I spent hours searching the internet for Freakin Fast marathon reviews over the last few months, so I think it’s only fair that I write a review of my own for future runners. If you want quick highlights without a lot of personal detail, scroll to the bottom. Definitely worth noting here that my previous PR before this race, before having my first child, was 3:53. My new PR is 3:20!

Freakin Fast, in Boise, Idaho, was not initially on my fall marathon list. I signed up for Peak to Creek marathon (Oct. 28) in early May, after hearing it was a great race to run if you’re trying to qualify for the Boston marathon. For those of you who don’t know much about the Boston Marathon: running a race that late in the year would mean I couldn’t qualify for the 2018 Boston Marathon, and (if I successfully ran the race in under 3 hours and 35 minutes) instead would be eligible for 2019.

 

My running friend, Natosha, was interested in trying to qualify for the Boston 2018 race and came across Freakin Fast. Neither of us had ever been to Boise, but the race promised fast times and the idea of traveling for a marathon was appealing, so I agreed to join her. We both decided to use Hansons Marathon Method to train for this race, but because I wasn’t planning to start training for a race until late June, I started the 18-week program a few weeks behind. I ended up running 77.75% of the total mileage suggested for that program, and Natosha finished 94% of the training. I’ll write another blog detailing that training, because I think it was tough and crucial to our success.

 

Back to Boise! Early last week, we began receiving emails from the race director regarding the smoke issues that Boise was having due to the fires happening all over the Northwest. Though none of the fires were in the state of Idaho, the smoke blew over much of the state and was causing the air quality to reach very unsafe levels. The direction mentioned a few times that the marathon might be cancelled! Natosha and I stressed about this for most of the week, and decided that if the air quality didn’t improve by Friday, we would rent a car and drive south to Salt Lake City, Utah, to compete in the Big Cottonwood marathon.

 

Luckily for us (and the residents of Boise), the air quality steadily improved and the race was to go as planned on Saturday morning. We stayed at the host hotel (TownePlace Suites in Meridian), and a bus arrived at 5:15 a.m. to take us to the start line. After a quick stop at Riverglen Junior High to pick up other participants, we drove up the mountain to the start line.

 

As the bus made it’s ascent up the steep and windy roads, some of us out-of-towners began to feel the negative effects of the change in altitude. We were relived when the bus reached the top, and we unloaded and headed towards the porta-potty line. After that, we sat down for a minute to sort through our running bag and apply last minute touches of glide. We put the bag in the back of the race director’s truck and joined the other anxious runners under the ski resort banner. This race was unlike others I’ve done because there was no starting mat or official start line. Instead, we would be timed based on how long it took us to cross the finish line after the race timer started.

 

Natosha and I chatted up a few of the ladies at the front of the line, and we met a young runner named Courtney who had the same finish time goal that we had. It was her first marathon, and we told her she could stick with us for as long as she wanted.

 

After a few words from the race director (amidst some heckling from Natosha), we listed to a fellow participant sing the National Anthem. His name is Jim, and he’s sung at dozens of marathons across the country, and also participated in each race after. The director hopped in his truck, gave a few ceremonious honks on his horn, and we were off!

 

The first two miles are downhill, and between the excitement of the race and the immediate drop in the course, it was hard to take it slow. We planned to hang out at a 7:40 min/mile pace for all of the downhills, but adjusted our expectations after our first two miles clocked in at 7:02 and 7:12. The next two-ish miles were flat and on a dirt road, which had us wishing for pavement. Soon, though, we were back on pavement and heading down the mountain. I was uncomfortable during those first few miles and a little scared about the race ahead. The change in altitude left me a little lightheaded, and I didn’t really feel like I was given a chance to warm up and settle in to the race. This feeling went away about 40 minutes in, but it wasn’t very encouraging to have those doubts at the start. Much of the smoke had cleared from the previous weeks of fires and we were able to take in some of the amazing views as we raced down the mountain. It was a beautiful sight and I tried to distract myself by taking everything in.

I had my watch set to current pace mode, and although we were running comfortably, we were running between a 6:50-7:05 mile pace instead of our planned 7:40. Courtney seemed comfortable no matter the pace, but I think us holding back a little in the beginning made us all stronger at the end, after the downhills were over. We sailed through much of the first 10 miles, hitting a small hill shortly after. We continued the descent, eating a Gu every 5 miles and sipping Tailwind from our water bottles. I grabbed Gatorade from aid stations whenever we passed them, but was glad I brought my own drink because the aid stations were a few miles apart.

Just after mile 15, we hit another small hill. Looking back, I’m glad we had these uphills because it broke up the intensity of the downhills, but at the time they appeared very daunting and we definitely had trouble getting up them comfortably. Our biggest hill was around mile 16, and you could just see the hill go up and up and up. Again, it wasn’t even half as bad as some of the hills I trained on in Little Rock (hello, Kavanaugh and Overlook), but when you think you’re only going to run downhill, the hill interruptions can be tough. At some point we also started running in a more populated area, and often had to run single file to avoid getting run over by cars. This continued throughout the rest of the race, and although I never felt unsafe, it was an unusual distraction because I was used to being on closed courses.

 

Our pack of three made it to mile 20ish, and we were finished with the downhills and had 6.2 miles of pretty flat ground left. I could tell that Courtney still had a lot of strength left in her legs. I encouraged her to keep up the fast pace and leave us behind, so she did and ended up passing many runners and claimed the first female finisher spot. Natosha and I slowed down a little, but were still keeping up a very good pace. It seemed like an eternity before we reached another aid station around mile 23, and I decided to make a pit stop at a porta-potty so I could finish the rest of the race strong. Here, I used the restroom while a volunteer filled my empty bottle with Gatorade and Natosha refueled with Gatorade and Gu. Then, we headed off to complete the race.

The last few miles were the hardest for me after the stop. I was tired of eating Gu, so I didn’t open my last one. There were no mile markers (there hadn’t been any out during the race) so I was anxious to see how far we really had left. My watch is pretty accurate, but it never matches up perfectly with the courses I run. I started slowing down just as Natosha was getting a burst of energy. She started speeding up, and I trailed behind for about half a mile before we split up.

 

The last part of a marathon is always the hardest for me. My mind is tired and so is my body. For my two most recent marathons before Freakin Fast, I’ve fallen apart completely before the end. I enjoyed having Courtney and Natosha running most of the marathon with me, and I think we helped each other have a strong race. When Natosha started to pull away, I seriously contemplated asking her to just slow down for a second so we could start running side by side again. There was something mentally discouraging about her being just a few steps ahead. I didn’t ask her, though, because I wanted her to run her absolute best race and I knew she wouldn’t if I asked her to slow down. I knew that we would both qualify for Boston with huge time cushions if we could just finish the race. I told her to go ahead and that I would continue to run behind her.

I did run, for a few more minutes, and then I just all of a sudden started walking. I didn’t want to, but it felt good and I knew I could. I alternated this pattern for the last two miles; walk a bit, then run, and repeat. I was a little disappointed that I didn’t just run out the last two miles because I wasn’t injured and I actually felt really good physically. I just couldn’t make myself keep running. In those last two miles, I ran alongside three gentlemen who were so focused on finishing the race. One gave me a bracelet with Philippians 4:13 inscribed on the band: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Another runner began praying out loud shortly after. I was moved to be in the presence of these people, and enjoyed spending my last two miles with them.

The race finish line was set up at a junior high school, so it wasn’t until I saw a school crossing sign that I knew we were close. I started running again and didn’t stop until I crossed the finish line. I took my medal from a volunteer and immediately started crying because I knew my time was good enough to qualify for the Boston Marathon. I finished in 3 hours, 20 minutes, and 33 seconds. I hugged Natosha and Courtney, who finished in 3:16 and 3:11 respectively, and we posed for photos before getting refreshments from the race.

Post-race, I enjoyed watermelon, water and Gatorade that the event provided. They were also grilling ham and cheese sandwiches, which sounded great at the start line but I was not in the mood to eat one after all of the effort. Plus, the temperature was rising and the sun was shining, so I was looking for the coolest refreshments possible. As I waited in line for a post-race massage, a fellow runner staying at my hotel said we should get ready to head to the bus pickup area to catch the noon bus. Natosha and I collected our 1^st and 2^nd place age group awards and headed to the waiting zone. The bus was almost 40 minutes late picking us up, and the director could not reach the driver to determine what the delay was. We almost took an uber home but canceled at the last minute because the bus arrived. At that point I was so hungry, so when we got back to the hotel we headed to the Beef O’Bradys restaurant next door to eat and have a celebratory beer.

 

The rest of the trip was fun and relaxing, and I definitely want to visit Boise again and do some exploring. I enjoyed this race and plan to run it again in the future.

 

Highlights

Course:

I thought this was an excellent course and recommend it to anyone looking for a PR or a Boston Qualifying time. Although it was mostly downhill, there were a few small hills and flat areas to give your quads some relief. My legs were not as shocked after making the transition from downhill to flat as I thought they would be. I recommend training on long downhills during your marathon training, and also including uphills to strengthen your legs. And use Hansons! The speed and strength workouts will make you a stronger runner, and the tempos and high weekly mileage will prepare you for your race. The course itself offers some beautiful views as you come down the mountain. Be prepared to run alongside traffic in a lot of places, as the course is not a closed course.

 

Registration and pre-race communication:

Online registration was easy. There’s a discount for Marathon Maniacs, and you can save money by not including the cotton race t-shirt. I didn’t hear from the director via email until the week before the race, but my questions posted to the Facebook page and event page were answered quickly and with detail. I thought they handled communication about the smoke issues well.

 

Course support and aid stations:

There were few spectators along the course, so it could get lonely if you were running alone. There were fewer aid stations than what I’m used to, but that didn’t bother me until it seemed like forever until we reached an aid station around mile 23. But, those volunteers were the best on the course by far. They went out of their way to help us refill our water bottles and were very helpful and supportive.

 

I definitely recommend this race! *All photos posted were taken by the Freakin Fast/Final Kick event team and were originally found here: http://www.freeracepictures.com/