Cox Marathon Race Report

I ran the Cox Marathon in Providence, RI this past weekend.  The race started at 7:30 A.M. and I could not have asked for a better day.  The temperature was in the low 50s and it was cloudy when the gun went off.  A perfect day for racing!  The course for this race takes you straight out of downtown Providence and visits several other neighboring towns.  The course runs through East Providence and then enters into Riverside.  There are a few hills in the early miles, one at mile 2 and another at mile 6.  Once you reach mile 7, the course really opens up.  There are a couple nice downhill portions and you run along the East Bay Bikepath for several miles.  Miles 7 through 20 allow for you to really dial into your pace and start hitting your splits.  The last 10k can be troublesome on this course because you have to run uphill from miles 20-22 and then there is a hill coming back up by Metacomet Golf Course after 23.  Just after mile 24, you have to go down a switchback ramp, which is really tough.  This is not ideal and poses a certain danger to runners at this point in the marathon.  If you have anything left, the last two miles are completely flat as you head back into downtown Providence.  The crowd right at the finish provides solid motivation to finish strong.  This is a great local race that I would reccomend to any runner.  The aid stations were well-stocked with enthusiastic volunteers.  The race was well organized and provided for a nice atmosphere.  If anything, I would like to see this event promoted more.  It would be great to see the city of Providence fully embrace this event and give it more coverage on race day.

My race:


I do most of my training on various parts of this course and know the area very well.  After a disappointing Boston experience, I was really looking to gain some confidence in the marathon distance.  My goal heading into the race, of course, was to run under 3:05 and BQ.  I ran consistently early in the race and hit the half in just under 1:32.  At this point, I had been running most of the race in a pack of about six or seven other runners also looking for a BQ.  We pushed each other and kept on pace.  I ran with this group through the 20 mile mark and hit this point right on 3:05 pace.  After this, however, my body began to realize it was 20 miles into a marathon.  I fell off the group I had been running with and hit the wall head-on.  My last 10k was run in 49:35, a 7:59 pace after averaging a 7:00 pace for 20 miles.  I finished in 3:11:47 (7:19 pace overall- not bad!).  My calves really tightened up and made it very difficult to run efficiently in the final miles.  Once I came to the realization that a 3:05 was out of the question on this day, I fully embraced "the wall."   The 3:11 is an official pr for me in the marathon and definitely was a good learning experience.  For now, I'm going to relax for a couple more days to recover from the marathon.  I plan on working on my speed this spring/summer.  I have not had a chance to really focus on shorter race distances in almost a year.  If I can get my times down for shorter distances, I hope to see my marathon time drop too and see a big improvement in the fall.  The next few months will certainly be fun for training!  I can play around with my training and try out some new workouts!  I cannot wait to see what I can do after a hard summer of running!

Run Happy,
David