Which Is Harder?: Parkersburg, WV or Huntsville, TX
I've run both courses three (3) times each (Huntsville, 2004-2006 and Parkersburg, 2005-2007) and looking back, I think I have to consider myself a bit masochistic for doing either! My best run on either course was a 2:20:50 in Huntsville two years ago.
If you look at the elevation profiles of the two races (Huntsville and Parkersburg), you'd be inclined to say that Huntsville definitely looks harder. Plus, it's a double-loop course.
With the Parkersburg event being in August and Huntsville being in October, Parkersburg definitely gets the literal degrees of difficulty for its potential broiling temperatures.
Yet Huntsville is deceiving as I can think of four long stretches of flat straightaways and a short stretch by the Walls Unit. In Parkersburg, you get beat up until the mile 8 marker before you get two fairly flat miles followed by a slow and steady 100-foot climb in the next mile and a half.
I'd have to give the edge though to Huntsville. It is just a bit more mentally when you finish the first loop and you get to stare the next big hill again!
Some interesting notes though on Saturday's race in Parkersburg, West Virginia, courtesy of the Association of Road Racing Statisticians:
+ The event doled out $23,800 in prize money, which was up 23% from last year and the most in six (6) years.
+ Alene Reta's winning time of 1:02:39 was the fastest since 1993 and the men's field was the most competitive since 1994.
The fastest time at last year's Houston Half Marathon, which bid against the News and Sentinel Half Marathon for the 2008 RRCA National Half Marathon championship, was run by Houston's Sean Wade in 1:12:50.3. However, Wade was running with one of his students, Ray Caesar Martinez, that day and later in the year covered the half distance in 1:09:36 in Barbados.
By comparison, the Aramco Houston Half Marathon, with the USATF Championship, announced a prize purse of $62,500 before the 2007 event with an additional $5,000 for breaking the race and U.S. record (which Ryan Hall did in the men's event.)
If you look at the elevation profiles of the two races (Huntsville and Parkersburg), you'd be inclined to say that Huntsville definitely looks harder. Plus, it's a double-loop course.
With the Parkersburg event being in August and Huntsville being in October, Parkersburg definitely gets the literal degrees of difficulty for its potential broiling temperatures.
Yet Huntsville is deceiving as I can think of four long stretches of flat straightaways and a short stretch by the Walls Unit. In Parkersburg, you get beat up until the mile 8 marker before you get two fairly flat miles followed by a slow and steady 100-foot climb in the next mile and a half.
I'd have to give the edge though to Huntsville. It is just a bit more mentally when you finish the first loop and you get to stare the next big hill again!
Some interesting notes though on Saturday's race in Parkersburg, West Virginia, courtesy of the Association of Road Racing Statisticians:
+ The event doled out $23,800 in prize money, which was up 23% from last year and the most in six (6) years.
+ Alene Reta's winning time of 1:02:39 was the fastest since 1993 and the men's field was the most competitive since 1994.
The fastest time at last year's Houston Half Marathon, which bid against the News and Sentinel Half Marathon for the 2008 RRCA National Half Marathon championship, was run by Houston's Sean Wade in 1:12:50.3. However, Wade was running with one of his students, Ray Caesar Martinez, that day and later in the year covered the half distance in 1:09:36 in Barbados.
By comparison, the Aramco Houston Half Marathon, with the USATF Championship, announced a prize purse of $62,500 before the 2007 event with an additional $5,000 for breaking the race and U.S. record (which Ryan Hall did in the men's event.)
posted by WalkSports.com | 11:14 PM
3 Comments:
With regard to time at either Half Marathon in Houston, at least you KNOW the Aramco Half was actually 13.1 miles.
Both were measured 13.1, but like the old 20K course, Houston Half finish lines and turnarounds probably weren't laid out as measured.
The thing is is that Tom McBrayer can perfectly measure a course (and, of course, his Aramco Houston Half Marathon passed post-review muster.)
But if it isn't put out exactly as to what he has measured, then all of that skill and hard work has gone for naught. The word is that the cone that was to be placed all the way to Shepherd was moved in by the police this past year.
A similar type of placement also shortened the Trolley Run 5K course as well this past April.
The finish line in the '05 20K was moved from the measured spot at Bagby Street to some distance away so the finishing area would be big enough to accomodate the runners and the chip clippers.
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