In this podcast episode Angie recaps the Wineglass Marathon in New York and shares lessons learned from running 70 marathons. She’s keeping it real and sharing the beautiful and “horrible” struggle that can ensue over the course of 26.2 miles.

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The last time I ran the Wineglass Marathon in Corning, New York, was back in 2011 and it was marathon #5 for me at that time. It was the first time I broke 3:45 with a time of 3:44:03 and I was super pumped about that!

I had been running with a lady who was trying to qualify for Boston (which she did) and at that point I also set the goal of getting a BQ (which wouldn’t happen until marathon #25 in 2014).

I was excited to go back and run Wineglass because I remembered it fondly. But it took 11 years to do so since my priority was finishing up my 50 states goal. Plus there are so many other awesome marathons to run.

When I signed up this spring I was fresh off running Boston, my hamstring was feeling healthy, and I was excited about the possibility of running a fast for me time at Wineglass.

Unfortunately, I started feeling very fatigued over the summer and never felt my energy bounce back. In fact, my energy has remained low and I haven’t felt much motivation. Needless to say it wasn’t a great training cycle but I was committed to doing my best at the marathon and excited to be at number 70.

The Expo

The Wineglass Marathon hosted their expo at the Corning Glass Museum -which is a wonderful place to visit. They had a well organized bib pickup area and great swag including a long sleeve technical half zip, commemorative wine glass, and split of champagne. They also do a custom glass medal every year.

One of the highlights was meeting a listener named Bridget. She was running the half marathon this year and Wineglass was her first race back in 2018 when she signed up with MTA. She works in healthcare and said, “You guys have helped me through a lot on this crazy journey.” 

The Course

The Wineglass Marathon offers a beautiful mostly flat course which is point to point. The full marathon starts in Bath, NY, traveling through the valley to Savona, Campbell (where the half marathon starts), onto Coopers Plains, Painted Post and finishes on historic Market Street in Corning, NY.

The course does have a few small hills but has an overall elevation drop of 200 feet. It was well supported with many aid stations, port a pots, and they offered 3 different gel stations.

I worked hard on staying mentally strong and keeping my expectations on the manageable side. Sometimes my inner voice can be a bit brutal so I have to keep it in check and focus on the positive.

As I was walking around mile 18 I came upon a man who was also walking with a grimace on his face. I said,

“All we can do is put one foot in front of the other, huh?”

He said,

“This is horrible!

When I asked if it was his first marathon he said yes but his training runs had been easy compared to this. I don’t know if it was very reassuring but I told him that for most people the marathon will feel horrible at some point.

I finished in 3:57:02 and met up with my sister who had finished the HM in 2:29.

I then proceeded to the post-race food tent (think pizza, bagels, fruit, chocolate milk, sports drink, soda, warm soup, and more). Always my favorite part.

To hear my reflections on the journey to 70 marathons check out the audio portion of the episode. Happy running!

Listen to the episode to hear my four lessons from 70 marathons.