Austin Marathon and Half Marathon 2011

Okay guys, its hilly. I have been training with a group that's runs the actual course. Plus I did the half last year. Running up congress is a steady up hill for 4 miles. The course is almost the same as last year. If you are doing the half then you should thank your lucky starts bc they cut out a chunk of Enfield which is a few miles of nonstop hill action. If you are doing the full there are a few good hills in the mix but nothing insane. YOU CAN DO IT!!

Okay guys, its hilly. I have been training with a group that's runs the actual course. Plus I did the half last year. Running up congress is a steady up hill for 4 miles. The course is almost the same as last year. If you are doing the half then you should thank your lucky starts bc they cut out a chunk of Enfield which is a few miles of nonstop hill action. If you are doing the full there are a few good hills in the mix but nothing insane. YOU CAN DO IT!!

In comparing the elevation schematic on the Austin Marathon site with the one for the Boston Marathon its hard to compare. Having done Boston but not Austin, I know Boston is supposed to be considered hard because of the hills but I didn't find it that tough. What concerns me more about Austin is the steady uphill climb between mile 9 and mile 20. That's a long time to be going steadily uphill with smaller hills thrown into the mix. My husband says it looks kinda like Big Sur on a much smaller elevation scale (ie not comparable really as Big Sur is one of the hardest races in the US)
I've done Marine Corps, Boston, OBX, Houston, and my local flat hometown race in FL (5 Points of Life). Who has done any of those AND Austin who could give a comparison?

But how do the hills compare to other marathons? Like, how do they compare to the hills in the Boston Marathon, or in Big Sur Marathon, etc? The course map schematic for the hills doesn't look that impressive...you rise 13-14 feet PER MILE for a while then drop 33 feet per mile for the end...14 feet in a mile isn't that much spread out over a mile, is it?
I am going to print their hill schematic and compare it to some of the other marathons I have done to see exactly how bad I think its gonna be

I haven't checked the course yet so I'm not exactly sure WHICH hills we'll be running, but ATX has some definite hills. I'd do some hill-work!

Those hills are reeeeally hilly! Start prepping now.

I've never run Austin before- exactly how hilly are "rolling hills"? :) I don't have really any hill training because I didn't need it for Chicago. Is it safe to assume I should incorporate some into my training schedule? Thanks.