REVEL Mt Hood

Chelsia Evans

2018 REVEL Mt Hood Marathon
Published: Aug. 3, 2018, 10:25 a.m.

Overall Rating

3/5 Stars
Describe your race day.

The top of the course was SO GORGEOUS! JUST AWESOME! The view of Mt. Hood and the whole first 5 miles was spectacular - for views - but too steep.
Did you PR?

Nope...I was on pace too, but the steepness of the first 13 miles toasted my legs. I was hoping for a 3:25, but only got a 3:36. My PR is a 3:31. I did BQ, but was very disappointed that I missed my PR - and it was purely because of the steep downhill!
How would you describe the course?

Gorgeous at the top, great temps, great shade with sun at your back. BUT WAY TOO STEEP on the first half pretty much. The elevation was fine, but we just came down too fast. Would much prefer to have spread out the downhill, and eliminated the uphills at the end! And I HATED being on the 4 lane highway with no protection - just on the shoulder. NOT COOL!
Tell us about your training.

My training was great - other than the lack of elevation and hills available for me to train on. If I had to do this race again, I would have to find a way to train on some steep downhill. I had plenty of miles and speed and tempo training - just not enough downhill.
What advice would you give future runners?

Train on downhill and get used to running on the shoulder of a fast 4-lane highway.
What fun things did you do in the area before or after the race?

Ski-bowl activities (alpine slide, etc.) were lots of fun. Local hikes (zig-zag waterfall) aplenty. And visiting Timerbline Lodge. SO BEAUTIFUL!