Frederick Half route & elevation

A friend of mine once told me that it’s a good idea to get the race course’s elevation so you’ll know how to train for it. I just got the elevation information for the Frederick Half Marathon in May. Training plan — lots of hills. They have a new course for 2012. Since I’m close enough, I’m going to try and at least drive the route and if possible run part of it before May. This way I’ll have a good idea what to expect. Also, I recently found out my friend Brena is doing the race too. That really made my day!

The course elevation is below. Miles 1-8 have some ups and downs, but it seems that things taper off after Mile 8. Based on the figure, I’m thankful that there are a lot of hills where I live. I’m going to make sure that I end my runs on hilly routes. That way I’ll finish strong.

The race route is below. They said the course was changed to improve traffic flow and also create a wider running lane on East Street. Looks well planned.

The course is open for 3 hours and 45 minutes, which is a continuous pace of 16:00 minutes per mile. I did the Zooma Half 2011 in approximately 3 hours 20 minutes or a 15:19 pace and this was with inadequate fueling and never running more than 10 miles –PSA: I don’t recommend this approach. [Side note: I did the Cherry Blossom (CUCB) 10 miler in April 2011 with a 14:19 pace and had never run more than 7 miles at that point].

I’m sure that this year I’ll be better prepared for both the Cherry Blossom 10 miler in April and the Frederick Half in May. My goal (after finishing under my own power) is to break 3 hours. I can do this if I stay on a 13:00 pace or better. But ultimately, I just want to have fun.