Akron Marathon (Read 80 times)

I've done the Akron marathon the last 2 years and I really like it. It's certainly not flat so if you're looking for hills this is a good one. Crowd support is great and the giveaways are also great. It was warmish the first time and perfect the other. Warmish being about 70 at the end. The new course is not any easier than the old one, but it is scenic and interesting. I would recommend this race.

I ran the race and here's a report for others interested - I recommend this race.  The course is a rolling course with very little flat ground, but there's really only one long hill (mile 13-14) and neither that nor the handful of steeper, shorter ones will hurt you much.  Most of the hills are of the sort that make the run more interesting, changing the stride and muscle use a bit.  It's a curvy one, too, with lots of scenery changes for a city race far from any mountains or coastlines.  Run your tangents - not the blue line that goes from start to finish.  The ballpark finish was an nice September touch, too.

The race is extremely well organized.  Seemed like there were more volunteers than runners out there, and it appears that they had the leadership and materials necessary to put on a great race.  The start was right on time to the second.  Water stops were often on the wrong side of the course if you were aiming for the perfect line through the turns, but they were the right size and kept clean of dropped cups.  The race has a large number of relay competitors, something I've never tried myself but I like seeing out there for company's sake.  The relay zones were set up appropriately, no interference with those running half or full races.  Crowd support was varied throughout the race.  There weren't ever any cheering throngs until the stadium finish, but it was never a solitary experience.  Lots of small groups of friendly Midwestern people.  The Children's Hospital patients out to cheer certainly added some perspective.

I stayed at the Courtyard Marriott downtown, which was new and quiet and an easy walk to the start line.  No trouble getting a restaurant resi.  My own race was something of a disappointment, am trying hard to get back to the sub-3:30s that once came with just a little effort.  I'm blaming the weather for my 3:35, it was in the mid-60s with the dew point over 60 at the start.  The day after the race had much better air.  Well, these races are always a gamble and the September races even more so.

Give it a try.