Callaway Gardens Marathon

Callaway Gardens Marathon
January 31, 2010

Pine Mountain, GA

Time: 4:13:03

Age Group: 4/4

Overall: 45/126

Award: Finisher's Medal

Comments: You know, Callaway Gardens Marathon is one of those race that just doesn't quite get it. Yet I keep coming to it hoping that someday they will.

This race has a beautiful course, despite the winter drearies. Plenty of hills to keep you interested (okay, interested is probably not the right word here), but certainly a fair course. I don't know if I would recommend it as a Boston Qualifier, but it's not completely brutal like some races I know (MIBM comes to mind... )

Some things are good - on time start, nice warm area to wait in, good course markings, and adequate marshals. I thought the shirt was good this year too, although some of the adverisements promised a windshirt like last year. That was an amazing jacket - worth the entry fee by itself. I heard several people who were ticked off with getting the nice tech shirt instead of the advertised windshirt.

Some things need some more thought. The aid stations are in the perfect places for a half marathon, but leave some big gaps for marathoners. You don't need a lot of fluids from the beginning to 8 miles. However, hitting those same spots on the second lap, runners really feel the three mile gaps between some water stops. They do pick up in frequency later on the loop.

They improved the medal this year from the worst ever to just average/poor. At least they finally have a different medal for the half and full. I don't worry about medal quality very much - I don't run for the bling - but the sadness of Callaway Gardens' medals when compared to their entry fee annoys me.

This marathon has really poor post-race amenities. The post-race food would be disappointing at a 5K, abysmal at a marathon. Bananas and cookies. Again, acceptable at a small, inexpensive race. Shockingly cheap at this race which features no police on course, no road closures, and seemingly nothing much to spend the race fees on - other than turning a nice profit.

I ran very poorly today, by the way, which I am sure is not helping my opinion of the race. I finished in 4:13 - a whopping 26 minutes slower than Museum of Aviation. I think I'm discovering that I am going to take longer to heal at my new faster speeds. I also discovered the hills at the 18-20 mile stretch were painful indeed. My hips decided to boycott the race at that point. Unfortunately, I kind of need them to run. Interesting problem. The solution was lots of pain and two ticked off hips. They are currently not speaking to the rest of my body. It's probably better that way.

I did enjoy riding up and back with Donna, convoying with Deb, and seeing several Tracks on the course. Thanks to Kerry and Dave for finding me on my second lap to give me some encouragement! Sadly, I'll probably keep doing this race. It is relatively close and it does give a ton of R&SGGP points.