Today I got to run my favorite type of route – a point-to-point! I was able to do it because after Steven finished working he waited for me in the next town over from ours to give me a ride home. Thanks, Babe!
What is your favorite type of route for every day exercise and races (point-to-point, loop, out and back, continuous loops, figure 8, something else)? Is it the same or different?
I discovered during the Chicago and Madison marathons (which are both kind of wonky loop courses) that I really don’t like doing races where I can see a major landmark marking the finish during parts of the race. It’s kind of a mind, um… let’s say trip, for me. In Madison, I could see the capitol for most of the end and it killed me that I had to go out of my way to get there. In Chicago, it made me bonkers that we ran very close to the finish at the half way point.
I like to think I am a stronger runner now than when I ran those races in 2010 and 2011, and that doing something similar wouldn’t bother me… but, eh. It probably would.
So I’ve come to prefer point-to-point. My second preference is a loop, which I especially enjoy if the course doesn’t double back on itself. I like to feel like I am running someplace I haven’t already run that day. Ha ha.
And then there is the out and back. My favorite half marathon, the Wisconsin Half Marathon (see sidebar for coupon code, ha ha), actually has two out-and-back portions in it. I actually really enjoy it at that race, because I usually know a ton of people doing the race and it’s a fun distraction to look for them! I’ve never done the full though, which does the same thing as Chicago – go very close to the finish, at the half way point.
Of course, having a race be a certain type that I don’t prefer won’t stop me from doing it! I’ve just come to learn what I prefer! How about you?
I like loops or point to point. I hate out and backs because I spend the whole out dreading the way back!
I’m an out and back runner…It does wonders for me to break the race into bits. So for out and backs, I concentrate on getting to the half way to the half way mark, and so on…Maybe it’s a blessing from my Grandpa who taught me to eat half of a half of a peanut at a time so that I could appreciate the flavor longer. Breaking up the race this way helps me concentrate, focus, and enjoy each quarter which saves me from the mind “trip up” hehe.
That is a good method! When you are not doing an out and back, do you still focus on the race in distance segments like that?
I do! I’ve learned to break the race up this way despite the route and it’s truly helped my mental strength in regards to racing.
i like my short run in loops (like in my neighborhood) but I like out and backs for the longer runs, like someone else said above it helps me mentally to break it into pieces.
I like point to point courses, too! It is always such a treat to run to something instead of away from something and then back to it. At the Denver RnR Half, we were close to the finish line at mile 9 and then ran away from it for a couple miles to then finally turn back around and return on the final stretch. That was mentally rough, and tougher than if we had never been that close (I guess because I know the city well, that did not help either). And I did a full marathon last year that was entirely out and back. It was not that bad, but miles 18-22 along the same stretch we had already been on (isolated bike path) were a bit hard. Luckily, I had my cheer squad (husband + dog) waiting for me at mile 20. Had I not had that to look forward to, however, it would have been a long way to the finish line. But that remains my PR race so something worked!
I wonder if those courses that go so close to the start, toward the end of the race, would not be as hard if we weren’t paying attention to where we were. Ha ha. I like to know where I am and pay attention to landmarks, but maybe I should zone out on those courses? Unless, of course, it’s your hometown or a course you run all the time!
I remember when you ran that marathon!!!! 🙂
I love point to point races! My favorite races are all point to point. In this area, two of the races I do you can run and then take metro back to the start. For training I pretty much never do point to point due to logistics. I did coordinate once with a friend to make it work though.
Are you doing Naperville?
No, are you?
That Wisconsin Marathon full course is BRUTAL. Not only do you basically cross the finish line halfway, but the back half of the course is boring and totally devoid of people. Dislike.
Didn’t you do the Veterans Marathon in Indiana before? You literally cross the finish line with the half marathon runners, but you have to keep going for another 13.1! Big buzzkill.
When I train by myself, I prefer out-and-backs because it’s easier for my mental training to tick off the miles that way, and see the same landmarks on the way back. But I hate that when I’m racing, which makes zero sense.
Yeah, I am not sure I will ever try the full there. I don’t need Chicago level crowds, but I have done a desolate marathon and don’t think that helped me, either. Ha ha.
And yes! Veterans is the marathon I was thinking of that was desolate. I think it’s two loops of the half course now? Still blah!
I don’t know what I prefer in a route, but I definitely do a lot of out and back runs just out of necessity. I do like getting to see different things on point-to-point runs, but I also feel like the same route looks different coming back the other way on an out and back. It’s all about perspective. 🙂
Very true! I wrote a post last year about how shocked I was to run a route I always run, backwards and in the daylight! It was so different! LOL
Hey my sister-in-law’s mom lives in Grayslake! 🙂
Anyhow I have only run a point to point ONE time and that was when the wind was so ridiculous I had Chris drive me straight into it so I could run 7 or 8 miles home. I haven’t tried a race that is a point to point but I’ve watched Chris do a triathlon that was. It seemed like kind of a hassle but maybe as a participant I’d feel differently.
Cool! That is where I teach strength classes and where my husband has his warehouse for Fake Meats 🙂
Ha ha! That is a VERY good reason to run a point to point! Most of the point to point races I have done have a shuttle that takes you from the finish to the start, so your car is in the right place when you are done.
Wow – look at all the lakes on the map!
I generally prefer loops, it took me a long time to appreciate out and backs, I used to hate them. But it’s good to change things up from time to time, right?
It’s called Lake County for a reason! 🙂
Yes! Change is goooooood 🙂
That’s so cool you can do point to point in your hood with relative ease! I’d have to coordinate a return CTA trip or something if I did that on the lakefront.
in my earlier years of running- a loop or out and back caused me minor mental anguish because WHY CANT I Go TO THE FINISH when it’s right there? (And have to run a few more mild before finally getting there) now, seeing the same landmarks/finish line/ etx dring a race doesn’t bother me. I think I’ve strengthened my mental game a lot over the years and out and backs, loops, don’t bother me at all. Of course I train on the lakefront which would be out and backs for me- or the treadmill so I’m going nowhere fast. So any race that’s off the lakefront for me would be fun because of completely new surroundings regardless if it looped or out and backed. That said- I’d never do a course where you have to loop the same track multiple times. No way!
At least you would have that option! A car is my only way back home (unless I drop my bike somewhere! 🙂 ).
That is great that your mental game is better so that stuff doesn’t bug you anymore? Any tips for me? Please don’t suggest running the same place over and over in training! Ha ha. Well, winter is coming, and that is what I do all winter in my hood…
I think about this often while I run and I’m fairly certain that I prefer loop/out-and-back routes and races. It must be a mental thing because I end up splitting the run into parts, and reaching the halfway point can be very motivational. On the other hand, I don’t think I’ve ever done a true point to point run and can see how the constantly changing scenery would be more exciting. Hmm…maybe when I’m back for Thanksgiving I’ll have my parents drop me off somewhere and I’ll just run back!
I agree–being close to the end of a race when you’re not actually CLOSE TO THE END is mentally challenging. I hate the kind with some kind of very tight turn where you’re running next to, but in the opposite direction of people like two (or five) miles ahead of you. My first half, I was running up this one street, at mile 10, and I could see the people at mile 12 one street over. It was so tough and demoralizing!
I’m with you in that I prefer point-to-point or one big loop. Out and back is okay because I don’t mind being distracted by the people coming back the other way, but I feel like I don’t race as well in those conditions because I’m too distracted 🙂
Even when I run on the lakefront path downtown I prefer to turn it into a loop. Go from my place to the path, some distance on the path, and then back through the city to home via a different route than I took to get to the path!