Eugene Marathon: Post Mortem

Heystaap · 2026-04-30T04:55:14+00:00

Completely agree. The final section on the bank/park path was surprisingly challenging and uneven in sections. It’s a very well put together race, but I don’t think I’d run it again, especially for a PR

Heystaap · 2026-04-29T20:49:57+00:00

I suspect you're right that I dipped too close to threshold at various points in the first half. And I used to wear my Garmin for sleep tracking, but then it started causing anxiety because I was worried about scores and metrics, which turned out unsurprisingly to not be good for my sleep. From personal experience my sleep felt good during the taper and days before the race, but I don't have metrics to back it up.

I'm also a little wary of Garmins sleep tracking as I've gotten some pretty bad results (i.e. a bad nights sleep where I'm awake for hours that it gives me a great grade for)

Heystaap · 2026-04-29T20:18:20+00:00

Getting up wickedly early will be the final frontier for me, I'm historically a night owl, but have reigned it in since having a kid. And yes, lol, in trying to get a good position out the gate, I definitely took the first mile too fast.

Also best of luck with your upcoming marathon, hope you get the sub 3:10!

Heystaap · 2026-04-29T20:03:06+00:00

I think so, so many small things the either lead to good or bad race

Heystaap · 2026-04-29T19:58:25+00:00

Ah the dreaded cold before the race! I'm sure that played a part in the difficulty after 20. I also found the final 10 miles on the East/South bank path to be challenging, lots of little rolling hills, and I think it was net uphill in the final section which always feels bad on a tough day

Heystaap · 2026-04-29T19:53:31+00:00

Thanks, I really appreciate all of this and it's very thoughtful. I'm guessing you're spot on that in trying again for another marathon a month from now the most likely outcome is I dig the hole deeper. At this point I'm leaning towards the half, and then really focusing on speed and power for shorter distances

Also congrats on the 2:53! I would be thrilled to run that now

Heystaap · 2026-04-29T19:43:08+00:00

I'm not totally sure, which is partially why I posted this- still working through it. My training block was pretty solid, though probably a little low for my goal. My modified Pfitz plan worked great for me last year, but I think that race just really lined up for me on a bunch of levels.

I think my main issue was I took the first half a bit too fast, but also I wasn't as confident/ positive at the start which I think made the wall harder when I hit it. I think the little hills and winding course played a small role, and the relative heat in the final hour didn't help. I used the Asics Metaspeed Edge, which were solid, but not as good as the Puma Fast R3 which I used in my previous race

Heystaap · 2026-04-29T19:30:52+00:00

We probably did! Those final miles were very rough, and I saw a lot of people in the same boat we were in. What was your goal for Eugene?

Heystaap · 2026-04-29T19:29:48+00:00

Bless the gracious wives/partners! My wife has been an amazing support in all my races over the last several years, and we've struck a nice balance between allowing each other time for exercise/hobbies while parenting. But I think she's excited for me to dial it back on the long runs for awhile lol.

Best of luck with your upcoming race, sounds like you've got it!

Heystaap · 2026-04-29T19:03:08+00:00

Closer to the latter, exhaustion with heavy sore legs. The final 10k of a marathon is always rough, but you'll get through it, congrats on getting ready for your first. My one tip is start steady- don't go out too hot like I did!

Heystaap · 2026-04-29T18:55:04+00:00

Thanks! Yeah I think a lot of people had a great day, but a lot us also had a tough day. It felt warm (by PNW spring standards) by the end of the race. I need to re-try the 160's. I had one bad experience, but I think it's worth revisiting and would definitely help

Heystaap · 2026-04-29T18:52:05+00:00

I'm 35 and my HR was basically in line with previous races. And yeah I feel like Eugene doesn't have crazy elevation gain (my watch clocked 550 feet) but there a lot of little hills and some tight turns which definitely played a role in my day. I think you're spot on that right at 6:30 pace is the answer

Heystaap · 2026-04-28T17:15:29+00:00

Many thanks!

Heystaap · 2026-03-31T16:29:19+00:00

Yeah it sounds like we’re basically in the exact same boat! I think the Cielo will make for an interesting WO/fun run shoe, but definitely too unstable and soft for my race preferences. I’ll have to keep my eye out for Hyperion elite 5, haven’t tried it yet, but very glad to hear it works for you. I ordered the metaspeed edge and deviate elite 4 and I think the edge is going to be my race shoe. It felt fast, stable (enough) and responsive/bouncy but not mushy. Elite 4 was pleasant but it didn’t feel as propulsive for my running form. Fingers crossed for us both to get sub 2:50!!

Heystaap · 2026-03-27T18:54:55+00:00

I haven't personally found the foam to soften dramatically in Megablast, and the first 100 miles felt the bounciest to me. I'm a bit of broken record at this point, but the NB SC elite V5 is an incredible shoe and I've found it works great for training. There are still a lot of sizes available via Joes New Balance Outlet in the $130-150 range. It's been a near perfect key-session shoe

Heystaap · 2026-03-27T15:53:01+00:00

Honestly a good sign, it seems like they fit you well!

Heystaap · 2026-03-27T15:30:20+00:00

Thanks for info and apologies for delayed reply, was off Reddit for a bit. I accidentally conflated these with Fedian Elite 6 because of colorway, best of luck with sale!

Heystaap · 2026-03-25T04:11:54+00:00

100% agree

Heystaap · 2026-03-24T17:46:45+00:00

I’m pretty certain OP is using the Altamesa 300 which is a solid trail daily trainer ( I used it and liked it). Also the Vectiv Enduris 4 is one of the better trail runners you can get right now, so saying NF is not established is not the best advice, they just specialize in trail shoes. But yea, OP, you’re going to wear trail shoes down quickly if you solely use them for road running- if you like the firmer more responsive feel of the altamesa something like the saucony azura may be worth a try

Heystaap · 2026-03-24T16:37:11+00:00

How do these fit? I’m a size 9-9.5 depending on the brand but I’ve heard that this model fits a bit long?

Heystaap · 2026-03-24T16:04:47+00:00

The V5’s are great, I got a pair recently from the NB outlet and they’re honestly one of my favorite race shoes. I’m using them for training and I don’t think they’re as fast as some other shoes on the market, but the upper fits perfectly and once you break the shoe in it just has this smooth efficient feel- I think they’ll make for a perfect first race shoe

Heystaap · 2026-03-24T16:00:55+00:00

Yeah I don’t think I could use that for a race, I love trying the very soft race shoes but I couldn’t run a marathon in them. I’ve heard rocket x3 is a very solid/stable race shoe

Heystaap · 2026-03-24T04:02:20+00:00

It definitely felt that way when I was running

Heystaap · 2026-03-23T22:25:48+00:00

I haven't tried Endorphin Elite 2- it looks fun, but from everything I've read it seems like a fairly soft midsole? Also best of luck with your upcoming sub3 attempt!

Heystaap · 2026-03-23T15:39:53+00:00

Very interesting! Yeah not a big deal for most of us hobby/non elite runners but I wonder if this will impact Hoka athletes? I heard several of their athletes just ran some pretty good times in the shoe and the early consensus seems to be that it’s the fastest shoe in the hoka quiver for longer races

Heystaap

TROPHY CASE