Flat Races In Utah (ha ha) - tentative race schedule

[Michelle Lowry]

My goal is to qualify for the 2012 Olympic trials, so I won't be focusing on any Utah marathons, but rather a flatish sea level marathon outside of Utah.  With that in mind, I am trying to find flatter races to help me with my training.  Here's my 2009 tentative racing schedule I've been able to come up with so far.  As you can see, the whole "run non-aided races" goal breaks down from end of July-mid August where I have three aided races in a row.  I'd love to pull two of these out and replace with flat races if you all could think of some in that time period.  I also am not aware of any races Oct-Nov which will help me to train for a December marathon, so any input there would be awesome.  Feel free to also give me any additional advice.  I'm all for critical feedback 

May 9 - Kanab 10k – Mother’s Day Saturday
May 25th – Memorial Day ½ marathon (Ogden – flat)
Jun 13 – Bear Lake ½ marathon or 10k (flat)
July 4th – Freedom Festival 10k or
July 11th – Canyon to Canyon ½ (out and back, but high elevation)
July 24th – DesNews 10k
Aug 9th Provo 1/2
Aug 23 – TOU
Sept 6 – SF ½

If I know I can hit a 2:46 – Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon Championship Oct

If I could only hit 2:46 on a great day by Oct, then TOU (workout) September 19th

And

December 5 - St. Jude Marathon

[Dallen]

Sadly your title says it all, ha ha. I have the same problem I will move to Utah in July from pancake flat Chicago and need to find some good flat reaces because it will take a while for my body to learn to handle the pounding of a downhill race. Unfortunately every big race in the state is big because Utahns either want to pad their stats or run a downhill race because it is easier than a real race.

[Dave Holt]

I disagree with that statement in many cases Dallen.  Utah has downhill races because we are in Utah! 
"Duh this is the Rockies!"
For a race to grow, show off the beauty of the area - thus Utah's mountains and canyons.  Yes we all like fast times - but don't come from Chicago and talk about fast times and easy races on Utah's courses!

[Bonnie]

One thing to keep in mind Dallen, you are not only going to have to adjust to "pounding of downhill races" when you move to Utah.  It is a very HILLY place and most cities are at altitude.  Believe me, the altitude will be a much bigger concern in terms of adjustment from Chicago.  Not all Utah races are downhill, and the ones that aren't are MUCH slower than a sea-level flat course (probably 10-20 secs/mile adjusting for both hills and altitude).  I think many of the downhill races in Utah just try to equalize for the altitude (NCAA guidelines give women athletes somewhere between 50-60 secs adjustment for a 10K in Salt Lake City -- slower people will slow down even more than that). 

[Michelle Lowry]

We are veering off topic    For good or for ill, there are lots of downhill races in Utah.  Anyone know of good flatish ones I am not considering?

[Eric Day]

Michelle, I do now of some, but they might be a bit far away for you (Mexico). But wish you the best on your training program & hope to see you in 2012 London Olympics !
 

[Jon Allen]

The Great Salt Lake 1/2 is flat but boring, so I hear.  And I know a small-town 10k in Tremonton that is an out-and-back.

The Bear Lake races had issues last year (no port-o-potties, bad distance, few aid stations), but they were first time races and I know the race director was committed to making them better this year.

[Paul Petersen]

I don't know if the GSL 1/2 still exists. It used to be a circuit race, but was not last year, so I don't know if that means it's not around anymore. But it's certainly flat and legit (except for two hills at the end).

Also, both half marathons in Moab (Canyonlands Half in March and The Other Half in October) are pretty much fair and somewhat fast courses. There is some drop, but I think it stays within IAAF guidelines, and definitely USATF guidelines.

A few other suggestions:
Heart of Holladay 5K, mid-June: semi-loop course, some hills but you can run a decent time. Circuit race.
Draper Days 5K, mid-July: used to be downhill, but it's down an out-and-back. Circuit race.

If I were you, I would consider dropping some of those half marathons. Yes, they are non-aided, but you will also destroy everyone there and it's kind of a waste of a race. Instead, perhaps consider running the USATF LDR circuit. This would allow you to focus on 5K/10K during the summer months, work on speed, race against serious competition every time, and win quite a bit of money, which can fund your marathon trips. Just an idea, take it or leave it. I found the Circuit to be very beneficial the year I ran trials. No race was easy, as I was always going against good competitors, plus I raced 5K/10K more than I would have ordinarily, which took me out of my "comfort zone" and helped me gain some mental toughness down the stretch. The Circuit is really suitable for a fall marathon, as most of the shorter racing is over by August, which gives a couple months to focus on long runs and marathon-specific training.

[Dallen]

I stand by my theory. I lived in Utah a few years ago, and saw firsthand that the courses with the big dropoffs are the popular ones. Usually this drop-off is larger than what would make the race "fair".

Examples:
Provo river half marathon - the entire race is scenic and at a fair slight downhill, but they threw in those first 3 miles just to make it fast. Canyonlands Half marathon is the same.

Hobble Creek, Des News 10K, St Goerge. Not even close to being fair.

I agree that these coures are scenic, but I doubt you will find many serious runners who do St George because it is Scenic. They run the race because it will hopefully give them a massive PR.

[Paul Petersen]

...Canyonlands Half marathon is the same.

For the record, Canyonlands drops a whopping 75 ft in 13.1 miles, which equals 1.08m/km. The IAAF standard for world records is 1m/km. So Canyonlands is almost a record-eligible course. It easily meets the criteria for Olympic Trials qualification. Sorry to split hairs, but I don't think it's fair to even mention Canyonlands in the same sentence as those other races.

[Dallen]

You are correct about Canyonlands, it is flat enough to be considered fair, actually harder than fair with the elevation. I mentioned it because of the fact that the entire elevation drop happens in the first mile. Take out that mile and it is a flat race. Either way, it's one of my all time favorite races.

[Paul Petersen]

Oh. Yeah. That first mile is awfully fast. I always get sucked out way too quick, settle into a too-fast pace in the middle miles as a result, and then bite it the last half.

[Burt McCumber]

Is the 2:46 the time you need to qualify for the trials?  And when do you need to do it by?  Isn't there an A and a B thing?  What is that?

[Michelle Lowry]

Paul - interesting idea.  I've never done a circuit before, sounds like a big commitment.  I'll look into it. 

Burt - 2:46:00 is B standard.  2:39:00 is the A standard.  The first opportunity for ladies to qualify will be at the marathon championships at Twin Cities, other than that race in 2009, the window for qualification opens up in 2010. 
 

[Paul Petersen]

It's not too bad of a commitment. You only have to run 8 races out of 12. And if you win the circuit, plus win a bunch of the races, you'll easily come out with close to $2K. By  the way, the new circuit schedule was posted yesterday:

http://www.usatf.org/assoc/ut/ldr.htm