A course strategy – and overall race strategy – is a must for optimal performance on race day. Whether this is your first REVEL Mt Charleston race and your goal is simply to finish, or you are veteran aiming for a PR or BQ, you should have a well-planned strategy for how you intend to manage the course!

The head coach of REVEL’s Online Coaching Program, who has run a Boston Qualifying time in all of the REVEL marathons, has prepared a detailed description of the Mt Charleston Marathon and Half-Marathon courses.

Managing the Course Based On Segments

A critical component of your strategy is the course profile itself. Where are the sharp descents? Where are the climbs? Where does the course “flatten” a bit?

You definitely want to plan your race with course segments in mind, and with an overall strategy for varying paces throughout. Your varied paces will be dictated by the elevation losses and gains, and you want to know before the race where those variations will occur.

Generally, the Mt Charleston Marathon course can be divided into seven sections:

• Mile 1: Warmup
• Miles 2-4: Swift Downhill
• Mile 5: The Loop
• Miles 6-21: Steady and Fast
• Miles 22-23: Flatten Out
• Mile 24: Get Past This Short Climb
• Miles 25-26.2: Pick It Up for the Finish

Similarly, the Mt Charleston Half-Marathon course can be divided into four similar sections:

• Miles 1-8: Swift Downhill
• Miles 9-10: Flatten Out
• Mile 11: Get Past This Short Climb
• Miles 12-13.1: Pick It Up for the Finish

You can study the courses yourself on the REVEL website. You can zoom in, use the interactive elevation chart, and get a feel for what lays ahead of you on race day.

If possible, you should drive the course before race day to get a feel for what the segments look and feel like. Knowing what to expect, and when, is helpful when preparing your course strategy.

The marathon and half-marathon courses are summarized below based on the segments described above.

THE MARATHON COURSE

Mile 1: Warmup

Starting at almost 7,600’ elevation, the start of the marathon is adjacent to the Mt Charleston Lodge on Kyle Canyon Road. The first ¼ mile climbs almost 60’ as you exit the lodge area. This definitely should be just a nice easy warmup for you. Start out nice and slow, and conserve your energy.

After you get past this first ¼ mile, the next ¾ of a mile to the mile 1 marker descends about 200’ of elevation with zero climbing.

Miles 2-4: Swift Downhill

After the mile 1 marker, the next 3 miles drop well over 600’ total, with an average of over 4% downhill grade and no climbing until just before mile 4. Just past mile 3.75, there is a climb of about 40’ as you approach The Mt Charleston Resort on your right. Once you hit the mile 4 marker, however, this short climb is over.

This is a segment where you do not want to get caught up with the pace of other runners if they are passing you. You still have many miles to go, and you want to conserve your energy for the miles ahead. If you feel yourself working too hard, then simply slow down.

Mile 5: The Loop

Not long after you pass the Mt Charleston Resort, you will reach a roundabout (traffic circle) at the entrance to the United States Forest Service’s Spring Mountains Visitor Gateway. At this point, the course diverts from the main road – Kyle Canyon Road – into the visitor center parking lot. You will make a counter-clockwise loop around the parking lot before re-entering the main road again.

The total distance around the parking area is less than ½ mile. However, you will climb about 40’ for the first ¼ mile of that loop, and then descend the same elevation as you exit the parking lot.

Miles 6-21: Steady and Fast

When you exit the visitor center parking area, you will be at nearly 6,600’ of elevation. For the next 16 miles, you will lose approximately 3,700’ of elevation. That’s an average of over 4% elevation loss per mile, which makes this course so extremely fast. More importantly, there is only one climb in that entire stretch, and it happens about mile 12.5. That one is a short but very visible climb that is over fairly quickly: the entire climb is only about 1/8 of a mile long. Be wary of a sensation of “running too fast” in this entire stretch of the race. If you feel out of control, or if you feel yourself working “too hard” while running downhill, then slow down.

Miles 22-23: Flatten Out

Just past mile 21, you will make a right turn onto the frontage road along U.S. 95. After more than 16 miles of steady downhill, you will definitely notice how the 3-4% elevation loss quickly becomes less than a 1% downhill grade. Keep in mind that you will still lose about 200’ of elevation in this stretch of the race, with no elevation gain. However, the flatter terrain will make it feel like climbing.

Mile 24: Get Past This Short Climb

Just past mile 23.1, with 5K to go, you will make a right turn onto Grand Teton Drive. For the next .65 miles, you will climb just over 30’ until you are nearing mile 24. After that, the course begins the gradual descent to the finish.

Miles 25-26.2: Pick It Up for the Finish

Once you reach mile 24, you can say to yourself "now downhill to the finish!" The elevation loss from mile 24 to the finish is over 170’ – a nice downhill for your final 1.2 miles! Better yet, you will encounter terrific crowds who will cheer you towards the finish line of the fast and beautiful Mt Charleston Marathon!

Summary of the Marathon Course

The Mt Charleston Marathon course loses almost 5,100’ of elevation from start to finish. Over the 26.2-mile course, you likely will surprise yourself with your speed on the downhill segments. Although it is generally true that you never want to "go out too fast" in the opening miles of a marathon, remember that gravity is your friend, and you want to take advantage of the benefits of downhill running.

THE HALF-MARATHON COURSE

Miles 1-8: Swift Downhill

Starting at over 4,500’ of elevation, the course drops almost 1,600’ from the start to mile 8, with zero elevation gain in that stretch. That is an average of about 200' per mile, which is a significant but manageable descent each mile. You will want to manage the early part of this downhill segment by easing into your pace, settling in for the long haul, and letting gravity pull you along at a comfortably fast pace. You should not feel as if you are running “too hard” or “too fast.” If you do, then you should ease back a bit and aim for a “comfortably hard” pace.

Miles 9-10: Flatten Out

Just past mile 8, you will make a right turn onto the frontage road along U.S. 95. After more than 8 miles of steady downhill, you will definitely notice how the 3-4% elevation loss quickly becomes less than a 1% downhill grade. Keep in mind that you will still lose about 200’ of elevation in this stretch of the race, with no elevation gain. However, the flatter terrain will make it feel like climbing.

Mile 11: Get Past This Short Climb

Just past mile 10, with 5K to go, you will make a right turn onto Grand Teton Drive. For the next .65 miles, you will climb just over 30’ until you are nearing mile 11. After that, the course begins the gradual descent to the finish.

Miles 12-13.1: Pick It Up for the Finish

Once you reach mile 11, you can say to yourself "now downhill to the finish!" The elevation loss from mile 11 to the finish is over 170’ – a nice downhill for your final 1.1 miles! Better yet, you will encounter terrific crowds who will cheer you towards the finish line of the fast and beautiful Mt Charleston Half-Marathon!

Summary of the Half-Marathon Course

The Mt Charleston Half-Marathon course loses 2,000’ of elevation from start to finish. With an average loss of more than 150’ per mile, this one of the fastest half-marathon courses you will ever run. Over the 13.1-mile course, you likely will surprise yourself with your speed on the downhill segments.

By Paul Carmona. Paul Carmona is the REVEL Online Coach. He has run every one of REVEL's races and is familiar with the unique demands of downhill racing. He has run a Boston qualifying time on all of REVEL's courses, and knows the right training, pace strategy, and race planning that will help you succeed in your marathon or half-marathon.

Do you want to be our next featured writer? Email us at revel@runrevel.com for details.

If you are like me, winter seems to take a toll on my running. While I don’t just sit around eating Bon Bon’s all winter, running in cold and icy conditions or running on the “dread”mill is just something that takes a lot of motivation to do.

Now that Spring is right around the corner, how do we snap out of the Winter doldrums and get back to work? Here are a few ideas that have got me out the door after a break in running:

Prepare for your run. If you run in the morning or evening, lay out your running clothes and gear for your run out the night before. Time spent looking for all your stuff when you are half awake is not only a good way to lose motivation, but it’s time you could use to get and extra mile or two in on the road or trail. This is also a great idea the night before a race!

Get up and get dressed! Well this is a given (I hope). If you follow tip #1, this tip will be much easier. On those mornings (or evenings) that you just don’t want to get out of bed or are tired after a long day at work, just change into your running clothes with no expectations. I have always found that no matter how tired I felt, just getting dressed for a run was enough motivation to actually run.

Start slow and be easy on yourself. If you have not been running all Winter, going out with guns blazing and expecting to have the fitness and speed you enjoyed in the warmer months when your training was on point will make you lose motivation. It is not realistic and it is a good way to get injured! It’s OK to start over. Go out with a plan to run one mile and see how you feel. For me, 9 times out of 10, I will warm up and do more. Just don’t do too much too soon, and with work you will eventually get your fitness and speed back.

Find a running group or running buddy. The power of accountability is strong! One of the strongest motivations I have found is knowing that my group or a friend was getting up and waiting on me. Plus, running with a friend that can motivate, push, and talk to you during the run just makes the run more fun. Even if you go to the gym to run, find a couple of treadmills next to each other and no matter what your pace, you can still run together!

Sign up for a race! There is no greater motivation than putting a race on the calendar. REVEL has four amazing races throughout the year to get excited about! The fact is, if we sign up for a race, we will be a lot more likely get out and train. Even after 119 marathons/ultras, this is still something that gets me out the door. Running a marathon or half can be daunting, but with proper training, it will hurt a lot less and be a lot of fun.

I know that if you follow these tips, it won’t take long to get your groove back and be out there killing it a races throughout the year.

Wishing you all a personal record (PR), Boston qualifier (BQ) or a fun finish! GOOD LUCK and I will see you on the course!

Angie Whitworth Pace is a REVEL Ambassador (and legacy runner at the Big Cottonwood Marathon), Marathon Maniac and member of the 100 Marathon Club of North America. She also writes the running blog “Keeping Pace” which documents her journey of running a marathon in all 50 States. http://angiepaceruns50.blogspot.com/

Do you want to be our next featured writer? Email us at revel@runrevel.com for details.

When you think of a “bib,” what image comes to mind? Most likely it’s something draped around an infant’s front at mealtime to protect their clothes from massive food stains and drool.

Or it’s something you strap on at the local BBQ joint on “All You Can Stomach” ribs night. This is also to protect clothes from the aforementioned massive food stains and drool.

As runners, we have our own unique fascination with bibs.

Specifically, the race bib.

When you get down to it, a race bib is really just a piece of paper (okay, these days it’s typically made out of a material called Tyvek) with a number written on it.

The functional purpose of the race bib is for identification and safety so the race officials, volunteers and photographers can determine exactly who that lumbering, sweaty and heavily-breathing person is. And most race bibs have room on the back for your emergency data along with a timing tag.

But once you put a bib on, it becomes something much more than a runner’s dog tag. It’s your official passport to the race and says one thing very loudly: “Let’s run.”

Yup, we love our bibs.

When you go to a race expo and are finally given your bib, how many of you stare at it longingly like you just discovered one of Willy Wonka’s golden tickets? Be honest.

And everyone is a critic when it comes to bibs:

• Is it too big to possibly fit on my shirt?
• Is it too small to properly convey the magnitude of this race?
• Is the design too busy or not flashy enough?
• Who the hell picked that font?
• Will the bib color properly coordinate with my planned race outfit or do I need to switch tops?

Admit it, you think about these.

And what about your race number? You could write a doctoral thesis on the psychology of race numbers. I can’t tell you how many people I know (myself included) who hope that they get one of those cool numbers when they register:

• 666 (So you can “run like hell”)
• 911 (Now they know who to call)
• 999 (1,000 adjacent and makes me feel like a rebel)
• 1,000 (Rounded numbers rock, apparently)
• 1,001 (“The Arabian Nights” palindrome)
• 1,111 (We get excited when we see it on our odometers… ever more so on our chests)
• 1,999 (so you can party and run like it’s 1999)
• 2,001 (A running odyssey)
• 9,999 (like 999 but 10x better)

And there are so many more numbers we could add to the list, right?

We also like getting the low numbers, even if we won’t admit it out loud. If you had a choice between 73 and 4,286 which would you take?

Me too.

While walking along before a race don’t you scan the crowd looking for your “bookends” (the people with numbers right before and after yours)? If you do find them, I’d wager you say “Hi” because apparently you’re racing kin and you have the perfect icebreaker… “I couldn’t help but notice your number.” And what about when you see a man and woman standing next to each other with consecutive numbers… a running couple, right? I bet they have matching Halloween costumes too.

Then there’s the recent trend in “bibbage” (if it isn’t a word, it darn well should be), which is personalized bibs.

Now when you enter races like the REVEL Race Series, you can get your name sprawled across your bib. Well, bibs are kind of like a runner’s license plate anyway, so it only makes sense that we can get vanity plates now.

And what about the challenge of attaching the bib to your race shirt? To the running rookie, it can seem like a Herculean task. The standard tool is the “safety pin.” And let’s be honest, we’ve all proven at least once that those things aren’t as “safe” as their name implies. Anyone got a Band-Aid?

Some people place their bibs high up on their shirts like it’s a superhero insignia, while others prefer to have them down much lower. Some runners attach them to their fuel belts with clips or hang them off of their shorts. Some people get really tricky and strap it to one leg or fold the bib so only a thin strip with the number is showing (going all minimalist). And every race you get a few newbies who attach their bibs to their backs, like it’s the number on a football jersey. These are also the same people who wonder why they never see any race photos of them posted. Please feel free to enlighten these poor misguided souls as to proper bib placement.

One of my favorite night-before pre-race rituals is the “pinning of the bib,” where I spend way too much time attaching a race bib to my shirt making sure it’s not too high nor too low and definitely not tilted (heavens no). I can spend upwards of 10-15 minutes “Goldilocking” my bib, making sure it’s “just right.”

So if you spy me at the REVEL races this year, you’ll see me proudly displaying my perfectly centered race bib with my name emblazoned on it and sporting a really cool number that makes me the envy of everyone around.

And hopefully no drool.

Run on!

Scott Device is a reformed couch potato who discovered distance running in the fall of 2008 and hasn’t stopped since. He hails from Los Angeles CA and has participated in 8 REVEL events.

Do you want to be our next featured writer? Email us at revel@runrevel.com for details.