Race Report: Yonkers Marathon 2010

This is a month late, but I just received my race certificate for completing the Yonkers Marathon on September 19, 2010.  So I just had to write a race report on my brand spanking new blog!

 

Race certificate

I've run Chicago (twice), NYC (once), and Nike Women's Marathon (once), but Yonkers was definitely the hardest race.  The course is two loops of a very hilly course.  There is a half marathon option as well, which I will likely opt for if I decide to run it again.  I didn't really feel the hills that much the first time around, but the second loop felt like it was all on an incline.

Despite being so close to NYC and with a start very easily accessible via public transportation (Metro North from Grand Central to Yonkers), very few people choose to run the Yonkers Marathon.  This year, 116 and 270 people completed the full and half marathon, respectively.  This is a stark comparison to the ING NYC Marathon which boasts 40K+ finishers every year.  Registration fees are dirt cheap as well ($25 for the early registration option, $50 on race day).  As a result, Yonkers has a very intimate feel and it really felt more like a long run than a race.  The Central Park outer loop is probably more crowded on a weekday!  The field was so sparse, especially during the second loop, that there was over a quarter mile between me and the runner in front and behind me.  No wonder they had to post signs on the course directing the runners where to go!  I did love how I could pick up my bib 20 minutes before the race started, use the clean indoor bathrooms, and line up with 5 minutes to go!

I had decided to do Yonkers for three reasons:

1. Long run in preparation for NYC.  I needed to do 20 miles anyway, so what's an extra 6?
2. Qualification race for the lowliest level of Marathon Maniacs.  I signed up for NWM & NYC way earlier in the year and I found out that I only needed one more marathon to qualify for the Bronze level of Marathon Maniacs (3 marathons in 90 days).
3. Kino & Debbie were doing it too.

I started out the race running what I thought was a manageable pace (somewhere around 8:30-8:45).  Race support was great, with water every mile and some Gatorade-like substance every 2-3 miles.  The Gatorade-like fluid tasted weird, and someone later told me that they suspected it was a sugar-free version.  The aid stations were manned entirely by volunteers, many of them high schoolers and Boy Scouts.  There was also a station right before the big hill at approximately mile 5 that gave out flat Coke - the guy that hosts that station has been doing it for something like 25 years (or maybe more!).  There is nothing more awesome than an enthusiastic old dude giving you a Dixie cup of flat Coke and shouting at you to "Keep running!"

FYI, I'm waving at the camera.  I don't look like that when I run!  

Photo courtesy of Richard Chung

Yonkers has a ton of little to medium-sized hills, and one gigantic hill at mile 5.  After that steep climb uphill, runners are rewarded with a very steep downhill that is almost like a roller coaster.  I felt like I was applying brakes with every step.  The downhill ends right at a graveyard too!  The first loop really tired me out and I regretted my decision to not do the half almost immediately upon starting my second loop.  My pace dropped considerably too (to 9:15+).  The course wasn't especially scenic and there were no spectators.  However, I was doing this as a long (albeit semi-miserable) run, so I just settled in and tried to listen to my iPod shuffle, and tried to ignore my fatigue.  Despite my best efforts, there was a 10-minute time differential between my first and second half (1:52:02 / 2:02:15).  I will never be able to pace myself well!

 I took GUs every five miles and Endurolytes every 7 miles so I felt like i was almost constantly feeding myself something.  I'm not sure if the Endurolytes were necessary since I've never noticed an improvement when I take them versus not.  I didn't take them during the Nike Women's Marathon and it was fine.  I probably won't take Endurolytes during NYC either.

I was super glad to see the finish line!  The finisher's banquet was more than I was used to and included pasta, bread, and lots of bottled drinks.  I chowed down because I deserved it!  I then went back outside to watch the rest of the finishers come in.  All runners are given a strict 5 hour time limit to complete the marathon and race staff promptly dismantled at 5:03.

Would I do this race again?  Given the proximity to NY and how well it coincides with fall marathon training, YES!  Volunteers were nice, and I've never been a sucker for crowd support.  But I'll probably just do the half.

Final stats:
3:54:17 (8:57 pace)
56 / 116 overall
8 / 23 females
3 / 5(?) age group (the only time I'll ever place in top 3)

Links: Garmin   Results    Race Site