Twenty-six-point-two Smiles: Stephanie and her first-place plaque.

I Am PRC: Stephanie Crawford Fells the Giants

When Stephanie Crawford moved to Portland from New Hampshire last fall, one of the first things she did was join our PRC Race team. With a spring marathon to train for, Stephanie spent the fall and winter logging miles and making friends on our Sunday Forest Park runs, at our weekly track workouts, and during our Saturday Challenge Runs.

Fast forward to Sunday, May 5th, when Stephanie toed the line at the start of California's Avenue of the Giants Marathon for a race through the redwoods. Representing our PRC Race Team, Stephanie crossed the finish line two hours, 58-minutes and 15-seconds later, winning first place in the women's division!

PRC's Holly Paige caught up with Stephanie and asked her to share her winning race strategy.

Talk about your game plan for racing—and winning—Avenue of the Giants. Why did you pick this marathon? Had you run it before?
I originally heard about the Avenue of the Giants Marathon from my dad and my uncle who ran it in the '70s and raved about the scenery. My uncle had described a lottery to get into the race, so I was surprised when I looked it up last year and noticed statistics for "day-of-race registration." It sounds like the race has gotten smaller over the years which is too bad because it's a really beautiful course and well-organized race. But it was the perfect race for me because I prefer a small, scenic marathon where I can distract myself with natural beauty to a large city marathon with cheering crowds.

Did you have a time goal?
I had been trying for the past five marathons to go under three hours, and had gotten as close as 3:01 twice.  During training and in the back of my head, that was always the goal for this marathon although as it got closer, I tried to tell myself that I wasn't going to worry about it and was just going to enjoy the race and the scenery. 

Talk about your training regimen. How many miles a week were you running at peak training?
Whether training for a marathon or not, I run almost every day with my husband, Hunter, because I enjoy it. For this marathon, we gradually increased our mileage starting in January or February. We were probably running about 65–75 miles a week during peak training, but I honestly don't remember because Hunter keeps track of all that! I do remember that during spring break when we went to visit my brother in L.A., we logged a 95-mile week, but some of that mileage included hiking!

What particular part of training was most effective for your marathon?
I benefited from a combination of speed work and long runs with a few races (Shamrock, Horse Butte) to test my fitness. PRC Sunday long runs were great for providing company while adding miles, especially when we had to add a few extra miles because of trains! PRC's Saturday Challenge Runs and Tuesday track workouts helped me increase my speed. If you haven't been to a PRC group run yet, they're a lot of fun!

Lots of runners and racers have pre-race rituals. What are yours?
I don't really have one. I used to have a special nut mixture that I would eat before a race (cashews, almonds, and craisins), but I forgot it before this race so I guess it wasn't lucky after all. I did wear my lucky headband that my mom made for me, though!

Talk about the course and race day conditions. What was the terrain? Were there any surprises along the way? 
The course was made up of two separate out-and-back sections of the historic "Avenue of the Giants" road. It follows a river and is lined with huge redwoods, so it was shady and not too hilly. Race day conditions couldn't have been more perfect with temperatures in the low 60s at the start. Because of the shade, it never seemed to get much warmer. 

When did you know you were ahead and could possibly win?
I tried to calm my nerves at the start of the race by telling myself it was just a long run in the woods—only slightly longer than some of the PRC Sunday runs in Forest Park. I looked at my watch at the first mile—6:50—right on pace for under three hours. At the second mile marker (which I later found out was misplaced), my watch showed me slowing to 7:00 pace. I decided at that point to stop measuring my mile splits and just enjoy the run. I knew there was one woman ahead of me and another one was catching up to me. We talked for a while (this was her first marathon and she was looking for a "low three-hour marathon"), and ran together for a few miles, catching up to and passing the lead woman. After the first turnaround, the course seemed to go downhill slightly, and I started to feel great and took off, winding through the trees and enjoying the quiet. As I came back to the start, the spectators were cheering loudly, and the second out-and-back almost felt like a different race. There was a half marathon and 10K that used this second out-and-back section, so the race was no longer solitary. I started to be able to see some of the 10K and half-marathon runners coming back, and recognized some friendly faces from the PRC Team. Because I was in the lead, there was a woman on a bike riding just ahead of me who announced my coming so that the larger groups of half-marathon and 10K runners moved to the right. Their cheers were energizing! By that point, I knew I was in the lead, and when I looked at my watch, I was pretty sure that I could also make my time goal!

What racing shoes did you wear?
My Brooks Adrenalines. They're the only shoes I ever wear, whether it's a long or short run, speedwork or recovery run, track or trails.

What advice do you have for runners who want to set PRs or even win their upcoming races? 
Keep your goal in mind and train hard. Do what you can to make training fun whether that's exploring new trails or running with new friends.

I Am PRC is a regular feature on our site. For more interviews like this one, click here. Interview by Holly Paige.