Shamrock Marathon 2025 Race Report - Aaron

Name: Shamrock Marathon (Virginia Beach, VA)

Date: March 16, 2025

How far? 26.2mi

Finish Time: 05:01:47

Race Splits

10K split: 01:04:37

Half marathon split: 02:16:33

35K split: 04:04:10

Goal:

A: Finish the course - Yes

B: Finish course 4:45-5:15 - Yes

C: Feel “good” after the race (no blisters, chafing, cramping, etc.) - Yes

Background

I ran my first marathon in Virginia Beach in March of 2012.  I took up running as a hobby to replace playing ice hockey (as it was becoming impossible to play at night and still get to work in the morning).  I almost instantly got hooked, and I signed up for my first marathon within a year.  Since, I have finished an additional 35 full marathons.  This was my 10th Shamrock Marathon.

Plan

To be honest, I used to follow 18-week marathon run plans quite religiously.  Whether it be Hansen’s or some other plan that I found in a book or online.  I would mark the days and weeks off as the race day got closer.  However, it has been almost 13 straight years of marathon training now for me.  And at this point my plan is usually to run what I can during the week (normally 10ks x5) then a LR on the weekends (13-20 miles).  Then I taper down to 5ks the week before the race with a maximum of 10 miles on the last LR. 

Training

My training has actually been pretty great over the last year.  I stuck to my normal plan for as much as possible.  Of course, being part of the run group helped make things a lot easier.  I used to train solo 100% of the time, but that only goes so far.  Having friends to talk to and get encouragement from has made my training so much better. 

Pre-race

The morning before we left for Virginia Beach, I ran 4 miles with our run club.  This was the first time I’ve ever run the day before a marathon.  I wanted to stay in my routine, especially since it was a 3 ½ hour drive to VA Beach.  In retrospect, this was a great decision because I was able to get close to 8 hours of sleep (!) that night.  I never slept that well before a marathon start.

We left for VA Beach around 9:30AM.  Stopped at Time for Bagels for some carb loading on the way out (plain bagels with plain cream cheese).  The drive was uneventful, and we got to the expo around 1:00PM. 

I’m not a big fan of marathon expos.  I checked in, grabbed my bib and shirt, and we made our way out.  I will say, the expo only had maybe 40-ish vendors.  We then spent the rest of the day grabbing lunch/dinner (pizza, another carb loaded food), walking a bit around the beach area, and shopping in some of the “fun crappy beach stores”.   I was in bed and asleep by 8:30PM (!).

I got up around 5:30AM and took my time getting ready for the race.  I ate 3 Uncrustables for breakfast (probably not enough).   Then, I left the hotel at 6:45 and made my way to the corrals for the 7:30AM start. 

Race Weather

It was about as perfect as March in Virginia Beach can be.  It was around 60 degrees with some wind.  But I’ve run Virginia Beach in awful conditions before (sleet, rain, etc.), and this race day was basically ideal. 

Race

I’ll preface this report by saying that this was a very normal race for me.  Nothing too exciting or interesting really happened.  I didn’t see any crazy or weird things, as sometimes you experience on marathons.

Fuel: 4x Carb Boom Orange/Vanilla + Caff gels, 4x Neurogum pieces, Nuun/Water stops.

Miles 1-13.1: I felt great.  It was a bit crowded because the half and full runners are merged together (until mile 12).  There were 12k runners all starting around the same time.  But the Virginia Beach roads are wide, so it wasn’t a big issue.  I was able to quickly get into my race pace (10-10:20 ish) and stay there.  We made our way north up to Fort Story and the Lighthouse then headed back south.  The full runners were outnumbered by the half runners by a lot, and I will say the half runners had a lot of energy.  Certainly, way more energetic than I was at this point of the race.  But it was fun to watch them, and I did feel a little jealous of them at mile 12 when they got to turn off to the finish and we had to continue straight. 

Miles 13.1-18: After the half mark, the runners significantly declined…as did the crowd support.  But having run this 10x now, I knew to expect that, and I was prepared.  I maintained my 10-10:20 pace up until the turnaround at 18 (there is a short out and back section there). 

Miles 18-23: At this point the wheels started falling off (as they usually do).  I knew I was going to lose some time on my splits, but I wanted to stay consistent.  I couldn’t maintain race pace anymore.  So, I took these miles in quarters.  I would run .25, jog-walk .25, run .25, jog-walk.25 each mile.  This allowed me to maintain around a 13-minute mile pace.  It also allowed me to feel rested enough to push through to the finish.  I will say that miles 18-22 of the Shamrock marathon could possibly be the most boring miles of any race ever.  The path goes through an abandoned Army base (Camp Pendelton).  There is nothing to see, and nobody to cheer you on for those miles.  It sucks.

Miles 23-26.2: I had enough energy to pick things back up a bit once we got back to the boardwalk until the finish line.  The crowd during this stretch was amazing and they certainly kept everyone going.  Also, I got some very well-timed run club text messages of encouragement (which helped a lot!). At around mile 25.5 you make a right hand turn down the boardwalk and you can see the finish line next to the Neptune statue (if you’ve been to VA Beach, you know).  As an added bonus I had Marcel from Peloton call out my name as I crossed the finish (she was the celebrity announcer). 

Post-race

We skipped the post-race beach tent party (which is usually epic BTW).  It was loud inside, and people had been drinking in the tent since around 9:30AM (the first wave of half marathon finishers).  Every runner gets 4x tickets for free beer in the tent…so you can imagine how it was going.  I was just wiped out from the race (I’m old…), so I opted to find a spot on the beach and just chill out for a bit instead.  My family brought me a full sugar Coke, which tasted amazing.  That’s all I ever want at a finish line, just a ton of sugar. 

We then headed to a local brewery (Smartmouth) for some beer and apps in a much more “chill” setting.  We spent a few hours there (highly recommended).  Then we headed back to the hotel to relax for the rest of the day.  We were staying at the Hilton Garden Inn with a balcony view of the Ocean, so it was all pretty nice.  And nothing beats relaxing and listening to the waves on your balcony after you’ve accomplished a marathon run. 

Thoughts

This is an “easy” race.  Meaning that it’s 1)flat 2)easy to get to your corral 3)easy to get back from the finish line 4)J+A is a really good race company.  I highly recommend this race if you are looking for one that isn’t too large and complex (like NYC, Chicago, Disney, etc.).

This was a GOOD race for me.  I told myself that my 10th would be the last Shamrock race, but now I’m reconsidering that.  We had a great time, I’m very happy with my run, and I feel great (today I even ran a normal 10k).  I may just do an 11th…

Oh, and I “treated myself” to some massive pancakes the next morning…