I don't mind lap routes either.  I mean, you've got to run 26.2 miles.  What difference does it make if it's one loop or several loops? We've got a local HM which loops through the finish area at mile 8.  People complain about that.  But, you've got to run 13.1 miles. Does it really matter if it loops?

It is probably an individual thing but I do extremely poorly when running on a loop course, and this includes my 6 mile training loop!

Whereas I can do a 12 mile run (6 out 6 back) without so much as a single drop of spit, when I get to the 6 mile point of my loop where I intend to run 12 miles for whatever reason I need to stop at my car for a drink or I WILL DIE!

During events such as a 10k that loops a 5k course twice, it takes the strength of Samson with a full head of hair to not bail on that stupid race at the 3.1 mile mark!

It is the weirdest thing ever but is not something new that I am dealing with, it has always been this way for me.

Yes I know this is mostly all mental, and I also know that mental fortitude is my strong suit, but where looped courses are concerned I am a mental midget.  lol

My preference thus is to run a course that is a point to point first, followed by one big square or oval, then an out and back (which sometimes has its own issues depending on elevation, wind direction etc.).

A course that loops itself in any number other than one would be my least preferred course.

 

It is probably an individual thing but I do extremely poorly when running on a loop course, and this includes my 6 mile training loop!

 

Then I won't suggest Six Days in the Dome running on a track slightly larger than 400m for 144 hours.

Then I won't suggest Six Days in the Dome running on a track slightly larger than 400m for 144 hours.

My goodness no!

Congratulations!  I'm so glad you did it, and did it so well.  There's still hope for me, maybe.

Yes!  If I was able to do this, there is hope for anyone.

Wow, a first marathon at the Self-Transcendence.

I looked at that back in 2012 as an option to get a late BQ for 2013 but decided the loop course would be a real mind drain.

Congrats and hope the knee doesn't continue to derail your plans.

It only got REALLY bad in the last couple of loops (when the fastest people were crossing the finish line and I had to keep going)... but then, I don't care about the scenery during races, so loops don't bother me.

How is the knee?  And what is the story behind holding the event on a Monday?  The post-race vegetarian meal concept is interesting.  Was it yummy?

PFPS, just like I suspected.  It feels a lot better now but that's not surprising, considering I've done nothing but sit on my rapidly expanding ass since the race!

Don't ask me, this race is always on a weekday for some reason -- I think it was on a Friday last year.  And I wouldn't know about the vegetarian meal...  I never get to take advantage of these things since I keep kosher.

 

lol

 

Awesome!