Eugene Marathon Review?

This race fits well in to my spring training block. Anyone run this race before and like to share their thoughts?

I am most interested in the course. It looks pretty fast from an elevation standpoint but appears to have a lot of turns.

Thanks in advance.

Hi Ben. I've run the Eugene Marathon several times and the half a couple of other times - and I grew up running in Eugene - so I know the course well. It is well organized and has good fan support, but there are stretches out on the bike paths near the river where you're running on your own. It's a very pretty route, but it's not lined with cheering throngs. Some would consider that a benefit, however.

Here is the course itself. As you can see, there are numerous 90-degree turns, but I'd say only the first four would slow a fast runner down. Once you get past the first couple of miles, it opens up and running tangents is pretty easy. There's a section between Mile 6 and Mile 7 that's off-camber, so make sure your ankles are limber and ready for it. Also, portions of those bike trails that go out along the Willamette River are concrete, which means a little more pounding than you might expect. Beyond the placement of the hills, which I'll mention next, that's pretty much what you need to know. Other than yes: finishing on Hayward Field is very cool. And if you bring spectators, it's a great place for them to hang out and wait for you to arrive.



Now, on to the hills. You hit a shortish uphill stretch almost as soon as you begin. It's not a big hill, but it caused a LOT of congestion the last time I ran. So be aware of that. The hill that crests at about Mile 4.5 isn't as dramatic as it looks here. It's a fairly steady climb that you only really notice in the last quarter mile or so, then it's a long cruise downhill. The hill to ACTUALLY worry about is the one that comes at Mile 7.5. It's moderately steep, and it goes on longer than you think it will. It's easy to push too hard there out of enthusiasm and pay for it later. (Been there, done that.) There's a gradual climb as you take the portion of the route that goes into Springfield - if you're starting to get in trouble, this is where you're going to start feeling it - but then rewards you with miles of relatively easy running on a slight downhill until you hit the downstream turnaround point and head back toward Hayward Field. Miles 23-25 are on those concrete bike paths I'd mentioned earlier, and if you're hurting, they can be uncomfortable.



So that's about it. The weather there can be a little tricky. It'll either be clear to partly cloudy with lows in the upper 30s to low 40s at the start, climbing as high as the 60s as the morning progresses (which is tough on people who've run in cooler weather all winter); or, it's drizzly and stays mostly in the upper 40s to about 50. Rain may not sound like fun, but I've seen some very fast times in those conditions because the temperature doesn't get too warm.

Is it a fast course? Not as fast as some (the California International Marathon, for example, has a 2:10 course record), but it is the race where I set my PR, so I think it's pretty fast.

Last year's male winner finished in 2:22 (when it was sunny and unusually warm). In 2009, the last time it was cool and rainy, the men's winner finished in 2:18, the course record.

Hope that helps!

It helps a lot...thanks Mark!