Midwinter Marathon

I ran this marathon in 2011 in order to do an early marathon for the year. Nice to see a marathon starting at 11.00 am ( I think)rather than 9.00am ! The weather was mild and dry. It is a good flat course with one extended upward incline which should prove no difficulty for runners used to undulating courses. As I approached the end line it coincided with a shorter race which was climaxing on the other side of the road so most spectators, including those in the middle of the road were focused on the short run, leaving the marathon runners to run the last 200 metres almost unnoticed. This felt a little like an anticlimax after 26 miles. Other than that I enjoyed competing and with a PB of 3.31, it was worth the trip for me and I may make the trip again. It was great to have the adjacent race HQ to unwind in after the run. The organisers deserve great credit for charging so little for the marathon !

I ran my very first marathon yesterday in Apeldoorn. The race lived up to its name of "midwinter"; it was very cold! I did my training in Tilburg, NL (very flat) and found the gentle incline throughout the race harder then normal. Those who train on hills will have NO problem! I think the help was amazing at this race. They were always clapping and cheering... even though it was COLD out. I would run this again. Great experience for my first time.

Looking for an excuse for a midwinter vacation, I scoped out the Midwinter Marathon in Apeldoorn. I flew from the US on Thursday night and ran it on Sunday morning in freezing temperatures. It was a great experience for my first international race. I'll say one thing: the Dutch need to learn how to run hills. Actually, the hills on this course were so gradual and so long that they hardly felt like hills at all. I did notice that a lot of runners slowed down going uphill though. Dutchies just don't have hills to train on... I understand. Where I live, you don't leave the house without heading either uphill or downhill, so running hills is a fact of life. Hot tea at the finish line was interesting... must be a European thing. I enjoyed it. It was reassuring and reaffirming to see a very healthy running culture in place in Holland. Next one? Maybe Einhoven.