Marathon #10 - Illinois

I first found out about the Quad Cities marathon at the tiny "race expo" at the Wisconsin marathon.  They were one of three different tables at the Wisconsin marathon packet pickup.  At the packet pickup, the Quad Cities folks displayed the swag that the runners would get.  I saw the gloves, found out it started in the city where my uncle lived, and decided I was going to run the race.

The Race: Quad Cities Marathon, Moline, IL, September 2012

My Training Plan:  For this race, I relied solely on the Runners World training plan app.  This training plan has a considerable amount of tempo runs, allowing me to get used to the idea of running fast for a longer period of time.

Weather:  Cold.  It was cold when we started.  It was cold when we finished.  But then again, I had trained in heat and humidity through the Atlanta summer.  To folks who live up there, it was probably no big deal.  This was the first time I had breathed in cold air while running in at least seven months, so it took a little getting used to.  The first few miles, I was coughing as my lungs adjusted.  At the start it was about 37 degrees.  At the finish it was about 49 degrees, I think. 

Running Attire:  As I always do when I go to these destination marathons, I brought clothes for every possible scenario.  When I woke up on race morning, and it was cold, I opted for my running tights, purple long sleeved technical shirt, black throw-away gloves, pink Nike visor, and iFitness belt.

Who I ran with:   Since I was at the race by myself, my goal for this race was to set a new personal record (PR).  My previous PR was 3:51, so I decided to start with the 3:45 pace group.  This was a bit of a stretch, since knocking six minutes off your time in your 10th marathon is pretty hard to do, but I figured I could always fall back if I had to.

There were five of us that lasted the first 20 miles at the 3:45 pace:  me, Nathan from Newton, IA who is trying to run ten marathons before he turns 30 (Quad Cities was his 5th), Andrew from Chicago who was also trying to get to the 10 marathon mark, Chris who is a graduate student in microbiology at a college in Iowa (I forget which one), and Mark who I didn't talk to much, so I don't know much about him.

The Course:  The course goes through four different cities and onto an island.  It is well laid out and has some rolling hills.  Some of the course is run along narrow bike paths, but that is far enough along in the route that it's not too crowded at that point.  Most of the course was closed, so traffic wasn't an issue.  The course also runs along the river for some nice views.

Organization:  For a smaller marathon, the organization was pretty good.  My one complaint was with the packet pickup.  There were lines, and it was confusing what line to be in.  You had to bypass one line to get your bib, and then go back into that line to get your gloves, shirt and poster.  The signage wasn't very good, so I ended up standing in the wrong line for probably 10 minutes before realizing it.

Other than the confusion at packet pickup, the race was well organized.  The water stops were well stocked with water, Gatorade, and volunteers to hand them out.  They had at least four different GU stops along the way and two different fruit and candy stops.

The expo had plenty of parking and the expo hall was a good size.  There weren't a whole lot of vendors, but it was a pretty good mix.  They also had bus tours of the course during the expo.

Swag:  This marathon had the best swag of all the marathons I had run so far.  There was the traditional long-sleeved technical shirt and race medal.  They also gave everyone a pair of very nice running gloves, a poster, and a running belt.

Starting Line:  The starting line was at the same place as the expo, which made it easy to find.  They had pace teams, so it was easy to gage how fast the runners were going to go.

Fans:  The fans were typical small race fans.  There were a lot during the start and finish, but not a lot along the course.  Every now and then there would be a pocket of folks cheering you on.

Personally, I had some of the best fans cheering me on, both in persona and from afar.  My uncle was one of the best fans around.  He was excited about having me there and about the race.  He dropped me off at the start line and was looking for me to finish.  Unfortunately, he missed me finish, but his enthusiasm about having me there and the race in general helped carry me to the finish.  My cousin and her daughter also came to cheer me on.  I saw them toward the finish line and they were awesome, cheering me along!

Finish Line:  The finish line was a little confusing initially.  I ended up passing by the Mylar blankets, and it was like pulling teeth to get the volunteers to let me back through to get one.  But once you got out of the shoot, there were a lot of vendor tents set up.  They had a place where you could go to get your official race results printed out for you.  They also had a ticket on the bib for a beer, a soda, and a sandwich.  In addition to that, they had bananas, cookies, and bagels.  There was a stage set up with a band and benches to sit to watch.  I used one of the benches to lie down and shake my legs out before going to stretch.

How I felt:  I stuck with the pacer the first 20 miles and felt amazing.  When the pacer ditched us at mile 20, I was still feeling fine, but had no idea what pace I was going.  Our group of five ended up spreading out.  Andrew and Nathan ran ahead.  Chris hung with me for a little while, before he took off too.  I ended up finishing fourth in the group, followed only by Mark.  By about mile 23, when we turned to head back to the finish, my legs and feet were aching.  I kept telling myself "the faster you run, the faster you're done."  At the finish I was exhausted.  I'm not sure if I could have made the 3:45 if the pacer hadn't dropped out.  I think just having the group together and knowing my pace would have helped.  I may have had to drop back for the last mile, but I may have been closer.  Either way, though, I had set a new PR!

Travel/Tourism:  I was able to get a direct flight to Moline, IL from Atlanta on Delta, although my flight back connected through Detroit.  I stayed with my uncle, so I can't provide any advice on hotel accommodations.  The town is small and quaint, but it has everything you need.  I ate at the IHOP for my traditional pre-race meal, and was able to get a bagel and banana from the grocery store for my morning breakfast before the race.