copied from my blog review which you can find here: https://fiveleveninety.blogspot.com/2021/08/race-review-carmel-marathon-2021.html

I arrived to Indianapolis in the mid-morning, rented a car, and made my way to Carmel which is about 30 minutes north of the city. I had some time to kill before the expo started so I went and grabbed an early lunch nearby and got my bearings of the area. Carmel is such a cute little city and I absolutely loved walking around with my coffee and taking in the sights of the city center.

The expo was completely outdoors which I really appreciated. At this point in time, COVID vaccines weren't yet that widely accessible and so attending this event was inherently quite risky, so I really appreciate that the organizers of this event were taking steps to make the event as safe as possible, having an outdoor expo being one of those steps. The expo itself was super easy to navigate as it was all on one green space, and a couple dozen vendors, and of course an area to pick up your bib and shirt. My only complaint about the set up of this expo was that all of the booths were facing inward in a circle (that wasn't that large), so everyone who was attending the expo had to all be in the same area in really close proximity. I think it would have made things a bit safer if the booths were facing outward and lines could have spread out a bit more.

After picking up my bib, shirt, and purchasing a souvenir race shirt that had all the participants names on it (so cool!), I headed back to my car. Unfortunately upon arriving to my car I noticed that they gave me a half marathon shirt instead of the full marathon shirt. Luckily I noticed it before I drove to my AirBnB, wasn't that far from the expo, and was able to go right back to the booth to exchange it. They were super kind and apologetic and exchanged it right away for me! I know things get crazy for the volunteers of these events so no harm no foul there, and I appreciate them exchanging the shirt for me!

After the expo I headed back to my AirBnB for the evening as I wanted to get a solid night of rest before the big day. I did a quick 2 mile shakeout run, ordered in some fish tacos, and got to bed relatively early. Traveling solo for these trips does have some perks in the sense that you're 100% on your own schedule, which is nice! All I wanted to do was get my mind right for the morning and get some much needed sleep after a long day of travel. (But of course, not before laying out my #flatrunner!)

Race morning came quickly, as it always does. After getting up, getting dressed, and making myself some breakfast to go, I got in the car and headed up to Carmel. I had my usual pre-race butterflies (I swear marathons will never not be scary), and I think I was extra nervous because of my ultimate goal of running sub-5. This would be my third attempt at this goal and I had worked so hard over the last year to improve my running. I know I had grown as a runner during the pandemic, but I really had no idea how that would translate to the race. I was NERVOUS, y'all. When the time approached I headed down to the start area and did a bit of a warm up and stretch before heading to the start line.

Waiting in the start area was another part of the event I was rather uncomfortable. While the race guidelines clearly said to wear masks when waiting for the start, there was a lot of crowding, and not a lot of methods in place to help mitigate that issue. I did my best to stay far away from everyone else, but YIKES. That was nerve-wracking. I know that it's hard to enforce rules on a large crowd, but if you're hosting this event during the pandemic when you know that it's risky, at least put forth more of an effort to spread the runners and spectators out. I was a little disappointed by how the start line operated in terms of COVID safety.

The morning was beautiful (though a little chilly) and it was looking like a perfect day for a long run. Before I knew it we were off and I was running marathon #15!

This race honestly could not have gone any better. The weather was perfect (sunny and cool, some headwinds here and there but nothing too terrible), the course was relatively flat, the support from volunteers and spectators was so great, and I was just feeling so good through the entire run. For the first half of the race I had to really remind myself constantly to sloooooooooow dooooooown. I was aiming to land around 10:30-11:00 paces for the first portion of the race to give myself a little bit of a cushion for the sub-5 for when I was tired in the later miles. However, every time I looked down at my watch I was moving a bit on the fast side. I think I was excited to be racing a marathon for the first time in over a year!

I really enjoyed the course, even though it had the feature of marathon courses that is my least favorite - it loops back to the finish line at the half way mark and marathoners continue on while half marathoners get to finish 😭 I've run several races where this is the course makeup and I'm always so jealous of the half marathoners when I run by 😂 The funny thing about this day is that I was crossing the half way point the person who won the entire marathon was crossing the finish line. The guy was literally twice as fast as me! 😂

Other than that feature, I really enjoyed the course. The first half took you through one part of Carmel and then second half took you through the other side, always meeting in the city center. There was plenty of course support in terms of water stops which I appreciated, although I opted to hydrate with my hydration pack for the majority of the race (COVID and whatnot, y'know). There was also quite a few spectators out and about -- not massive crowds but enough folks to make it feel like we were somewhat back to normal!

The second half of the race is where things began to get challenging (as it does with the marathon). I actually didn't turn on my music until mile 14 which really helped me continue pushing through the later miles. I think the most difficult miles for me during this race were 16-19ish. For whatever reason, I was able to find another burst of energy as I entered into mile 20 and beyond. I think keeping an eye on the time and realizing that with every passing mile I was getting closer and closer to achieving a sub-5! I was actually dancing to my music around miles 21 & 22... fairly certain the other runners around me thought I was nuts 😅

When I got to mile 23 I had the realization that I was so far ahead of my pace that I knew -- barring disaster -- I was going to hit my sub-5 goal. The question was by how much was I going to reach my goal? I still wanted to push to see how much of a PR I could achieve - I didn't want let off the gas! Mile 24 and 25 I was definitely pushing but alternating between walking and running quite a bit (my legs were quite sore at this point). Once you hit the mile 26 marker you have a bit of an uphill then a fast downhill finish and as soon as I turned the corner to go down hill I gave it everything I had across the finish line and...

SUB-5 ACHIEVED
4:39:48!!!!!!

A nearly 25 minute marathon PR and a huge goal that I had been chasing for a year and a half finally achieved. There was 100% some happy tears at the finish line of this race. I had worked so hard to improve my running, and all I could think of was the many months of showing up for myself that went into this. I was reflecting on how I felt at the Newport Marathon in October 2019 when I had that "I'm never feeling like this at a finish line ever again" moment that launched my quest for a sub-5 marathon, and wondering what that version of myself could have said if she saw me in that moment. I was so so so so SO stinking proud of myself in that moment, and it's a feeling I will truly never forget. I am so thankful that I had a race like that, and knowing that my hard work paid off. It was an unreal feeling.

Once I was able to gather myself and find a place to sit nearby the finish line, I called Brett and my parents to share the news (they were all following along on my Garmin LiveTrack and cheering me on via text throughout the race!) and just bask in my accomplishment. I rested my legs for a bit and then treated myself to a lunch of beer and mac n' cheese at a local brewery which honestly hit the spot SO HARD. If you ever to the Carmel Marathon in the future, I definitely recommend giving the Upland Brewing Co. a try at the end of your race! SO DELICIOUS! 🤤🍺

Overall, I had a really wonderful experience at the Carmel Marathon. There were some places that I think they could have improved when it came to COVID safety, but hopefully in future years COVID won't be a factor for them to have to worry about. That aside, the course was beautiful and easy to race, the race staff and volunteers were all so lovely, and the overall experience from expo to finish line was top notch. Oh, and did I mention the medal? Because it is HUGE.

I definitely recommend the Carmel Marathon if you're looking for an Indiana race! I would definitely run this race again if given the opportunity, so definitely check it out when you're planning your race calendar!