Race Recap: The Route 66 Marathon

Angie and I ran the Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on November 23rd.

This race had been on Angie’s wishlist for some time because of it attracts lots of Marathon Maniacs (she is maniac# 4723).

They even gave her a maniac finisher’s medal. How cool is that?

Cooler than anything I’ve given her.

This race proliferated with coolness. Here’s how

The Health, Fitness, and Sustainability Expo

I don’t know what kind of car this is. -Not cool 🙁

They also placed an emphasis on hosting a “green race” by reducing the amount of paper and plastic used and providing shuttle services -definitely cool. 🙂

Route 66 is one of the original U.S. Highways, established on November 11, 1926. It is the most famous road in America and originally ran from Chicago to Los Angeles covering a total of 2,448 miles (3,940 km). It was recognized in popular culture by the song “Get your kicks on Rt. 66.

The Course for Half and Full Marathon
We started in downtown Tulsa and ran by many buildings from the art deco era. Then we toured some affluent neighborhoods (laden with hills) in the vicinity of the Philbrook Museum.

Photo Credit: © Caleb Long

Then the course took us along the Arkansas River. At this point I saw the Amazing Spider Woman Camille Herron who set the Guinness World Record for the fastest woman running a marathon in a superhero costume. -super cool! 🙂

The full marathon wound through the University of Tulsa and some more challenging hills.

Course support was great with aid stations every 2 miles and lots of crowd support. One guy had a sign that said, “Your feet hurt because you’re kicking so much ass!”

Running a Faster Half Marathon
I managed to set a PR finishing in 1:40:27. This is 22 minutes faster than my first half marathon 1 1/2 years ago. I find that with every half marathon I push myself a little harder. Here are a couple things I did right:

1. I had a higher lever of fitness thanks to my killer marathon training plan.
2. I gutted out a full marathon about 30 days before Tulsa. It made my half seem like a cake walk.
3. I ran with my Garmin gps watch and tried to keep my pace per mile below 7:50.
4. I had the number 1:40 in my head from the very beginning.
5. . . . and perhaps dumb luck.

This race was very well organized. I got the feeling that every detail had been carefully thought through.

If you are looking for a good race for your first marathon, the Route 66 has my recommendation.

Thanks to all the volunteers and organizers for making this great event so cool.