Marathon #15 of 2017, Lifetime 132, the Sandhills Marathon in (or rather 40 miles outside of) Valentine, Nebraska. A very low key race, that was well organized, great shirt (not usually a draw for me), interesting finisher award, with roving mobile port-o-johns. The only issues are the lack of information on the website and the…
Pittsburgh Marathon 2017
BLT #131, it’s like the half marathon point of big long things, at the cleverly named Pittsburgh Marathon in the Steel City, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. What does a week of rest get me? 4:10 on a hilly course through Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods. Pittsburgh is a place where big-hearted people genuinely love their city, are active participants in…
Glass City Marathon 2017
Marathon #13 for calendar year 2017, and my 17th double or more at the Glass City Marathon in Toledo, Ohio. A nice suburban marathon on road and bike trail. Slightly chilly, well organized, pretty race, with some light roller hills. It has all the makings of a fast race. Today was an okay performance, a…
Carmel Marathon 2017
Marathon #12 for the year at the Carmel Marathon. An okay day at a pretty, flat, well-organized suburban road marathon in central Indiana. Bike trails, roads, and the downtown arts district kept it interesting. Fun fact: Carmel has more roundabouts (more than 100) than any city in America.
Newport Marathon 2017
Marathon #11 for the year, state 35 for the second go around, at the Newport Marathon in Newport, Rhode Island. Modestly hilly New England course with views of the mansions and beaches of Newport. Second time doing this course and I was about 12 minutes faster. That said, last time it was the second day…
Queen City Marathon 2017
I can’t say enough good things about today’s race. The Queen City Marathon is a small event in Cumberland, Maryland about 2 hours West of Baltimore. A marathon (42.2km, 26.2mi) and a metric marathon (26.2km, 16.2 mi) started the first 5 miles out and back on the very flat C&O (Chesapeake and Ohio) canal towpath…
Tomoka Marathon 2017
Marathon #125 at the Tomoka Marathon in Ormond Beach, Florida. Sometimes you have a bad day; sometimes you have an awful day. When that awful day comes when you’re a pacer, the knowledge that you are letting more than just yourself down makes the pain of your failure visceral. I didn’t take but a few…
Los Angeles Marathon 2017
Marathon #124 at the LA Marathon in Los Angeles, California. I’ve never been all that wild about Los Angeles or most big city races but the people of LA clearly love their marathon, and it certainly offers a tour of the city, Dodger Stadium to Chinatown, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Santa Monica. It’s a…
Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon DC 2017
Marathon #123 in Washington, D.C. at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon. A freebie offered to those of us frozen out of the Mississippi Blues Marathon this year. Like my only other RnR race, Vegas, I think this would be a great half, and they added 13 junk miles to fill out the marathon. Still, can’t…