State #49, Virginia–motherf–king Virginia–the Old Dominion State, completed at the Cross County Trail Marathon in Springfield, Virginia. Fun fact: Springfield is probably most famous for the “Mixing Bowl”, the interchange between Interstates 395, 495, and 95 that was once more of an M. C. Escher drawing than traffic interchange; it has gotten better in intervening…
Category: Running
Mayor’s Midnight Sun Marathon 2015
20-JUN-2015 Anchorage, Alaska, USA Alaska, the last frontier, state 39. Done. Fun fact: In 1867 Sec. Of State William Seward–who was also nearly killed the same April 14, 1865 night as Lincoln in a Confederate terrorist plot–purchased Alaska, which is almost 3 times larger than Texas, for 2 cents per acre.
Swan Lake Marathon 2015
14-JUN-2019 Viborg, South Dakota, USA State 38. Hot, humid day. Did a lot of talking and walking on what is a boring course at a Christian Camp. Fun fact: South Dakota is the home of the Dakota, Lakota and Nakota tribes, which make up the Sioux Nation.
Marathon to Marathon 2015
13-JUN-2015 Marathon, Iowa, USA State 37. Moderate temp, very humid. Fun fact: Quaker, in Cedar Rapids, is the world’s largest cereal company. Not so fun fact: Today is the day 6 years ago when my dad died. I very much miss him, but it made me very clear-eyed about the people, things, and activities that…
Rockford Marathon 2015
31-MAY-2015 Rockford, Illinois, USA Rockford Marathon is in the files. State 36, Illinois, the institutional corruption state–er, Land of Lincoln. Fun fact: Rockford is known as the Screw City. Read that however you like.
Med City Marathon 2015
24-MAY-2015 Rochester, Minnesota, USA State 35, Minnesota, the Gopher State. Med City Marathon in Rochester (home of the Mayo Clinic), cold and wet, rough race for me today. Fun fact: Minneapolis has a skyway system connecting 52 blocks (nearly five miles) of downtown, which makes it possible to live, eat, work and shop without going…
Fargo Marathon 2015
09-MAY-2015 Fargo, North Daktoa, USA State number 34 done, North Dakota, The Peace Garden State, and first of my -ota state hat trick. Time was going well despite pain in the right shin, up until the last 5 miles when the 3:50 pacer made me walk the plank. At that point my spirit was crushed….
Tobacco Road Marathon 2015
15-MAR-2015 Cary, North Carolina, USA It’s March, and that can mean only one thing in North Carolina: Tobacco Road Marathon! Just beat 4 Hours for state 25. Fun fact: founded in 1789, UNC is the oldest state university in the US. We won’t be discussing Notre Dame.
Kalamazoo Marathon 2014
I forgot how awesome Kalamazoo was. This makes 10 states, and I can join the 50 staters. Best $10 I’ll ever spend.