Cleveland Marathon
I admit it was tempting to contravene my own coaching guidelines this past weekend. Don't ya know - do as I say, not as I do! Yes, up until one hour before the online registration deadline for the Cleveland Marathon last Thursday night, I was considering entering the full marathon. I thought it might be an interesting experiment to walk an event every weekend for 4 consecutive Sunday mornings starting and ending with two full marathons! I wasn't expecting a PB this weekend, but I was looking forward to that medal with the spinning guitar.
Still, I had decided that the race would be fun only if I could bring my family with me for the weekend. One thing about entering a race every weekend is that one can miss out on essential family time. When it became clear the only way to include everyone in the road trip meant leaving town at 1:30 pm and arriving in Cleveland at the earliest close to 6pm, I decided the race gods were not with me on this one.
No complaints, though....I've had a great spring season and I look forward to the Alfie Shrubb 8k on June 3 and the OTMH Classic 5k on June 17 - both events that have walker divisions.
The really great news is that we can hear the details about the Cleveland race from the many WoW Power Walkers who have come home with amazing times and stories. A quick look at the results is impressive. We had representation walking the full, the half and the 10k. Look for their comments to follow this post...and you might be inspired to put Cleveland on your schedule for next spring.
Labels: Race review
posted by Wow Power Walking Founder @ 10:11 AM
7 Comments
7 Comments:
Fabulous fast fairly flat scenic course that takes you past all of Cleveland's landmarks, from the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame to Jacob's Field. An amazing race that definately welcomed walkers throughout the entire course.
Lots of fully serviced water stations and plenty of food at the finish.
Such an impressive showing of Wow Power Walkers, with many PB's. Great weekend.
The "spinning guitar medal" put it over the top.
Congrats to all...........had this one on my list for awhile, wish I started these destination races a long time ago - to Jay/Jill.......bring medal Friday so I can 'spin' it! Laurel
Well Lee it was a great weekend! Joan and I had a fabulous time visiting Cleveland. We went to the Expo (which wasn't the greatest)on Friday to register but nice to vist and tour around. There were in my opinion 3 surprise exibitors Saturn Cars, Smuckers jams and Carlton greeting cards.
Stacey her son Braden, Joan and I went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday morning and we found it to be amazing but when the legs and feet started to hurt we decided to leave given our races the next day. You could spend a good day or more there to take everything in. We headed back to our Hotel rooms to rest and then have our prerequisite pasta dinner. Joan and I signed up before we left Oakville for the "Rock Hall Concert - It's Only Rock and Roll 2007" and the back up band for the entertainers included Paul Schafer on keyboards for the evening and the second entertainer was none other than our own home town boy Tom Cochrane.
We left early to get our rest for the big race!
Sunday morning at 5AM came far too early. We were up and had all our pre-race food and packed our necessary fuel for the race. Stacey met us at our hotel at 6:30 and we were off to the start ready for rainy weather as called for by all the weather gurus. We met some familiar faces from Oakville and knew of others that were there and we didn't see.
We all seemed pumped and ready to go. The race started on time and was warmer than expected which was great. We had a little sprinkle at the 2 mile mark and after that the weather was perfect with no sun until the end. The course was great. Had some hills on the front half and then the back half was nicer in my opion as we walked througgh the park for about 3 miles and it was a slight grade down and I was waiting for the uphill to come but we ended up at the lake and then walked along the path and service road beside the lake until we hit downtowntown and walked by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Cleveland Browns Stadium toward the finish. I must say I had a little boost of insiration at about the 22 mile mark when the 5 hour pace bunny was behind me and I heard her say we are ahead of pace now at 4:57 so I picked it up and tried to distance myself from them as much as I could to hit the finish.
Great race, great support for walkers and even on the course and water stations they were all very supportive. The finish area, 26.3 Party, had lots to drink and eat including beer.
The spinning guitar Medal is cool too. Would recommend this one for all WoW powerwalkers to put on their calendars for next year and the drive is only 3:45 according to Jay.
Congrats to all the WoW walkers there. We had a great showing!
Darrell
Cleveland is a must for any walker contemplating a full or half marathon. It is well organized, is flat, fast and scenic. Best of all there are walker divisions in these categories so it is especially rewarding to get results post race.
The medal is awesome! Highly recommend this event.
Memories from the Cleveland weekend.
If you want to experience a flash back of your life through the world of music go and visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Tres cool!
Sunday morning - saw the 1/2 and full marathon off at 7:00 AM. Then came the 10k. I was a bit nervous and felt alone at first but then just thought - go for it. I decided to set a goal of 1:20 but not having a watch I had no idea how I was going to achieve that goal. Once on the route I caught up to a man running and walking at about my pace so I asked him what time he was hoping to come in at. He said with a smile and laugh that he just wanted to finish but had thought around 1:20. What luck - I would try to stick with him. He had a bright yellow shirt so he was easy to spot. He got ahead for a bit but then the back and forth started.
There were only three other power walkers I had in my view during the race (but there were lots of strolling walkers). One power walker was great and the other two I wanted to beat so badly as they were walking and running (registered as walkers) but at the end I came in just behind them. It's amazing how emotional you can get when walking a race. As the finish line was in sight the yellow shirt man came running up beside me and said to me let's go for it - it was just the inspiration I needed to pick up the pace for that last push. That in itself just made the race. Once over the line I thanked him for the encouragement and we chatted as he waited for his wife and I was looking for the other WoW half marathoners to come in. We both realized that we were both trying to keep up with other. I could tell he was quite impressed with the power walkers and how we could keep a steady pace while he had to change up from a run, to a walk then back to a run and so forth.
The route took us over and back a highway overpass so the incline and decline were long and gradual. Other than that the route was quite flat.
A bit of a disappointment was no medal at the finish - only for the 1/2 marathon and full marathon. Had to settle for a tasty banana and water and a smorgasbord of tempting chips, popsicles, Doritos, yogurt, endless drinks and more. I enjoyed the 10k race (perfect for the feet), had a personal best and that in itself was rewarding.
Lee, good for you for keeping on us about our form. The announcer at the finish couldn't say enough about the WOW walkers as they came in - their form, steady and strong. He was really talking it up when Lyne Desforges came in - he couldn't say enough about her form and of course had to mention her big smile. I think with every race the WOW infusion is hitting home. Tim and Linda, Peggy and Bernadette were there also and did well. What a race Stacey had!
Two hours later I was back watching for Darrell. Of course it was a proud moment when he came barreling in.
We finally caught up with Jill and Jay and congratulated them on their personal bests. Mary, sorry to have missed you. Also met two ladies in the Hyatt from your Toronto group.
Last but not least, I think that WoW Power Walkers have got to be some of the nicest people I have had the pleasure to be with. Going to a race with fellow walkers is the best and the only way to travel!
Joan
KUDOS TO YOU TOO JOAN! and I second your sentiments with regard to the WOW Powerwalkers and what Lee has created.
Better late than never for my comment! ;-)
Here I am home on a beautiful sunny day reflecting on the past year of races.
I had a great race in Cleveland doing a PB for the marathon.
I enjoyed the first half of the course. Since half and full marathoners all started together, we had a lot of company for the beginning. Part of the route in the first half was in a beautiful residential area with beautiful gardens...a feast for the eyes.
However, I don't share the same enthusiasm as the rest for the 2nd half. ONce the half marathoners left us, it was quite lonely. Not too many people on the course and not too many people cheering on or too much entertainment along the way. The walk in a shaded park was welcomed but I didn't care much for the walk on the path beside the busy highway. At the end, not too many people left at the Rock and Roll party but the announcer welcoming the racers as we were crossing the finish line was excellent...his positive comments about walking lifted my spirits and made me smile all the way to the finish line.
Water stations were great ... very reliable and well staffed!
The course was fairly flat with some hills to keep me interested and motivated.
Overall I would recommend this race for half-marathoners rather than full marathoners...both got the medal with the spinning guitar!!! ;-)
As for the City of Cleveland...the downtown core is not too lively - no restaurants or people on the weekend. However, we ended up in Little Italy for our pasta dinner which was away from the core - fun area with quaint restaurants and possibilities for exploration.
Rock and Roll hall of fame - worth it. Tim and Linda and their kids attended a ball game on the Friday night and it ended with a Fireworks Display (seems they do that every Friday) and they said it was amazing so it may be worth fitting that in too!!!
Cheers!
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