Richmond Marathon Reviews & Race Reports
36 reviews from runners who've completed this race
Reviews & Race Reports
The bridge back over the James — Runners single out the highway bridge back over the James around mile 16. It is a mile-long, gradual climb, exposed to the wind, and it feels endless. A few strong runners found it milder than its reputation.
Mile 7 and the river road — Mile 7 drops steeply down to the James, and the river road after it is the prettiest part of the course. Then the rolling starts, with climbs near mile 10 and mile 12 that caught runners off guard.
Brook Road and the half marathon merge — The long straight up Brook Road is thin on crowds. Around mile 22 the course joins the half marathon on a split road, which brings cheering runners but also half marathoners drifting into the marathon lane.
Neighborhood parties and the 5th Street drop — Spectators turn out with signs and costumes, and the Fauquier party neighborhood hands out beer. The race ends with a right turn onto 5th Street and a steep drop to the finish line.
Hit the wall at mile 21 but smashed my goal by 10 minutes!
Let me preface everything else by saying the Richmond Marathon ABSOLUTELY lives up to it's name "America's Friendliest Marathon". This was the best experience of my life. The coordination and the way it's all organized is chef's kiss - aside from the crowded bridge after you receive your metal. That was brutal.
Led the pack early, struggled with dehydration later on.
Gun goes off and so does the chorus of super shoes. My plan was pretty simple: aim for around 6:05 pace, but don’t dip under 6 minutes until mile 20, where I could full send the last 6. I settled into what felt like the right rhythm and tucked in with a pack, but pretty quickly realized I was moving a bit too fast. I eased off a few seconds and ended up in the group forming around the lead woman and her pacer.
Narrowly avoided a collision at mile 22 but still PR'd by 8 minutes
The start was electric, and I took off with the 3:25 group. Their 7:40 splits surprised me, but it aligned with my 3:22 plan so I figured I would stay with them for a bit. Aid stations were chaotic, so I pulled ahead after mile 4 to make fueling easier. I broke the race into fueling chunks, taking gels at miles 4, 8, 12, 16, 20 (caffeinated Maurten), and 22.
Overcame headwinds and hills to secure a surprising victory
Race day is exhilarating, and with ideal conditions, Richmond was no exception on Saturday morning. I had a great training block and was ready to run fast and compete for a spot on the podium after narrowly missing last year with a fourth place finish overall. My goal through the first ~9.5 miles was to remain controlled and find a state of flow.
Fought early pace urges, banked time for a strong finish
out of the gate i was getting passed a fair amount and was subconsciously trying to keep up with a lot of these people and those in front of me. it took about half a mile or so of reminding myself to slow a bit as i kept glancing at my watch to see a lap pace in the low 6:30s. i managed to slow down but found myself settling in to 6:4x miles, which i feared was a bit too fast. the first 10k flew by though, and i was feeling great and had a good amount of time banked against the pacing plan.