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Gretchen is not big on writing race reports, so I will give a short report on my experience at this years Hartford Marathon for her. Going into the Hartford Marathon, Gretchen had not been happy with her training. Hot, humid weather made hitting her pace goals tough, and then there was the Fall Marathon stigma. She had not done as well as she expected in any of her Fall marathons, not terrible, but not what she wanted. I guess we are the hardest on ourselves. Her head not being totally in it, she decided to run a challenging, but not killer pace. She decided to try some new race strategys, such as not carrying water, and just try not to “Crash and Burn” in this Fall marathon. She decided to run with the 3:50 Pace Group and depending how she felt, move up. She ended up staying with the 3:50 Pacer and finished in 3:48:58. Good enough to Boston Qualify and just a couple of minutes off her PR. She said she felt strong at the end and could have pushed harder, but was very happy with her time. Confidence renewed.
Gretchen said the new course was much better, the race was well organized, and the volunteers were great. My experience as crew/spectator would mirror that remark. The finish line area had lots to do, plenty of food, and a Beer Garden that opened at 9 AM. Yeah!!!! If anybody needs a crew/spectator next year, call me.
Additional pictures are in the gallery
I’m a big fan of Gretchen!
She was my ‘coach’ during my run-walk program and I still cringe when I recall that I once boasted to her that I had run 18 minutes CONTINOUSLY!
Of course, it’s another story that I can’t continously run that duration any more
Congratulations Gretchen! Nice racing! Bounce, thanks for the report!
Congrats Gretchen! Great accomplishment and I admire anyone who can run a marathon on pavment. PLus, you have your own race report writer. That is cool!