13.1 Marathon Minneapolis- Race Report

by Beth on August 22, 2010

Lately, it seems like the things I plan for turn out terrible and the things I do last minute turn out great. In June, I ran the Minneapolis Half and it did not go well. I had signed up early, trained hard, and had my worst half marathon ever. Today, I ran the 13.1 Marathon Minneapolis which I signed up for on Tuesday, hadn’t even heard of prior to last weekend, and it turned out to be one of my best.

Let me start this race report with a little disclaimer. I hadn’t heard of this race prior to last weekend, but I got an email through my blog offering me a discounted entry if I would give it a try and write about it. It’s the inaugural year for this race, and they were looking for people who would spread the word about the race for next year. I had a 14 mile training run on my schedule, so I figured I would give it a try. Let me just say that if they came back and asked me for the money I saved right now, I would happily give it to them because this is a great race. While I’m glad I got the discounted entry because it got me out there, this is my space to tell it like it is and that is what I’ll always do.

This race starts at St. Anthony Main, which is a great location for many reasons. Not only is it scenic, but on a Sunday morning there is oodles of cheap parking. We only had to get there 30 minutes before the 7:10 start which was nice. The start area was really the only thing that I thought needed improvement from a race planning standpoint. The lines for the porta-potties were confusing but we were able to take a turn before the race started. The pace signs were also too close together. There were just over 2,000 runners and not everyone could fit in the right spot. Everyone seemed good natured about it and the road was wide enough that, once we got going, passing people wasn’t a problem. Here I am before they opened up the starting area:

Here is Mike acting like he is going to run a 7 minute mile for the whole race: 

Once the race started, it was all good. The course really was the star of this race. Much of the course was shaded, so even though it was warm and humid, it wasn’t terrible. In the open areas, there was a little breeze. The first part of the course was relatively flat, followed by a downhill around mile four. Of course that meant there had to be an uphill. After a pretty good climb at mile six, the course remained pretty flat for the rest of the race. We ran along the river as we headed south and then ran along one of the parkways with beautiful trees and houses to Lake Nokomis. I ran a 10K here last month so I knew the area around the lake was flat. There would be no need to hold back anything for the finish.

Besides the beautiful course, the other best thing about this race was the water stops. Not only were there lots of them, but they had COLD Gatorade. Yes, I’m telling you someone must have hauled ice around and the Gatorade was kept in coolers, because it was delightful. It was also mixed properly which isn’t always the case at races. Gatorade, I love you. Why can’t you be at all races? Sorry, Heed, I’m talking to you. Please no more Heed at races. Bleck.

So, how did I do? Awesome! This was my 8th half marathon and my 2nd best time. My finish time of 2:07:26 is a full 2 minutes faster than  my third best time which was the Minnetonka Half that I did in May. It also finally puts to rest all of my half marathon anxiety from my crash and burn at the Minneapolis Half Marathon in June. It’s even 2:18 faster than my Rock ‘n Roll Vegas time which was in ideal weather and on a perfectly flat course. I had a negative split for this race by 16 seconds, so I’m calling it a success. Mike did well also  so everyone was happy. Here I am after the finish:

So the course was good, the water stops were good, but what about the hardware? The medal is really neat. Here is a picture which doesn’t do it justice. The center part with the 13.1 spins. It’s pretty cool.

The t-shirts are also very nice. They are Craft technical shirts with a tasteful design. I’m wearing mine right now but Im’ not going to take a picture because I have bed head from my post-race nap. :) In case you can’t tell, I really liked this race. I’ll fit it into my schedule for next year and hopefully word will get around about it. Oh, and did I mention that there was chocolate cake at the end? I was too sweaty to eat it, but it looked delicious. I love chocolate cake. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that next year I’ll be able to eat it.

{ 4 comments }

Julie August 22, 2010 at 3:00 pm

Hi Beth,
Awesome job! You did so good and I am happy for you:) Maybe next year I will have to put this one on my schedule. I am glad that you and Mike both enjoyed it. It sounds like it was the perfect size race too.

You are on a roll….you are going to rock the NY marathon!

heather August 23, 2010 at 7:02 pm

Awesome job on the race! Great confidence builder for your New York training.

amytrigirl August 26, 2010 at 3:38 pm

HEY! Congrats on a race really well run! I head that the race was really well organized and a lot of fun. It will be on my list for next year.

See you soon, I hope!

Wendy September 1, 2010 at 6:20 am

Great job!! Love negative splits!

The lady in the background of your picture is inspiring, don’t you think?! I hope I can run when I’m old.

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