Idaho (Pocatello Marathon) 9/4/10

Two words can sum up this marathon...Quad Buster. Let me start by saying this was really an awesome race but harder than what it looks on paper. Elevation in Pocatello is just under 4500 and the race starts at 6000. Looking at the elevation chart you think this shouldn't be that bad because it is all downhill. The problem is you drop almost all the elevation in the first 10 miles and then you start playing the up and down game. Some of the drops in the first couple of miles are really steep and it is easy to get carried away with your pace. Once you realize you went out too fast because of the downhills it is too late because you already trashed your legs. The race started at 6:15 and the weather was perfect at 48 deg and felt very cool. By the time we got to the half way point things began to change quickly once the sun came up. There was not a cloud in the sky, no shade, and it heated up well into the 70's. The scenery was amazing especially during the first half of the race, nothing but mountains on both sides of you. There were about 375 people running the marathon so it never felt crowded at the start or during the first half of the race. The problem came at the half way point. The 1/2 marathon started at 8am so by the time we made it to the half we were having to fight our way through that pack of runners. This was defiantly a race of two different halves. The first with lots of steep downhills, cool weather and fantastic scenery. The second half was alot more uphills, higher temps, had to work your way through the half marathoners. Overall I had a great race and was able to keep my average and finish with a 3:56. I would highly recommend this race, they do a fantastic job and treat the runners great. You get alot of stuff for your money including a really nice backpack for your bag drop. This is a race I would go back and do again. Next up is Erie, PA next weekend so until then hope everyone is having fun with whatever they are doing.