2009 Asheville Citizen-Times Half Marathon – Completed the Second Practice Run – August 15, 2009
We met at 7:30 this morning on O’Henry Street where the Asheville Citizen-Times Half Marathon will start on September 12th, 2009 at 7:30 am. I was delighted to be joined by Bob, Greg and Robert — runners who plan to complete the Half Marathon. Bob and Robert have completed the race before. Greg has not.
We started out on a swift pace for the first mile then settled into a conversational pace, shooting for a 10:00 to 10:30 pace for course familiarity and long-run benefit. It was humid but not terribly hot early. The Grove Park section is pleasant and not too demanding (with one exception: Cherokee). There’s a spot far north on Kimberly with a tough uphill climb, but it’s steep and short. Once we cross Beaverdam and get into the neighborhood above the Asheville Country Club there are some stiff hills, but these are the hills that have always been part of the course and are not terribly long — just steep.
Once we’re done with this neighborhood, we cross Merrimon and run for a while on the dirt and grass trail around Beaver Lake. Then we head into Woodfin and run down to Riverside. The thing to keep in mind here is that by running down to Riverside, we have reached a very low altitude, close to the river. That means we have to come back up. But to come back up, we have to run up Lookout Road, which reaches a pinnacle before gradually descending to Edgemont for a smooth downhill glide through UNCA. This is probably the toughest challlenge for the average runner because it comes at mile 9.
After climbing Lookout, we’re treated with the glide through UNCA and follow the path along W.T. Boulevard to Broadway. The long pull up Broadway is tough and it always has been. When the sun shines it’s even more of a challenge. Here’s where you concentrate, focus and make your way under I240 where Broadway becomes Lexington. You’ll turn right on Walnut and at this point the hill up to Haywood is a blessing. Turn left at the Civic Center and left on O’Henryand stride to the finish line with your head up high and a smile on your face.
It was a great run and I thank my co-runners for coming out. I think this course is a little tougher than the previous course. I estimate it will add 2 minutes or so to my time. My most recent times have been 1:49 (2007) and 1:48 (2006). I’m shooting for under 1:52 this year and we’ll see if that places me in the same percentile (which will help us understand if, in fact, the course is more challeging across the board).
Cheers! Please comment as you see fit. If anyone would like help understanding the course and practicing it, please let me know.
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I did 11 this morning (WAY too early) and mentioned it to the other 3 runners. Duncan is doing the Hartford M, so he’s set for 20 at Lake Summit Sunday. Greg might be interested in the 1/2 practice run, and if he is, I’ll tag along-he won’t know the course, so I’ll tell him I have the map, so he can’t drop me! lol.
Thanks Bob! You’re the man!
Dennis,
You are getting way too serious about the 1/2! lol. Then again, that’s why you’ll do well! I’ll pass the word around down here, and maybe I’ll come up, do it as a warm-up, then head to the August Night 5k (since it’ll take me until then to finish the course 🙂
So when is the next practice run? I tried in on Sunday and missed the turn at UNCA and added an extra mile or two.
This coming Saturday, August 22, 2009 at 7:30 AM will be the 3rd and final run through for me. I’ll be there early to talk about any course issues to be sure that all runners are aware of the turns. I have done all parts of the course at least three times now: through my deconstruction process and through two full run-throughs. I hope you can make it. I know your name from scanning race results and I’m sure I will recognize you!
Appreciated you organizing and leading (in a figurative as well as literal sense) the practice run, Dennis.
Humid, and glad the fog held on to mask the sun (until Broadway, of course); your course review is spot on, although the written word doesn’t seem to exhibit the true horror of the hills 🙂
The hill at 9 (thought it was at 10-wishful thinking) was a major one for me, particularly coming so late in the run. Very impressive how you powered up (first time I actually lost sight of you)
Agree about Broadway, and the sun…it’s always the toughest spot for me (although this year, it’ll be replaced by that hill, I think) and we WERE all smiling at the finish (due to being done, I suspect)
It was a pleasure running with you, Greg and Robert…it I was solo, I imagine it would’ve been the “1/2 of the 1/2” training run! lol.
My previous times: 1:57, 1:47, 2:14, 2:05, 2:02. With the new course, I’m aiming to hit 2:00…optimistically.
Given what I saw yesterday, you will have no trouble hitting your goal!
Thanks again for taking us on the tour, and if you do it again before the race, will be happy to join you (if you need a slow sweep runner 🙂
I had a great time with you guys! It was really a lot of fun! Thanks for coming.
I think I’m going to skip the Springmaid and do another run through of the half marathon course this coming Saturday. Here’s why. This Saturday is three weeks out from the race. There are races on the next two Saturdays that I am more interested in than the Springmaid (Chimney Rock and the Apple Fest 8k). So I figured I would do my last 13 miler this coming Saturday. I also had a post from runner who’s interested in when the next practice run is, so I am planning for this coming Saturday, August 22 at 7:30 AM. I will do a post about it but wanted to reply to your comment too.