Which marathon should I choose?

Quoted message said:

I have started to train for a marathon (just finished my first half
marathon), and I basically have two choices:

-Oasis Montreal Marathon, starting at a decent time, but somewhat
hilly (a hill about 60m high gained over about 4km and a couple of
10-15m high or so). The advantage is that it is in my home city, and
it starts at 9:00 (I'm not much of a morning person)

OR

-Toronto Waterfront Marathon, flat but far from home and starting at
an ungodly hour (7:30).

I'm not much of a morning person either, but somehow getting up for the
marathon that early does not seem to bother me. Have you checked the
reviews on www.marathonguide.com? The Sportshoe Center Maine Marathon
in Portland is a little closer than Toronto. It has some pretty good
reviews.

--
Phil M.

Quoted message said:

I have started to train for a marathon (just finished my first half
marathon), and I basically have two choices:

-Oasis Montreal Marathon, starting at a decent time, but somewhat
hilly (a hill about 60m high gained over about 4km and a couple of
10-15m high or so). The advantage is that it is in my home city, and
it starts at 9:00 (I'm not much of a morning person)

OR

-Toronto Waterfront Marathon, flat but far from home and starting at
an ungodly hour (7:30).

obviously, you're not out to set a record, so i would suggest you
look at why you're doing a marathon. if it's to talk about later,
most of your acquaintances will be familiar with your home city.
toronto waterfront is dead flat. maybe that interests you?
maybe visiting a distant city is on your to-do list.

in october there's the toronto marathon. maybe you can
do montreal in sept and toronto in october. that'd be fun.
just don't get injured.

anyway, as a first marathon, you're just hoping to finish.
so, really, either one is ok. hills like you mention are a
nice break from flat road, you could always use them as
a walk break.

either way, have fun and get a picture of yourself crossing
the line. your first marathon is important.
....thehick

Our average daytime temps are a bit higher here in the midwest than what
you may be accustomed to. Early starts are usually welcomed around here.
I heard no complaints about the 6:30AM start time when we toed up for
the OKC Memorial Marathon on Sunday. Looking at your half times and your
training, I think you might be a candidate for at least one more half
attempt before jumping into the deep end. Right now, your projected
finishing time might bump up against some events support cutoff. If
you're bound to try, then your best bet would be to stay close to home
if things happen to get ugly. The second half of a marathon won't be as
pretty as the first. I'm not being negative, just realistic. 26.2 miles
is a long way even for elite runners. As far as the hills, make sure and
include them on some long training runs. Google around for some training
tips and strategies (emphasize nutrition). Good luck.

Quoted message said:

I have started to train for a marathon (just finished my first half
marathon), and I basically have two choices:

-Oasis Montreal Marathon, starting at a decent time, but somewhat
hilly (a hill about 60m high gained over about 4km and a couple of
10-15m high or so). The advantage is that it is in my home city, and
it starts at 9:00 (I'm not much of a morning person)

OR

-Toronto Waterfront Marathon, flat but far from home and starting at
an ungodly hour (7:30).

What is your advice? What would be the best place to try?

Personal information:
29 years old, 5 feet 8 inch, 185 lbs
Just finished a decently flat half marathon: 2:28
Trained for about 3 months this year, and another 3 months last year.

Thank you for your advice :-)

--
Quality is a function of design, materials, and craftsmanship.
Inspection can only confirm quality or reveal deficiencies.
In no case, can quality be inspected into anything.

Like PhilM I am not a morning person. My day usually starts at 9 am and
finishes at 2 am. But an early start is always a cooler start (and
finish) and unless you are very unique you aren't going to sleep much
the night before the race so you might as well go ahead and get up early
and "get it on" My favorite marathon starts at 6 am, which calls for a 2
am wakeup, but I've managed to survive the assault to the senses for 12
years with little residual harm. Although there are more than a few who
would disagree with that self diagnosis

I'd go for flat for a first one and the trip will make it just a little
more special.

PS the sleep you get the night before the night before seems to have a
greater effect, than the night before.

Quoted message said:

I have started to train for a marathon (just finished my first half
marathon), and I basically have two choices:

-Oasis Montreal Marathon, starting at a decent time, but somewhat
hilly (a hill about 60m high gained over about 4km and a couple of
10-15m high or so). The advantage is that it is in my home city, and
it starts at 9:00 (I'm not much of a morning person)

OR

-Toronto Waterfront Marathon, flat but far from home and starting at
an ungodly hour (7:30).

What is your advice? What would be the best place to try?

Personal information:
29 years old, 5 feet 8 inch, 185 lbs
Just finished a decently flat half marathon: 2:28
Trained for about 3 months this year, and another 3 months last year.

Thank you for your advice :-)

Quoted message said:

I have started to train for a marathon (just finished my first half
marathon), and I basically have two choices:

-Oasis Montreal Marathon,
OR

-Toronto Waterfront Marathon

Here is another possibility which is so new, small and obscure that you
have probably never heard of it:
http://www.pecmarathon.ca/home.html

It's near Picton, Ontario which is about two hours closer to you than
Toronto. This race is the opposite of the big city races. It's run on
quiet, picturesque country roads, some of it through Sandbanks Park
along the shore of Lake Ontario. It's a small low-key race.

Last year was the inaugural race and it had very few glitches. I didn't
run it but was there with some friends who ran the half. The local
community put a great deal of effort into this, including closing the
route roads to vehicles, which really surprised me.

Maybe not what you're looking for but maybe appealing to someone else
here.

Peter