Half Marathon Trainers

1

Inaugural Geist HM (Indianapolis) Report (Read 220 times)

C-R


    Ran the first edition of the Geist HM on the North side of Indy around a scenic reservoir and thought I would share the experience. Packet pickup - very well organized and quick. No real expo but since this is the first ever and two weeks after the Indy Mini it may take a few years to get larger. The goodie bag had the usual race items and ads. Shirt was long sleeve (cotton) with a nice logo. Its a keeper for wearing around. Race Day - 50 and sunny with a slight breeze. There is no parking at the start or finish line so we have to park at loca high and middle schools nd they bus us to the lines. This was smooth and no one had to wait for a bus as they seemed always ready. They did very well on this part of the logistics. There are 4500 entrants and that filled the field. Its a good field size IMO. There is a 5k as well but they start behinf the HM and 30 minutes later so no overlap. The race actually begins on a bridge over the lake and there are lots of people out on boats to see the start. Its a nice touch. No start corals so people are on their own to determine the right spot. The national anthem is sung by a local HS student and she's great - future American Idol contestant. The gun sounds and we are off. The race goes through mostly neighborhoods and some light commercial areas. It is a loop course that crosses the lake four times. The field spreads out and I only pass a couple of walkers at the start so it appears most people started in the proper places. The course is rolling and there are some hills which give a great feel to the course. The runners basically have the left hand lane of a two lane road for the entire course so we have lots of room which is a nice touch. The homes are pretty and lots of people are out cheering. Very relaxing place to run. Aid stations are stocked with water and gatorade and are every two miles. Lots of volunteers and police at intersections and throughout the course to manage traffic. I actually saw one officer pull someone over and berrate someone for driving recklessly around the race. They were watching. Several bands along the course as well which was a nice touch. The finish is a straight forward. Lots of volunteers to remove chips and hand out medals. The usual fare of bananas, apples, cookies,and water. Several recovery tents and the longest line was for the free massages. There was a street fair atmosphere and since hte finish was near a marina there are lots of places to meet with others. The busses back to parking are again plentiful and it takes only a few minutes to return to the parking lots. Excellent logistics. Overal, a well run and organized race. Well worth the entry fee and trip to Indy. As for me, I ran it in 1:49:20 and still had gas left in the tank. Big grin


    "He conquers who endures" - Persius
    "Every workout should have a purpose. Every purpose should link back to achieving a training objective." - Spaniel

    http://ncstake.blogspot.com/

      Good race CarmelRunner, sounds like really nice event. Weather seems perfect, the morning sun is especially beautiful in the Spring. Way to finish strong Smile

      Courage ! Do one brave thing today...then run like hell.

        Huge improvement in your time, nice to break 1:50! Simon.

        PBs since age 60:  5k- 24:36, 10k - 47:17. Half Marathon- 1:42:41.

                                            10 miles (unofficial) 1:16:44.

         

        C-R


          Huge improvement in your time, nice to break 1:50! Simon.
          Thanks Simon. I am training with a Low Heart Rate regimen and I had no clue as to how high my race HR should go. So I set the Garmin to help me stay below 155 and I averaged 150. Later I was told by some other running buds, that my HR should have been in the 160-165 range. That explained the extra gas in the tank. Next time I will push harder but I had to ref several football matches that afternoon and I needed to be able to keep up with the kids on the pitch so it all worked out. Big grin and yes breaking 1:50 was very nice. I broke 50 on a 10k earlier in the year and it is quite a good feeling.


          "He conquers who endures" - Persius
          "Every workout should have a purpose. Every purpose should link back to achieving a training objective." - Spaniel

          http://ncstake.blogspot.com/