New Balance Fall Classic Half Marathon Race Report

The New Balance Fall Classic Half Marathon was a great day for me! The weather was cold, windy and rainy but that didn't stop me from getting a PB. My previous PB was the Pacific Roadrunners First Half in 2000 in a time of 2:08:28 (back then I was in the 25-29 Age Group). That was also the first half marathon I ever ran. Since then I was able to run everything from a 2:10 all the way to a 2:20 a couple of years ago but never anything under 2:08:28.

My goals for Sunday were to:

1. run under 2:08
2. run 2:00
3. run under 2:00
   

The race started out quickly and mostly downhill as you can see by the chart below. Once the first 3kms were done, I settled into a solid sub 2hour pace. The course is 2 loops which can be boring but also helpful when trying to set a consistent pace. I started to slow down around the 16-18km mark but had 'banked' a few minutes with my faster start time so I still felt I could come in under the 2 hour time.

I used the pacing feature with my Garmin 405 which clocked me at 1:57:31 for the 21.1km distance. However, as many races are, this route I suspect was about 100m longer than the 21.1km distance. My net time was 1:58:15 which made me very happy!

Here is a photo from the official photographer's website. Thanks to the Sugoi warehouse sale and my flashy Newton racers, I think I look pretty stylish also. I don't care what anyone says, red and hot pink DO go together.

Now, I don't want to jinx my last race for 2009 but virtually ALL of my races this year have been PBs.

My previous Marathon PB is 4:32:56 from the Vancouver Marathon in 2001. This was also my first Marathon and I have never come close to beating that time since.

Will Florida be lucky for me?

Happy training!