Tyler Rose Marathon 2010 - narrate

I completed the Tyler Rose Marathon on 10 October 2010 -- 10/10/10, in other words, the same Sunday as the 2010 Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Here is my spin of the good and bad aspects of the 2010 event.

Exposition

Us Open 2010

Good: Held in the lead hotel for the race Good: Colorful collection of jersey, cap, and drinkware memorabilia for sale Bad: roughly no sponsors, so roughly no freebies or give-aways

Toilets

Good: Seemed brand new near start line -- at least, smelled that way! Bad: extremely few beyond the start line

Start line

Good: sufficient start (~1-2 minutes total for marathoners alone) Good: Near the terminate line Good: plentifulness of free parking nearby Bad: Churches forbade parking in their lots, given that the marathon and half marathon started at 7:30 a.m. And 8:00 a.m., respectively, that Sunday morning, near Tyler's city square, which is extremely close to several churches Bad: About six miles from the lead hotel

Police

Good: Blocked car and truck drivers well Good: Very friendly and encouraging to racers Bad: Could not be at all intersections, most of the residential ones of which were open to all traffic

Water-station people

Good: Cheered racers onward Bad: Sometimes told racers to get out of way of oncoming motorists, instead of telling motorists to steer clear of racers

Water stations

Good: Heavily manned; all the time had water and Gatorade or Powerade; sometimes had food such as bananas Bad: Spaced at two-mile intervals, which is too far apart in a marathon-length race for sufficient hydration of many racers without those racers taking extra time at those stops to pour extra water or electrolyte drinks into bottles in their hydration belts

Bibs

Good: Included Chronotrack B-Tag technology, which eliminated the need for a timing tag on the shoe Bad: Racer name in 12-point font, so indiscernible to spectators

Spectator turnout

Good: Very supportive, with local residents sitting on curbs or on front porches and one resident even handing out small bottles of water from his cooler Bad: Relatively sparse

Timing mats

Good: Reliably picked up B-tags on bibs Bad: Only at start line, 13.1 miles, and terminate line

Course

Good: piquant twists and turns straight through Tyler and surrounding, small towns Good: Volunteers at every corner that required a turn, of which there were many Bad: Very hilly (the "other Hill Country" of Texas, after Austin), with several ups and downs Bad: Many noisy segments in right, cone-protected lane along highways with 60- or 65-Mph speed limits Bad: No cones on one highway segment! Bad: Many residential streets and intersections with No safety by cones, police, or volunteers

Weather

Good: Did not become windy until six-plus hours after start of marathon Good: Cool temperature at start Bad: Warmed up relatively speedily (rising to the mid-80s Fahrenheit)

Race photographers

Good: Shot some high-quality photos Bad: Very sparsely distributed on course Bad: Did not announce themselves or otherwise make themselves very graphic to approaching racers

Finish area

Good: Medals put over heads of finishers Good: Pa notification of finishers' first and last names Good: Pa recognition of birthdays, significant marathon counts, etc., for some finishers Good: Water bottle given with medal Bad: frustration near end of race with twists-and-turns routing Away from in-view terminate line before return to it for actual finish

Medals

Good: Hefty medal for marathon finishers Bad (to some): Half-size medal for half-marathoners

Post-race area

Good: Endurance-training groups allowed to set up tents along final block leading to terminate line Good: Trailer for finishers to take private, warm-water showers, with body detergent and isolate wash cloth, towel, and bath mat given to each user Bad: Minimal food and drink in case,granted by sponsors

Conclusion

I give Tyler Rose Marathon a "B-" grade for the 2010 event. As several fellow runners in my training group said, it felt more like a training run than like a race. If this marathon had been around for a while, then I would have given it a lower grade. But I give it a "B-" in expectation that the organizer will enhance the event in subsequent years. Keep in mind the "Bad" aspects so that you are prepared for them.

Tyler Rose Marathon 2010 - narrate