The Exeter Marathon Course Description

The proposed course for the Exeter Marathon changed quite a bit in the last couple of months since the race was conceived due to construction and storm damage. The general idea for the final race course was to be an out and back, with each mile marker lining up on the way back with its corresponding mile marker on the way out.

This meant that miles 1 and 25 were at the same point, 2 and 24, 10 and 16, etc. The finish line was 385 yards further down the road past the start line, which corresponded with mile 26. It was nice to have an idea about what to expect, although had there been more people in the race then it would have been a little congested in areas where you passed people going in the opposite direction.

I don’t believe that this course will be used again, however, and it worked out fine for the small numbers that were in the race.

The first few miles (and consequently the last few miles) along with the middle of the race were on smaller back roads without a lot of traffic, but a large portion of the race took place running south on Route 2 in the first half and then north again in the second half.

I’m not generally a big fan of running along larger roads with a lot of traffic, although I am sure that it was relatively light given that it was a Saturday morning.

There was one accident along the course that we had to run around on the way out, although it had been cleared by the time we came back through.

The turnaround points in the middle of the race were a little inconvenient; there were 2 places where you had to run around a cone and head back the way you came. A few of the guys ahead of me turned back early when they saw the half marathon marker before realizing their mistake and had to turn around again in order to head over to the cone.

The mile markers were very well marked; there was a sandwich board at each mile with the corresponding mile marker, as well as a yellow hash mark every half mile and a white hash mark at the halfway point.

At least, I assume that there were hash marks every mile, since before the race it was mentioned that there was and the few times I did look down I noticed them. I don’t generally watch the road right in front of me when I am running so I went past most of them without noticing.

The course is relatively flat, although what small hills there were seemed to be a little more difficult given the breeze coming over them on the way back in the second half of the race. Elevation runs between 82 feet above sea level to 250 feet above sea level, with a total ascent of 575 feet and a net descent of 17 feet as the finish line is a bit downhill from the starting line.

Blaine Moore is a running coach in Southern Maine with 20 years of training and racing experience. You can read his race report from his first attempt to run-walk-run a marathon at The Exeter Marathon.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Blaine_Moore
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5639145

Term papers Bestessays.com provides custom essay, term papers and research paper writing services.

Essays UK Custom essay, term and research papers writing services for students from United Kingdom.

Online Education Degrees – directoryofeducation.com is the largest and best Online College Courses website. Visit us to get the full information on  Online Colleges and Universities, Online Education Degrees, Online College Courses, Accredited Online Schools, Online College Classes, and more.