Does knowing the route make much difference?

Freiheit

Does simply knowing where your going,having a rough idea of what's in front of you and where you are make much difference? maybe psychologicaly in terms of managment it might?

Am aiming to do my first marathon within a year,maybe I'd be better to wait for my home event though? for a first timer would be psychologicaly easier for the above reasons. Also no transport or accommodation required either,which would remove further stressors. But my home event,Limerick,is almost a year away.

Thoughts?

RoyMcC

Not so much. It's as well to know where to expect any significant climbs but otherwise running is just running, most anywhere.

robinph

RoyMcC wrote: »

Not so much. It's as well to know where to expect any significant climbs but otherwise running is just running, most anywhere.

Cross country racing it can be handy to know where there are bottle necks or steep hills or rivers to get around. Get away from a group in some points so that you don't get caught up in the mess.

tHE vAGGABOND

I found knowing the route and in's and out's brilliant doing a marathon in a city I was not all that familiar with [Paris]..

Knowing in advance where interesting parts are, where hard parts [to ease back maybe] are and where easy parts are [to push on if feeling good]...

Good to know of any choke points in the course in advance, so you can try and get away from a packed group maybe [not an issue in paris at all, but deffo would be in Dublin IMHO]

Maybe its just me

TFBubendorfer

It does not make much of a difference, but it does help.

By now I know every turn and every little hill (as well as the big ones ) on the last 13.1 miles in Connemara and it helps to be in familiar territory when the legs are increasingly tired.

For your first marathon, choosing roads that you are familiar with is probably a good idea. But if you really don't want to wait a year until the next Limerick marathon, well, do a different one. The difference it makes isn't all that big.

wrstan

Well lots of athletes and coaches talk about the benefits of "visualisation" before a race. If you are in familiar surroundings this will definitely be easier.

For me just knowing where I am likely to feel the most pain and being prepared mentally to meet (maybe even embrace :eek:) that pain really helps!

tunguska

I used to think it didnt matter but now I think it matters a lot. The reason why I think its important is because of visualisation. I find that if Im in a jock in a race, if I know how much is left in terms of landmarks then I can hang on. But if Im not familiar with the course and all I have to go on is the garmin telling me theres 3 miles left or so, then the urge to slow down is greater. As preparation for the marathon in october I plan to run repeats of all the hilly sections, but also run every inch of that route over and over so that its automatic on the day.
I mean its up to the individual, maybe it doesnt make a difference to a lot of people but for me I think its fairly important.

Domer

I know this thread is about marathon running, but as a former track runner, I always felt it improtant to get the the track the day before if possible to get to know where everything is. When we raced on the US College circuit, we would also get to an away meet the day before (where possible) and do a light run at the track. That way you get to know where the check-in area is, where the Toilets are, where to warm up etc. I have heard of guys going on a warm up run before a race, and getting lost, Ended up running a lot more then they had planned and ruined their race.
Whether its track or road, its better to over-prepare!

MrCreosote

Much more important for a shorter race like 5k-10k where I like to know where even little inclines are.

nerraw1111

MrCreosote wrote: »

Much more important for a shorter race like 5k-10k where I like to know where even little inclines are.

Agreed. Where to push, where the inclines are etc.

Knowing a route gives you a bit of confidence too to push on if you're feeling good, knowing what's ahead. Less of a factor with a marathon I suppose.

Huge difference in mountain running.

TFBubendorfer

All these recent points are perfectly valid, but keep in mind that the OP asked this with his/her first ever marathon in mind.

That's a completely different situation to being in a race for prize money or a 5k or especially an IMRA race.

robinph

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

All these recent points are perfectly valid, but keep in mind that the OP asked this with his/her first ever marathon in mind.

That's a completely different situation to being in a race for prize money or a 5k or especially an IMRA race.

Yeah, but that then doesn't make for much of an interesting discussion.

If you're running a regular city marathon it makes no difference.

If you're running Connemara it might be handy to know what's coming.
If you're running Man v Horse it's definitely useful to know what is coming.