30-JUN-2019 Wellington, New Zealand Country #18 Strava Link | Garmin Link Short version: Perfect weather, weird course, undoubtedly not the best race in NZ, but still plenty good. “Why on earth did you come to Wellington?!” It was the incredulous question I was asked by nearly everyone in Wellington when I told them I had…
Category: Running
Charlevoix Marathon 2019
Lifetime Big Long Thing #210 Calendar Year BLT #29 Strava Link | Garmin Link Short version: Out-and-back on bike path with nice views of Lake Michigan, but overall somewhat dull. The Charlevoix Marathon in Northern Michigan is a reasonably flat out-and-back almost exclusively on bike path, though a small part weaves through the western part…
Manitoba Marathon 2019
Country 17 completed at the Manitoba marathon in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, a flat meandering course that seems to pass all the major landmarks in town and finishes in the University of Manitoba stadium (Go Bisons! Pedantic aside: Yes, I am aware that the plural of “Bison” is in fact “Bison”. It would seem that they…
Comrades Marathon 2019
I don’t remember when I first heard about Comrades, only that people who I deeply respected spoke very highly of it, and it became one of my earliest “bucket list” races. When I tried my first 50 miler and it took 14 hours, it felt like a distant dream to take on a hilly 55ish…
Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon 2019
Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon complete in Deadwood, South Dakota. A point to point race from Rochford to Deadwood on the George S. Mickelson Trail, a rail trail that offers stunning views of the surrounding Black Hills Nation Forest. A steady climb for 13.5 miles followed by downhill the rest of the way with the exception…
Vermont City Marathon 2019
Big Long Thing 206 done today at the Vermont City Marathon in Burlington, Vermont. A brief backstory: 3 years ago I did this race and they cancelled because it reached 83 degrees. They cancelled 4 hours in so it was a very expensive trip to a fun run. I was, and remain apparently, pissed. I…
Martha’s Vineyard Marathon 2019
Dan and Paula’s 50th State celebration at the Marthas Vineyard Marathon. Rarely in life do you meet people so devoted to offering kindness and grace to all, such is the case with Dan and Paula. I haven’t known them long, but they’re family to all that know them from the first meeting. It was my…
Starved Rock Country Marathon 2019
BLT #23 for 2019 complete at the Starved Rock Country Marathon in Ottawa, IL. 5 miles of suburbia, and 21 of farm land and hills in the state park. The regular course was changed this year due to flooding. I found the course rather dull, but the community was very supportive. I suppose it might…
Providence Marathon 2019
20th sub-4 hour marathon state complete today at a rainy Providence Marathon, in Providence, Rhode Island on Cinco De Mayo. Rolling hills through downtown Providence along the Seekonk and Providence Rivers with a fair piece on bike paths. VERY well supported (seriously I was offered gu at two different aide stations before the first 5k)…