Pacing the Craft Classic With Beast Pacing

Hills are going to be my breakfast for the next few months and I’m totally excited. I’m one of the two 2:45 pacers for the Craft Classic Half Marathon this coming October with Beast Pacing. The Phoenix (or you can say the Fountain Hills) Craft Classic is one of the prettiest halves I’ve paced. But don’t let the beauty make you blind. The hills are relentless and show no mercy. I paced this course last year. The elevation is about 986 feet (according to my Garmin fénix 5s.) Check out my Strava activity below:

Conquering a Hilly Half

Hill training was essential for pacing this race and I’m glad I incorporated into my training. I followed a hill plan in the August 2017 issue of Runner’s World magazine and I plan on doing that same plan again. It was a tough training cycle and I followed it about 85% last year because it kicked my butt. But, it worked. I had zero issues running up the hills and pacing my 2:45 group, I even chatted with fellow runners, motivating them up, while pushing myself up those hellish hills of Fountain Hills. You can view the plan on the right. I can’t find it online, so if you’d like to follow it too, please enlarge the image. Since this plan was in print, I had to manually plug in the training days in my Google calendar. I do like plans that automatically sync online.  

Run with Me?

 If you are yearning for a challenging fall half marathon, then consider the Craft Classic. The price is $70 until July 4th, then it goes up to $75. All participants will receive a commemorative pint glass, an official event shirt, a custom finisher medal, and runners 21+ will receive one voucher for a free beer from Huss Brewing. Go local! There is also a 5k option if the hills in the half freak you out. But don’t let them! Hope to see you there. 

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