Pros & Cons of touring a marathon course (Read 778 times)

Just curious what folks think. Do you tour the course before or not? why? Personally I don't think I will be intimidated but rather I think it will prepare me for what is coming. For some reason I think it is easier if you know what is around the corner.

I would always get familiar with a course first if possible. It can make an enormous difference. Especially on difficult courses. Not sure what the cons might be.

I like to get familiar with the course so I can break it down into pieces. I find it easier to run longer distances if I divide the course into segments. While you can always do this by miles, it resonates with me more if I use landmarks. I prepare mental mantras in advance: "When you see that building, you should be running light and easy .... when you turn onto that street, prepare yourself for a bout of tough running .... when you cross that bridge, you're in the homestretch." Etc., etc.

Home course advantage is huge. Knowing a course helps. I try to get to know a course, but don't always manage. The only time that I think it hurt me to tour the course was when I tried figuring out Mystic Places - the tour starts in the middle of the course, and the bus driver repeatedly told us that we'd actually be running the opposite direction that we were driving, and couldn't take us down some of the roads because they were private property, and it twisted and turned so much I had absolutely no clue what was going on. When I ran it though the course made perfect sense.

Ok - not to pour any water on this discussion but for your plain and standard marathon, I can't see any real benefit to me in driving/scouting the course unless you are a "front of the pack" kind of person or serious racer. I find it nice to know where the hills will be located and the spacing on water stops, but past that I will be following the crowd and shouldn't get lost. If I'm trained properly, I should run my race at the pace I planned no matter what I might encounter. This of course assumes a reasonable size marathon of several thousand people (for smaller one's I agree fully so as not to get lost) I've run Disney 4 times and know the course well but it hasn't helped me improve my time and they keep changing the Disney characters at the different mile stops anyway so that doesn't help with my photos. (I've run that one between 3:47 and 4:30). Scenic views would be nice to know but hey they usually are big enough not to miss (monuments at Marine Corps) If I'm an ultra or on a trail I can see the need, but otherwise it seems a bit much for a middle of the pack type. So where am I off the track (so to speak)

Just don't film elites doing it. Oh, wait. That's football and the New England Cheatriots.

touring on foot or in a car? whenever i drive along the regular long-running course, i can't help but think how stupidly far it is. same with driving along a marathon course. maybe that will change for me, with more experience and confidence. hills too. they always seem steeper from a car than on foot.

I don't really understand how this is possible. You don't change your pace knowing the course is more/less hilly? Or change your pace over the course of a race?

I think you miss my point. Most courses are well enough covered by reviews and their sites to know if they are hilly or flat. If I register for Big Sur, Flying Pig, or CMM, I know I will get hills. Driving the course to see the hills the day prior doesn't change the physical nature of things. Yes my pace will fluctuate but on the miles and not the overall based on my plan/training unless something is off (weather, how I feel that day, etc.). I also tend to pay attention to my general feeling (HR) to gage effort throughout the marathon. The general group here does not register for a marathon on a whim and researches it prior to running. Just read the reports and questions for verification. So, my question really focuses on those who are racing and its benefit to scouting the course as they are very tuned to strategy based on placing. I am no racer and can only correlate this to my golf (of which I do play at a very high level). I scout courses prior to tournaments to develop a specific strategy and provide flexibility to accomodate unexpected circumstances so I can compete for titles. When I go out just to play a non-competitive round at a new course, I do not scout it the say before as there is no real reason. I see the same in running, so why scout the course if 1) you already know the big picture of the course 2) you can spend some time relaxing prior to the run. Perhaps this is why I have not BQ, but frankly no amount of scouting the course the day prior will help me accomplish this if I haven't put in the miles and hard work leading up to the event. Don't want to be a crumudgeon (that's Scout's job) but I just don't see the point.