Why You Should Run Pittsburgh Marathon Weekend

Sept. 1st marked the first day of registration for the Pittsburgh Marathon. As the day’s go on the price will continue to increase, so if you want the lowest rates I recommend registering sooner than later. If you have already ran any of the races during marathon weekend then I probably don’t need to tell you reasons why you should run this race. However if you have never ran Pittsburgh then let me give you some reasons why you should put this race on your calendar.

THE COURSE: I will say Pittsburgh is a challenging course even for seasoned vets for both the full and the half marathon, but that is also what makes this race so good. When you finish you will know that you accomplished something. It will not be a walk in the park and you will want to train properly. One thing though is you will have plenty of things to help you along the way as you run. The course is filled with spectators, bands, and cheerleaders to help motivate you.
If you are running the full you will run through 13 different neighborhoods, and each neighborhood has different things to offer along the course. In both the full and the half you will run over 5 bridges, which Pittsburgh is known for.
Pittsburgh is also a Boston Qualifying race.

FAMILY FRIENDLY: One thing I really love about Pittsburgh is that there is something for everyone in the family to do race weekend. The children can run the kids marathon, and you can even get your pet involved with pet walk. You still have the 5k, the relay, the half and the full that people can run as well.

RUNNER OF STEEL: Last year the marathon offered what is known as the runner of steel challenge. Here you run the 5K on Saturday and on Sunday if you compete in the relay, half or full you will receive a total of 3 medals. One for the 5K, one for the Sunday race, and one for competing the challenge. So if you are a person who loves bling this is right up your alley.

 

 

PITTSBURGH: If you are an out of towner and are giving this race a thought there is tons of stuff for you to do in our city. We have a good amount of hotels that are in walking distance from the start, finish and the expo. Our city is also set up that you can walk to many restaurants, theaters, and all of our sport stadiums. If you need to get in a last minute run while you are here, we have trails on both sides of Pittsburgh that are great to run on. The North Shore, Station Square, and Southside are just minutes away and all of have a variety of shops and restaurants.

TRAINING GROUPS: If you live in Pittsburgh and are hesitant to sign up because you feel you won’t know how to train, no worries. There are many different groups in Pittsburgh that train for the marathon and half. Elite runners, Fleet feet, and Steel City Road Runners are some of the bigger ones. I prefer Steel City because the people that run in this group are awesome and are always there to give you advice and help you along your journey, they also have great coach’s that are experienced and can answer all your training questions. They use pacers for most of their runs, so you can get in with a group that is at your comfort zone. If you are only running the half they run different distances on training runs, so don’t feel you will have to run the long runs with the full marathoners. They also have a Galloway group and have introduced a walking group to the club as well. Also when you join Steel City the perks you get on Marathon day make it worth it. Instead of standing outside and waiting in long lines for the Port-o-potty, you will get access to a private meeting place that has bathrooms, pre-race snacks, and you will be indoors not dealing with the weather. One nice thing that almost all the groups do, right before the race they all do a course preview run.

ME: Last and certainly not least you should probably run this race because I will be running both the 5K and the half again in 2016. I mean let’s be honest here who doesn’t want to meet me. Maybe you will be in my corral and we can run the race together, if not you can find me in the post-race area and we can have a beer or a few after.

To register for the Pittsburgh Marathon or any other race during that weekend just click here