Redding Marathon

INTRODUCTION: I am a racewalker with a median marathon completion time of 5:26:45. The Redding Marathon was my seventy-second 26.2-miler accomplished. COURSE: It was a perfect day for a marathon: 40 degrees, 100 percent relative humidity, overcast, and no wind with gusts up to 4 mph. We began our event in the Shasta Dam Visitor Center parking lot in Shasta Lake. We then traversed across the dam entering onto a two-lane road at mile 0.8 which began our 400-foot descent over the next one and a half miles. The course leveled off just before entering the Sacramento River Rail Trail at mile 2.4. The mostly flat trail ran parallel to the Sacramento River until breaking off at mile 9.8, heading inland alongside a tributary. We reversed course at mile 10.6, where we began our steepest ascent of 150 feet over the next mile and a half or so. Returning alongside the Sacramento River, upon approaching Keswick Dam, we began our steepest descent of about 200 feet over less than a mile beginning before mile 13. Halfway into mile 14, crossing Keswick Dam Road, we entered the mostly flat Sacramento River Trail South. Just before mile 15, we turned right and headed away from the Sacramento River on the Middle Creek Trail. We climbed approximately 100 feet over a mile before our turnaround just short of mile 16. We returned to the Sacramento River Trail South, turning right, heading down river. Continuing to just after mile 19, we crossed a pedestrian bridge over the Sacramento River before our turnaround. We continued on the Sacramento River Trail South, heading up river to the Stress Ribbon Bridge, where we crossed at mile 22 onto the Sacramento River Trail North. This segment of the marathon course can be described as rolling hill terrain. The trail also had markers every quarter mile. Given the marathon finish was at mile 4.25, we were able to compute the distance left by subtracting the marker distance from 4.25. Just past mile 26, we crossed the Sundial Bridge to our finish line. Weather at the finish was 52 degrees, 82 percent relative humidity, overcast, and northwest wind with speed of 3 mph. ORGANIZATION: Well organized and efficient. Bib pickup at Fleet Feet Sports was a snap. Bus transportation from the finish line to the start was well done. We were able to stay warm before the race inside the Shasta Dam Visitors Center. Aid stations were well stocked, and at every junction, there was a volunteer present to get us in the right direction. SPECTATORS: Nonexistent. Some thumbs up given by passersby on the trails. CONCLUSION: An attractively set, small marathon to start out the new year, courtesy of the local SWEAT Running Club. (What SWEAT stands for appears to be a mystery.) Weather is variable. If it were staged the day before, we would have encountered snow showers. Fortunately for us, in terms of weather, it was a perfect day for a marathon. Well done, Redding!