http://theannarbormarathon.com/
Thought I'd pass that on for anyone who hasn't seen it yet. I'm looking forward to see what the actual course looks like before I make a decision on whether to participate.
The date of the middle of summer isn't ideal for a marathon, but you can't beat the location!
Creator of RunForth | @robraux | shodless.com
thanks! I hadn't heard about this. don't know how tempted I'd be to run a summer marathon, but it's worth thinking about! am signed up for the full again in Bayshore this year. hope you're all doing well!
Well, they have the maps posted now. A little hard to follow. Must have some mile markers right on top of each other. Like many others here I have run a number of miles shown. This will not be a flat marathon! Geddes road down to Gallup park is a good workout! Then up to Plymouth road is not steep, but a long uphill. As you say, mid June for a marathon could be nice, or hot!
That marathon course is a herky-jerky out and back on a number of different spokes.
You're right that it's hard as hell to follow. I had to read the textual description while referencing the map quite a few times. It wouldn't even let me look at the map in the full screen view.
There are definitely some hills in here, as expected for an Ann Arbor city race. The one in the Arb will be a beast near the end. There's nothing like a steep trail hill well into a Marathon to break the spirit.
My biggest disappointment is the trip down to the Briarwood mall and back. That's a boring trek through the industrial section of state street -- and a good chunk of distance too (~5 miles). I would have liked to see better use of the north side of Ann Arbor (bandemer, bird hills, huron river drive, and the parks through there). The Northside of Ann Arbor running is severely lacking.
The spokes are very odd choices: Briarwood Mall, Washtenaw, Huron Parkway (the only reasonable one in my mind).
Do you think they will close off Huron, or have people go down the sidewalks? With those streets closed, driving around town for 4-5 hours is gonna be worse than game day! Basically people will have to take 94 or 14 to get across town. Also wonder about mall traffic. Unless they plan on having everyone through there before it opens, but at mile 20 it is going to be going on 4 hours for a lot of people. So many questions on this... like in the Arb does the route go up the steps, (!!!) it doesn't appear to take the main trail all the way out to Geddes.. so it is the steps or there is another trail heading NW about half way up... which I have never taken, that looks like it might be the route. Either way it is going to be a grind! Guess we will see in due course. (bad pun) Don't think I will be running it anyway. I scheduled a work trip to the West coast to run the San Diego RnR on June 5.... also it is only two weeks from the Dexter to Ann Arbor run. (Which hasn't opened their 2012 web site up yet.) Not sure how many people want to run a half then a full, or even another half in two weeks.
Do you think they will close off Huron, or have people go down the sidewalks? With those streets closed, driving around town for 4-5 hours is gonna be worse than game day! Basically people will have to take 94 or 14 to get across town. Also wonder about mall traffic. Unless they plan on having everyone through there before it opens, but at mile 20 it is going to be going on 4 hours for a lot of people.
No idea, but I don't see how they could have an out and back w/o closing it off. It would be a bit dangerous. The mall, geez... I though the same thing, they're gunna block off state street and the whole mall loop. Very odd.
So many questions on this... like in the Arb does the route go up the steps, (!!!) it doesn't appear to take the main trail all the way out to Geddes.. so it is the steps or there is another trail heading NW about half way up... which I have never taken, that looks like it might be the route.
The you can get to the peonies w/o going up the steps. You need go up the main drag just a little and cut in on a normal trail. That's the course when I did the "Run for the Arb" this year. Still, very hilly.
Either way it is going to be a grind! Guess we will see in due course. (bad pun) Don't think I will be running it anyway. I scheduled a work trip to the West coast to run the San Diego RnR on June 5.... also it is only two weeks from the Dexter to Ann Arbor run. (Which hasn't opened their 2012 web site up yet.) Not sure how many people want to run a half then a full, or even another half in two weeks.
There are rumors it will not happen this year, although I can't see how that could be possible. All I have heard first hand is that they are looking for a new RD for 2012. Don't know if anything has come to fruition yet since i'm not a member of the Ann Arbor Track Club. Perhaps 2012 I shall be.
I imagine San Diego is going to be on fire in June!
Hi guys. I had dinner (well, stout..) with some AA track club guys last night. fwiw, the people that ran the DexAA race last year... they ran out of water, were short on porta potties, etc. are the ones running the Ann Arbor marathon. They are not associated with the dex-aa race this year.
I'm not sure what to do myself. I started pt again this morning. I've had 3 bad months, & the therapist thinks I don't have time to ramp up for bayshore. sigh. time will tell. she's run many marathons, including Boston, & has done an Ironman. So I can't just blow off what she says, like we usually do. ; )
happy spring!
That certainly does not sound to promising at all! Changes to course and start times, maybe for the better, but who knows, makes it sound like they may have some first year issues... but then it would be sort of nice to be in on the inaugural race too, even with the potential for some issues. dg, sorry to hear you are having some training issues.
I think that any race above a 5k (and a lot of 5k's too) are a crapshoot the first year, a marathon doubly so. With their history from last year (hopefully things were learned though), coupled with a first time marathon, I would expect some chaos. I definitely wouldn't run if you aren't willing to put up with a little crazy.
These are the same folks who run Big House Big Heart however, which is a monsterously big race now. So hopefully it goes off w/minimal issues. It would be a "good thing" for Ann Arbor in my opinion.
I haven't signed up for anything yet, but hopefully will make a decision soon.
Hope you continue to get better dg, Happy Spring! We're having some awesome weather if you noticed :-)
Camp Muir
I have low confidence in these folks. They got their "Big House Big Heart" race canceled and their Marathon was a disaster last year (I didn't run it.) When I ran BHBH they ran out of water at the finish. I also did a canoe tri with them and it was less than ideal. Just they don't inspire confidence!