Jeffery's Journey - the Guelph Marathon

[Sideshow]

For the 3 of you out there that actually care, we have 2 entrants this year in the Guelph Marathon.

Andrew Catton - Catts on here and yes it is his birthday. What a horrible way to spend it.
Dave Korell of New Balance.

It is the 7th annual having had a finisher under 4 hours every year so far.

Race Record - Taylor Murphy 2:48 (2008)
Course Record - Dave Scott-Thomas 3:03 (2007)
Course Worst - Jeff Haller 3:59 (2006) and 3:56 (inaugural 2003)

Other winners
2004 - Scott Myers 3:35
2005 - Ryne Melcher 3:13

Other finishers
2007 - Dick Harris 3:25
2008 - Chris Moulton 2:49

One of us will post a little update on how it went later today and I'm sure there will be a full story and pics on guelphrunning.ca
Start time is at 10am with an expected finish around 1pm at our sponser the Albion Hotel.

This race all started as a joke bet that Haller couldn't break 4 hours haven't not run in 15months. I designed the most horrific course possible including 6 major climbs in the first half, 5miles down in a straight line down one of the busiest roads in Guelph and a 1mile long hill at 30k.

Future entrants can contant me if you are stupid enough to want to do this.

Wardle

[SI]

Funny stuff and that 3:56 after 15 months off is actually fairly impressive.

[madm]

from the looks of these guys faces from years past, this looks like a bitch of an event!

get the wheelchairs out

[Sideshow]

Catton - 3:04
Ben Gerson - 3:21 (he was going to do the half and just kept going)
Dave - 3:36

Thanks to the many many runners out on the course as I know the guys loved the help. I think Catton only maybe ran 5k alone in the middle.

I should correct the course description too as there are 6 major climbs actually in the first 6miles and then 3 more big ones including the last 4-500m up hill to the finish. (with 4 stop lights in that last 500m). This is a running time race of course so those stop lights and waiting for cars at crossings can really do you in.
Good times.

As for Hallers second run at 3:59 he didn't really run the 3 years between the 3:56 and it either so that one was maybe even more impressive.
Wardle

[Chris Moulton]

I haven't been to a lot of big city marathons but I am guessing that this marathon had some of the best support of any in the world.

Athlete to support vehicle ratio- 1.5 to 1 (3 athletes 2 support vehicles)

Athlete to pacer ratio- 1 to 2.3 (3 athletes 7 pacers)

Pacers personal best to athlete performance- astronomical, pacers included an Olympian, 3 national team members, the course record holder and second fastest performer of all time at the meet.

Cost benefit of competing, entry fee=$0, benefits= powerade on course, powerbars provided, sweedish berries at the finish, free beer and fatman burger upon completion.

Kudos to meet director Jim Wardle on building this event up to its current status and on the 50% entry bump this year.

[Groothuis]

ahhhh, good ol' Haller!! Any guesses as to what kind of time this marathoning freak of nature could throw down if he actually decided to train properly for one? I'm going to go with a somewhat conservative number and say 2:18..... for his first time out, of course.

I am glad to see this 'thon is still going strong today, and judging from Moulton's recap, the race is gaining momentum and excitement at an unprecedented rate. I would not be surprised to see this thing blow up even more over the next few years and become one of the premiere marathons in North America... and quite possibly the world!

[nscoach67]

It could rival this race soon:
www.ccrr.ca/archive/events/sociable/2009/11/not-the-honolulu-marathon-2/

[john]

I still like the second incarnation of the title of this event the best; The Hallerthon. It's succinct yet still gets across what event we're talking about. Perhaps due to the level of difficult of this particular marathon existing and future marathons could have an attached 'Haller' graded system. The Hallerthon would be the new standard of difficulty with a rating of zero and any marathon deemed more challenging or easier would have an assessed +/- Haller rating.

After hearing the details of this course I imagine we will have to seek the expertise of journeyman on more challenging courses (are there marathons in mountain running? Considering there is a 100+ mile event in Death Valley, California in the dead of summer I imagine there's got to be).

www.badwater.com/

[Steller]

having been witness to the first event (were the on course nutrition included apple sauce out of jar) it is great to see this event cruising along.

Any photos going to be posted? Does Haller still show up to hand out the fatman burgers?

Regarding other tough marathons-- we have one here in Switzerland about an hour from Lausanne:
www.jungfrau-marathon.ch/ws2/en/marathon2/route/profile/

freakn' tough, when you consider it starts at 1800 feet and finishes at 7200 feet of altitude.

[Sideshow]

DST has always wanted to and referred to it as the Hallerthon as he disliked the ambiguity of the word Journey even though there was some history and reasoning behind it at the time.

Out of spite and hardheadedness of course I was not willing to change it although I think a name change of some kind is coming in the future.

It really was not suppose to get this far (now with 7 years under our belts). Well actually Haller was never suppose to finish the first time!
Wardle

[Desy]

Wardle, what year commit to run Jeffery's Journey?

[journeyman]

Dec 7, 2009 14:08:23 GMT -5 john said:

(are there marathons in mountain running?

Pike's Peak in Colorado, Jung Frau in Switzerland. There is a world championship.

www.wmra.ch/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=568&Itemid=37

Canadian Adam Campbell was 15th in 2007. Don't know why he is listed as Great Britain.

[journeyman]

Desy is it time for you to shut it down and start "untraining" for next year?

[kitest]

Desy is it time for you to shut it down and start "untraining" for next year?

journeyman, i was thinking the same thing!i have asked a number of times to be included in this race. the incentive to drink at the albion-reigning as one of my favourite pubs being a primary reason to do so

[Catts]

Dec 10, 2009 14:39:07 GMT -5 kitest said:

i have asked a number of times to be included in this race. the incentive to drink at the albion-reigning as one of my favourite pubs being a primary reason to do so

Kites, I think you're far too experienced of a marathoner to do the event. It's more of a naive, "why can't I do this" sort of thing.

[GDP]

Easiest marathon i've ever run! anyone can do it. the race support team did an outstanding job. big thanks to Wardle and Moults. Andrew and Dave were inspirational. Winters and Cleve did an outstanding job pacing as well as navigating. Desy this is something you NEED to do, and do soon while Wardle is still race director and before entry fees go up.

[Sideshow]

I think I am going to have to double the entry fees!
I think this is the only road race in the world that costs the race director money every year.
Kites just tell me when you are in.
Desy as for me running it - you can't be a race director and do it too. There is far too much to do on race day - or so I will keep saying.
We locked in Robyn Watson this year for 2017.
Robbie we will not forget!
Wardle

[Desy]

Sorry about the bad grammar in my last post, I think I was at work when I posted and tried to make it quick. What year did I commit to this race?
Desy

[krody]

Next year Desy!!

[Sideshow]

Here is what I have on record for upcoming people from a previous post on here.

12/16/08 at 15:30, Sideshow wrote:
2010 - Hutch (was suppose to do it this year 2008 but was injured)
2011 - Desy
2012 - open
2013 - open
2014 - James "Chucker" Sniatenchuk (our vault coach) and Ali Salfi
2017 - Destroyer

You have 2 years to train Desy.

Wardle
[e-mail] if you are interested in running

[Destroyer]

2017, in it to win it baby. The appearance fee is pretty solid and the organization is top notch. Anyone who is anybody will be itching to get into the sucker before long.