My original post after the marathon can be found here.
The Race: ING Georgia Marathon, Atlanta, GA, March 2008
My Training Plan: I used the Hal Higdon Novice 1 Marathon training plan. My long runs were mostly on the Cochran Shoals river trail and along Columns Drive, which is flat. My runs during the week were along Hammond Drive (the Jingle Jog route), so I did have some hills there, but only for shorter runs.
Weather: Mid-40s, windy and misty
Running Attire: New Balance running pants, short sleeved shirt, jacket (to shield from rain), light gloves (at first)
Who I ran with: I initially started off by myself. I got in line with the 4:30 pace group. There I met an amazing gal, Roberta Oveson. She was from Minnesota and was running her third marathon. We stuck together most of the way, chatting along and motivating each other to finish. There were times when she felt better and would go a little faster, and then I would catch up with her. She shared some hard candies with me toward the end. When we were about two miles from the finish, we happened along another gal who was really struggling. Roberta asked if she could pray for her. We did, and I think it really helped the other gal finish the race. Roberta was key in giving me the motivation to finish the race.
The Course: Hilly. That's the best way to describe it. It did go through some nice neighborhoods. The city of Decatur was especially accommodating and had great signs and crowds and some great neighborhoods to run through. But the course was definitely challenging, especially for a first marathon. It seemed like most of the last 7 miles were nothing but hills.
Organization: From what I had heard, the year before (which was the inaugural run) was miserable. It was hot and they ran out of water toward the end. This year was much better! They had water along the way with no problems. The expo was fairly big and had a lot of good vendors.
Swag: The only real swag from this race was the technical t-shirt (at least during the year I ran it) and the race medal.
Starting Line: The starting line was somewhat confusing, and both marathon and half marathon started at the same place and time. It was not easy to get to the start - parking in the Olympic Park area isn't easy, and the Marta was packed full. They did have wave starts, but it was not easy to find where the corrals were. Also, the gear check truck was difficult to find as well. Signage could have been improved so that people could see where to go.
Fans: Water stations are sort of part of organization, but also apply to fans in this race. There were competitions between the water stations for the best fan support. Other than the water stations, though, once the marathon split from the half marathon, there was limited crowd support. There were some people who lived in the neighborhoods where the course ran through, but other than that, crowd support was limited until you approached the finish line. My personal fan support was great in this race, as Robby came to watch, brought me a fresh pair of shoes in the middle of the race, and also moved to three different spots on the course to see me as I ran.
Finish Line: I was dead at the finish, and I didn't stay long because Robby was there to pick me up, but I do remember that they had bagels, bananas, and sports drink. They had a nice little concert type of thing in Centennial Olympic Park. The baggage claim trucks were convenient to the end too
How I felt: I hit "the wall" at mile 17, so I was really struggling toward the end. I hadn't planned well for nutrition throughout the race. I had a cut up Snickers marathon bar with me so I could eat pieces along the race, but hard candies really helped when I was feeling dehydrated toward the end. By the time I got to the end, I did not think I could go another step further. I made the mistake of sitting down afterwards, and could barely stand back up. The race was on a Sunday, and as soon as I had showered, I laid down to take a nap. Another mistake! I could barely walk the rest of the day or the following day. I felt sick at work the next day. It was miserable!
Travel/Tourism: Since I live in the area, I didn't have to travel to this race. But the race started and ended near some of the more touristy areas of Atlanta - Centennial Olympic Park, CNN Center, Georgia Aquarium, and World of Coca-Cola are all near the start/finish. The busiest airport in the world is the Atlanta airport, so traveling to the race, if I had to, would likely have been very easy.
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