Competitive Jerks Racing and Training - 2023 (Read 575 times)

 

Now we're talking! So long as it does not snow during the race like during 2016 😂

This should be really flat. Gotta get lucky with the wind though.

IIRC you run part of the course nearly every day ? How's the wind there ?

Also Re: Pricey, if I chose to run in Zürich I'm pretty sure the entry fee will not be of any concern as compared to everything else 😂

I remember 2016 although I didn't run it, but it was a miserable experience for those that did.

The winter months are more windy - but its nowhere as windy as NZ where we would even distinguish by origin like our kiwi friends with their southerlies / eastlies, etc trade winds. But nothing major, and don't recall it being an issue in spring/summer, ever.

I think the biggest risk would be rain and cold in late April. I think that makes for a very unpleasant experience. But you could have that in Rotterdam as well - and there you may have more wind.

Regarding cost: yes, its expensive for sure. But you can stay outside of Zurich and then take the train in. Like if you stay close to the airport, it isn't really more expensive than other European cities I believe. And then eat Rahmen noodles for carbo loading haha. I will treat you to pizza if you come.

Mikkey - Thanks, Rotterdam is sold out, I could try a waiting list.

That said,

Any feedback on NewPort, Wales ? https://newportwalesmarathon.co.uk/

It's fast and flat, nearly guaranteed good weather. My only concern would be that they don't speak English 😈

No I haven’t run it or heard of that race before, but it definitely looks like a good option.  I remember Noel Gallagher saying that the only Welsh people he likes are the ones that don’t live in Wales!  I’m guessing what he meant is that they can be a bit standoffish towards English visitors and then start speaking in their own language. I’ve only been to Wales once and enjoyed the experience, although the locals are hard to understand even when they speak in English. 

Having said that, I think MickJogger is selling Zürich very well and I would be inclined to go for that option. And pizza is probably my favourite junk food.  

 

 

 

Berlin/Paris/Etc - Berlin is impossible to get into, Paris is very likely too warm and not flat enough.

Paris was my first (2016) and while it's not pancake flat I don't think the course there will keep you from a sub-3. It wasn't warm either but a little bit warmer than ideal.

DK - Glass City is not one I've heard of before.  Looks pretty cool!

Marky - The race series and the scoring is interesting.  It must get very competitive.

jblackjr - Welcome!

Cal - Great job!  I think that CIM looks like a nice race and pretty fair.  A lot of people go there specifically because they expect it to be fast and they are fast runners looking to PR/BQ, so then its like a feedback loop of good performances. 

Keen - Nick Bare - I don't know if that guy is doing shady stuff, but he is obviously trying to sell something.

Tiny update for me - Took 15 days off after my calf issue.  Ran 1 mile yesterday and almost 2 today.  My calf feels odd, but not painful, still feeling lot of twinges in my knee.  Just going to ease into things and see what happens.  Wondering if maybe I should just keep the mileage in the 40s, lose some weight, run some hard runs and then see where I am in the Spring.  Maybe I could break 3 off of 45-50 mpw with some strength training and cross training.  Maybe too optimistic?  Now that I've heard about moose mugs, that's stuck in my head too.  That's a tough one.  If there was a moose mug for 5K, I would start with that.

Mick - Thanks, I'll keep Zürich in the list.
The only downside I can think of is that the Half starts at 11am which would make race day logistics a bit weird, but definitely workable.
The half race is even flatter than the full.
When I looked at the course map I immediately remembered when I ran in Luzern.
Bienwald appears to be nearly 100% flat, the downside is the very small field and having to run alone large portions of the race. Still doable though I'm told the weather can be warm though it's unlikely.
Also you lost me at the Kebab offer, it has to be pizza of course!

Mikkey - Thanks for the info, it still looks like an interesting race, it's easily reachable with direct flights from Porto to either Cardiff or Bristol.
It's extremely flat and weather should be good.
It also has the advantage that the half marathon starts at the same time as the marathon.
And we'd also be able to visit a different country. Just gotta go through the annoying UK immigration.

But the whale sighting should be worth it 🤡

RP - Got it, I'll make sure to train better.

MT - I tried to sell here the idea of a moose mug for a half marathon, it was shot down with nukes LOL

In fact we got mocked this year for not being 80 percenters. It's a tough life being a turtle in this thread 😂

Medals - I've thrown many out. In fact I threw my Valencia medal into the hotel room's trash can. My wife got mad at me and picked it up, she says it's too nice to throw away.

I agree, I try to avoid accepting a medal when I have a bad race. My wife bought me one of these medal/bib displays last year. My son has one side for his medals and I keep my side limited to medals which have meaning like the first race of a certain difference or a PR.

Flavio - remove the Europe constraint and the answer is obvious - Christchurch marathon. It’s in April, pancake flat, easy logistics (except the pesky flight around the world), starts with the half and 10km but big enough to still have a group to run with after halfway.  A 99% guarantee of good weather with wind the main risk. And plenty of beers afterwards. Lock it in!

 

I haven’t tried this on the race time equivalency calculator, but at fist glance this seems harder than a marathon moose mug. I have zero chance of ever getting either but the 5k number is even more unfathomable to me.

 

MTA - for a 60yo, MM = 3:00, your 5k calculation = 16:45.

McMillan calculator says 3:00 marathon = 18:28 5k, and a 16:45 5k = 2:43

You are right, it is too tough, because I meant to do 3 secs.  I was walking the dog and going back and forth on 14:45, 15, 15:15, 15:30, 15:45 + various secs per age.  Lowered the base time and forgot to raise the seconds multiplier.  Even with the new one, it might be too punishing for older runners, there is probably a speed decay that exceeds an endurance decay.  So you would need a larger than 3 sec multiplier at some point.  I also forgot to take 15 secs off for women when I did it for men.

So it should have been:         

Men: 14:45 + (Age x 3 sec)

Women: 17:30 + (Age x 3 sec)

I think that is more reasonable.