Lincoln Marathon

Congratulations to all those who ran the Lincoln Half and Full Marathons yesterday.  I want to single out my friend, Ryan, who completed his second full marathon in less than a month, less than one year after having his ruptured achilles tendon repaired.  Truly an accomplishment to be very proud of.

With the widening of the bike trail, the race should be bigger and better than ever next year!

A Week of Highs and Lows

The nation is still recovering from the tragedies of last week in Boston and Texas.  Like most of you, I was transfixed by the bombing at the Boston marathon and the manhunt in Massachusetts.  I was also anxiously awaiting the arrival of my newest running partner.  The wait came to an end yesterday morning with the birth of my daughter.  Mom and baby are both doing well.  After catching up on some much needed rest, I celebrated with a 4 mile pace run.  Margot will join me as soon as she can hold her head up!

Lincoln Marathon to Expand?

As the Marine Corp Marathon registration sell out showed, marathon participation continues to explode.  The growth of the Lincoln Marathon has been slowed by the "bottle-neck" that runners experience on the trail next to highway 2.  With renovation of the trail set to go forward, organizers expect the race to expand soon.

http://journalstar.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/funds-to-help-expand-trail-push-marathon-past-runners/article_c8f0b6d5-f394-5acf-a60e-cd010eec760c.html

The People's Marathon

It is really a shame that the registration fiasco has put a stain on the Marine Corp Marathon for 2013.  The marathon known as "The People's Marathon" has a well deserved reputation for putting on a first class, mega-marathon, with military precision.  No surprise there!

I am very much looking forward to this race in the fall.  By then, I think most people will have forgotten about glitches on Wednesday.

Here is a link to the motivation video from the race website:

http://www.marinemarathon.com/Community/MCM_TV.htm

Oorah!

I was able to successfully register for the Marine Corp Marathon in Washington, DC this fall.

Online registration was a disaster!  I was lucky enough to get in pretty quickly.  The race sold out in less than 2.5 hrs.

I expect this marathon will be a lottery from now on.  Runners who didn't get in are still able to race with one of the many charity partners.

marinemarathon.com

Updated Map

#41--Instant Classic Marathon

Chesterfield, VA

March 16, 2013

5:07:53

I've only done one trail marathon before.  That was a race outside Laramie, Wyoming.  That race was really hard and I've avoided trail races ever since.  I only signed up for this one in Virginia because I was going to be able to make a double weekend out of it.

I didn't do a lot of research about the race.  When I did, I found this elevation map.  Although altitude wouldn't be an issue, the dozens and dozens of climbs might be.

I was pretty nervous going into this.  The weather forecast didn't help.  It was supposed to rain the night before the race and all day Saturday.  When I woke up Saturday I looked outside and it was still dry.  I put on my trail shoes and headed to the race.  A few minutes before the start, it began to rain.  There were maybe 100 runners at the start, and nobody was fazed by it.  The race started at 7:45, and we all dashed into the trails of Pochohontas State Park.  

As far as trail races go, this was pretty easy, I think.  There were some creeks to cross, tree roots to hurdle, and rocks to avoid, but it wasn't too bad.  As the map shows, there were tons of hills.  You were either running up one or down one.  There were very few straight, flat stretches.

The race ended up being a lot of fun.  The trail was pretty sandy, so it absorbed a lot of the rain.  There was certainly some muddy areas, but nothing like I had feared.  After 30 or 40 minutes the rain stopped, and by the end of the race the sun actually came out.  It never got too hot.  The scenery was great and the course was challenging, but not terrible.  There were no spectators, basically, only volunteers every 3 miles or so at the aid stations.  These were stocked with skittles, M&Ms, pretzels, water, and gatorade.  I walked up the steepest hills in order to try and conserve energy for the marathon in North Carolina the following day.  I finished at 5:07:53.  I grabbed some water and gatorade, fruit, and a burger.  I walked to my car and changed into some dry clothes and hit the road.  

This was a no-frills race in just it's second year of existence.  Packet pick up was at the local running store, with no expo.  There were no timing chips.  There was no music or spectators on the course.  Volunteers grilled burgers and brats at the finish for runners.  As somebody who has up until now preferred large urban marathons (NYC is still my favorite), this small, low-key trail marathon in Virginia was a real treat.  When the race organizers decided to call it the "Instant Classic," I think they were on to something.