Jack Brechtel

2016 REVEL Big Cottonwood Half Marathon
Published: Sept. 13, 2016, 8:53 a.m.
  1. Overall Rating

    5/5 Stars

  2. Describe your race day.

    Nothing really prepared me for waiting in the cool weather being from the New Orleans area where it is almost completely flat and currently still hot/humid. Cold temperatures rarely bother me when I am moving around, but holding still for an hour even in the manageable 40s was difficult, I needed to also bring a blanket and some windbreakers. Once we got going though, I warmed up easily and no issues.

  3. Did you PR?

    No PR, but as long as weather and conditions are tolerable, I'm typically satisfied with a sub 1:40 time in a half-marathon distance, which I achieved (1:37:55). Was pretty content with this one esp. since I am not used to thin air/altitude and downhill racing.

  4. How would you describe the course?

    Absolutely beautiful. I enjoy the scenery where I live, but I like to travel every now and then to hills and mountains. I was not prepared for how steep some of the declines were though, if I went too fast in some spots I felt like I was going to trip over myself.

  5. Tell us about your training.

    No real defined training method for this. It's currently still humid where I live and few hills, so any hill training is hard to simulate. Basically through all summer I tried sticking to a schedule of running 5 days a week of about a 5-7 mile distance, and I biked once a week. I've also run plenty of full marathons so as long as I maintained some form of distance training, I knew I would probably be all right.

  6. What advice would you give future runners?

    Try to bring your own blanket or extra layers if possible. Gear check is simple and I'd over-prepare with extra clothing while waiting in the mountains. Just shed all the extra layers BEFORE starting and check everything in right before race time.

  7. What fun things did you do in the area before or after the race?

    Traveled from my hometown of Mandeville, about a 30-35 minute drive north of New Orleans. I really enjoyed Ensign Peak in SLC and Antelope Island and the Great Salt Lake when I was in the area as well.

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