The Richmond Marathon course

Broad and 1st at seven in the morning, and the opening mile stays on Broad, east end then west. The road rises just enough to feel like nothing, which is exactly why the pace you pick here should feel too easy.

West Broad runs dead level through the second mile. Nothing to slow you and nothing to blame later, so settle into a rhythm and stop looking at your watch.

Onto Monument Avenue and out to Arthur Ashe Boulevard, where the road opens up wide under the trees. Flat pavement and a straight line: bank rhythm here, not time.

Monument carries west before the course picks up Westmoreland, and the ground rises steadily the whole way. First real work of the day, small enough to ignore but not small enough to attack.

Grove Avenue and Westmoreland trade off across a mile that neither gives nor takes. Level road through quiet blocks, a good place to check that your breathing still matches your effort.

Grove into Maple and out onto Cary Street Road, essentially flat all the way. Enjoy it: the road is about to drop out from under you.

Huguenot Road and River Road throw away the single biggest chunk of elevation on the course, all of it inside one mile. The speed is free but it lands on your quads, so ride the descent instead of chasing it.

Huguenot hands the course onto Riverside Drive alongside the James, still tipping gently downward. Reset your cadence here, because the second half is going to ask for every bit of it back.

A quiet stretch of Riverside Drive that sits close enough to level to cost you nothing. The next three miles are where the course starts asking, so what you bank here should be patience, not seconds.

Riverside gives way to Scottview and Longview and the road climbs for most of the mile at a grade you can still run through. Shorten the stride, hold the effort, and let the pace go where it wants.

Forest Hill Avenue arrives by way of Windsorview and Wallowa, net downhill even though the road stops falling before the mile is out. Take the free part early: the climb begins right as this mile ends.

This is the Forest Hill Avenue climb, and it runs nearly the full mile. Give up the pace willingly here, because you get it back inside of two miles and fighting it now costs you at 20.

Forest Hill levels off and stays that way. Breathing comes back first and legs come back second, so use this mile to get both in order before halfway.

Halfway lands on Forest Hill just before the course tips down onto Semmes Avenue. The road is falling and the city is ahead of you: read the split, then let it go.

Semmes to West 21st and down to Riverside Drive, losing height the whole way toward the water. The Lee Bridge starts as this mile ends, so arrive at it with something left.

Up and over the Robert E. Lee Memorial Bridge with the James underneath and downtown in front, climbing on toward South Belvidere. Long, open and exposed, and the only way across is an effort you can hold to the far end.

Belvidere hands off to West Main and the road keeps rising, quieter work than the bridge but pointed the same direction. Stay honest with the effort: the climbing is not done yet.

West Main grinds upward through the Fan. Eighteen miles of legs and a road that will not flatten out is where this race actually begins.

Main turns north onto Arthur Ashe Boulevard and the ground finally releases, handing back a little of what the last three miles took. Take the descent, but take it smooth.

The Diamond goes by as the course runs up Arthur Ashe and onto Hermitage Road, flat the whole mile. Twenty down: whatever plan you came in with, this is where it gets tested.

Hermitage into Pope Avenue, level ground on the narrower streets of Northside. Nothing in this mile will help you and nothing will hurt you, so run it on effort alone.

Pope, Fauquier and Crestwood string together a mile of turns with no real elevation in it. Corners cost more than they should this late, so run the tangents and stop arguing with the pace.

Fauquier meets Brook Road on ground that is basically flat. Just over three miles to go and the course still owes you a downhill: hold yourself together until it pays out.

Brook Road passes the Belgian Building and Vann Tower at Virginia Union before bending toward North Lombardy. The road eases downward, slight but real, and it is the first hint that the finish is coming to you.

Lombardy and West Grace, flat and straight, downtown filling in ahead. One honest mile stands between you and the fastest part of your day.

Grace Street to South 5th, and 5th falls away hard toward the river and the line north of Tredegar. Let the hill do the work, keep your feet underneath you, and Brown's Island is waiting on the other side.