Robin Derdowski

2016 REVEL Mt Charleston Marathon
Published: May 7, 2016, 5:32 p.m.
  1. Overall Rating

    5/5 Stars

  2. Describe your race day.

    The snow falling on us at mile 1-3, running with my friend Dev who paced me to a PR, beautiful scenery and at an organized and efficient event.

  3. Did you PR?

    Yes, I did set a personal record with about a minute faster but my old PR is 4 years old and training was lacking this running cycle. I also qualified for the Boston Marathon! Super Happy!

  4. How would you describe the course?

    The elevation drop is significant during the first half, but the larger climbs were also in the first half which helped for the second half of the race. The scenery was desert like, serene, peaceful and open; how I like my races to be. The grade was pretty steep overall, but especially the first half where you are surprised by a few hill "bumps". The second half was also nice with open scenery. The last 3- 4 miles are near city, but the streets were blocked off well for runners and runners were not too close to traffic areas.

  5. Tell us about your training.

    My training was poor. I ran 50% of typical miles per week, but did do long runs to make sure the distance training was there. 6-8 weeks of fairly solid training for distance. 2 months max, so not my normal training pattern. Very happy I pulled a PR on the course. Trained specifically on downhill runs on the long runs with comparable drop equivalent to first half drop for about 6-8 weeks. Train downhill and learn how that feels like.

  6. What advice would you give future runners?

    We enjoyed staying at the Resort at Mt. Charleston, but you have to have two cars to plant one at the finish line. Make sure you learn about running downhill and practice technique.

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

    We traveled from Southern California and enjoyed the scenic resort we stayed at. Quick trip with Mothers Day tomorrow so just a nice lunch after at Braddahs.

Comments

  1. Robin Derdowski
    May 8, 2016, 6:23 a.m.

    Was thankful that there was warmth blankets, beanies and gloves. Lifesaver for the temps!

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