaction to this was to make a whole bunch of snarky comments, but in reality, this type of race is probably good for the sport.
I believe that there is a butterfly effect in running. The last place runner at a local 5k (or 2.62 mile race) makes the next to last place person work just a bit harder not to come in last and so forth up through the standings as runners jockey and train to win age groups and then overall races awards. The top runners at the local races then push each other at regional races and make the best runners in that region work a bit harder to win. Then those top regional runners go to the national races and force the elites to work that much harder to stay out in front. Because of this, I think that every runner from the fastest to the slowest shares in the accomplishments, to some degree, of the runners who break American records or world records etc. (Obviously, I'm not trying to diminish the personal accomplishment of anyone who wins a race, but no elite runner would put forth the effort to run a 2:03 marathon if the next best runner in the world could only do it in 3:00.)
That said, I don't think I'll pay to run a 2.62 mile race. If you want my cash either make your race a classic distance or do it as a cross country race or a trail race...or offer free beer at the end...
Feeling the growl again
I'm sure I'm not the only one who sees the emergence of the 2.62 mile "micro marathon" as blatant cash grab? The 5k is already an accessible enough distance for anyone looking to get into the sport. Surly this distance is marketed towards non-runners who want the mystique of the marathon without the training or the bloody nipples. My first reaction to this was to make a whole bunch of snarky comments, but in reality, this type of race is probably good for the sport.
If being able to run a "micro marathon" will get under-trained runners to be content without attempting to tackle a real marathon too soon on too little training, I think it is a good thing.
And unfortunately my current geography is responsible the the "mini" marathon moniker...
"If you want to be a bad a$s, then do what a bad a$s does. There's your pep talk for today. Go Run." -- Slo_Hand
I am spaniel - Crusher of Treadmills
Trust me... this is good for the sport, especially in this area. The area and park districts bend over backwards for sports like baseball, football, basketball, soccer, and to some degree swimming. But with running, there isn't much. Sure, sometimes there's a 1/4 mile kid's dash, but to me, that's a joke. What does a 1/4 mile teach besides bad pacing? Even 1 mile street races before parades, on the parade route, would be great additions.
I'd love to see more combo races like this where there's a 3K to 2.62 mile race paired up with a longer race for adults that want a longer distance.
I already do a 4k every year. It's a blast....all out puke effort from start to finish. Only a few hundred feet short of 2.62.
Good Bad & The Monkey
I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.
Poor baby
The country music Marathon in Nashville did this a couple weeks ago. you could choose to run the fall, the half, or this distance, which they called mini. for just $70, you too could run 2.62 miles and get a T-shirt and medal. Yep. $70.
It was seeing that $70 price tag that first turned me off to 2.62 mile races in general. I associate them with (goal 1) make money (goal 2) have a race that will make your runners enjoy running/racing more than they did before they ran your race. I feel that every race should put those priorities in the other order.
It is a knee jerk reaction to automatically group all 2.62 mile races in with that one, but even the $30 that it costs for an adult to sign up for the Got2Run seems a bit expensive to race 2.62 miles that probably shares the infrastructure that is already there for the 8k.
$70?! CIM has their maraFUNrun (2.62miles) but their fee structure is much more reasonable than that:
maraFUNrun REGISTRATION FEES:
For kids 13 and under
For all others
I will let people run 1.25 miles and puke up 4 beers on my grass track. For FREE.
The Limping Jogger
Well, given that Boston was an easy bake oven disaster and DW is running the Schaumburg marathon on the 20th as redemption, I may give it the 2.62 mile race a go as a micro redemption. The course is certainly a pretty shape... Conversely, the 8k course looks like a nightmare.
"Only a few more laps to go and then the action will begin, unless this is the action, which it is."
Kalsarikännit
I want to do it because I want to do it. -Amelia Earhart