Why are some courses PB - General running

francis

13/10/2002 at 14:17

I have just had a another good time at the Chester Zoo 10k, how come such a hilly race seems to be so fast? the LLandudno 10 is the same? whearas some flat-ish courses are real slows logs.
ps I do'nt wish to hear any snide comments about the courses being short Though a few weeks ago I did the Sutton 6 10k as everyone in the club was getting good times on it and it turned out that the course was 150 metres too short previously and they had had to adjust it this year.I have been unsuccessful in trying to get a couple of cub members to renounce their pbs. Mind you I am git.

Dangly Spice

13/10/2002 at 15:56

I think good fast courses are usually due to the numbers running (give you pacers), the weather and how sheltered the course is from any wind (not runner produced!).
My PBs have been on courses not usually classed as 'fast' and i think it was because of the above.

A Chimp Writes

13/10/2002 at 16:37

I find if the course is too flat, I get into a groove that almost imperceptively slows. Hills hit different parts of the leg and generally, so long as the hills are not ridiculously steep, you can gain going downhill what bit you lost going up, particularly on circular race routes. I also get annoyed when people breeze past me uphill and that in itself is a spur to kick on a little.

ceal

31/10/2002 at 16:57

On the subject of fast courses. I have just read that the Lisbon half marathon is a fast course, and a lot of it is downhill. Can anyone verify this. ie is there a lot of hills. I have always understood that Lisbon stands on 3 hills. Is it a well subscribed race, how many entries approx. I am thinking of enerting this race.

the hatchet

31/10/2002 at 18:44

can anyone recommend a fast marathon course in europe in late spring or early summer.

Wurzel

01/11/2002 at 16:36

Boing.
Many is the whinge here in the frozen north that two potential PB 10K races areto take place on the same weekend, the Abbey Dash and the Percy Pud. As Dangly points out, both are flat and fairly sheltered and have large entries so there are plenty of people to chase.

XFR Bear

01/11/2002 at 18:44

I also think it can have soemthign to do with the time of year. A lot of my club have PBs at the Camberley half, which is actually quite hilly, but due to it being not long before the FLM, everyone has done a lot of stamina training and so does a good time.

francis

09/11/2002 at 11:33

I wonder if the time of day maybe a factor, A review of my running career indicates that afternoon races seeem to produce good times, I sure there is some article buried deep in my Runner's World archives that after years of research an american university have proved that you have to be awake before you run a race and that it helps to sleep off the ale before you hit the start line.

Santa

09/11/2002 at 18:46

All my pbs are on races where an uphill first half forces me to pace myself and as I'm relatively fast downhill I somehow seem to more than make up for the slower first half.

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