Marathon #53: Missoula Marathon, June 2019

It always amazes me when a seemingly crazy plan becomes a reality. Quite some time ago George pulled up a map of the United States, pointed to the inner states and asked if there was a marathon that I needed to run (for my 50 state quest) within the region. He wanted to combine a marathon with a camping trip that would allow him to drive to the area with his camper in tow, stopping at other places of interest along the way. So I said, yes, I'd like to run the Missoula marathon in Montana, which is pretty close to Yellowstone and Glacier National Park. And I committed to camping as well...The plan was hatched. He would stop at Yellowstone on the way to Missoula, stop over in Missoula for the race, then we would all head north to Glacier National Park. The Saxtons decided to drive north with their camper van, bringing our camping gear in tow, and additionally two other couples signed up for the race/camping. Jamie, Jedonna, and Gigi (who I will refer to as the G-J girls), decided to glamp it at a nearby lodge.

In summary, the trip was truly epic, and Glacier National Park is just stunning. We had a blast with our group as usual, and a really hard time re-entering civilization back in Texas. As for the marathon itself, yes it was a good marathon, and that's why I'm here-to write about the marathon, which was in so many ways eclipsed by the rest of the trip! That's funny because usually it's the other way around! Here goes:

The Missoula marathon is a point to point race, starting in a tiny town called Frenchtown, just north of Missoula, and finishing in the heart of downtown Missoula, in Caras Park, along the Clark Fork river. It's a very early bus ride to catch the start at 6:00 AM!! But here's the thing, the sun is up at 6:00 AM! The shooting off of fireworks was pretty pointless in my opinion. Invested in the full marathon was me, Toby, the G-J girls, and Robert Haworth. We never saw him at the start and he would be the only one I had a shot at seeing along the course, as the others had crushed it during training. I haven't crushed anything in a very long time, ha ha. Robert has had to train in Florida, which makes Dallas seem cool, yikes! Mark, Amelie, Potter, and Lisa did the half marathon, which started further down the road.

That's what 5:30 ish looks like in Montana

We all positioned ourselves into the starting area accordingly. I found the 4:20 pacer and stayed close to him. The instant we started running I could tell that I was feeling the 3,000 ft altitude. It wasn't like running in Colorado, but enough to make me feel like I was working harder than normal. It kind of freaked me out at first, until I settled into a pace and said this is IT, whatever IT is, this is where you are at, so accept it and carry on, business as usual. Settling in was easier than when the half marathon starts with us, so that was nice, sorry half marathoners, but there's always at least twice as many of you and you always have way too much energy!

Our scenery started out as farmland, surrounded by hills on both sides, with full sun to our east, casting our shadows across the road. That's how high in the sky the sun was early on! But it was chilly, near perfect, around 50 degrees. I was both annoyed and distracted by the 4:20 group chatter, so I couldn't tell if I wanted to stick with them or leave them, as this stretch was pretty desolate. We didn't turn off this road until after 8 miles. Shortly after the turn I had to make a pit stop which took way too long. I came out to see the 4:20 pacer turning left in the distance. Right behind him were two guys with balloons which I could only assume were the 4:30 pacers. (Yes they were, but what I didn't know was Robert was with that group at that point). I would never see them again until mile 25 of the race!

The only hills of the course were from miles 13-17, with the first two being pretty steep. I walked those, taking in the beauty of the course during this stretch, as it had gone from farm land to pine forest. At this point I knew it was going to be a 4:30 day at best if all went OK from here on out. It just felt HARD and I really wondered, is it hard for just me, or it is hard for them too? I wanted to ask people, "is this hard for you too?", but thought the better of it.

I have no idea where this picture was taken because I never saw the photographer, but it totally captures the mood. I was trying to pay attention to my surroundings, but had to have my music on and focus more than I'd like to on trying to stay "in the game". Thank God for my music! It's funny what songs end up working for me and what songs get the FF. I have a lot of current music, like songs from Interpol, Vampire Weekend, and Mitski, but I throw in some old stuff from time to time. One such song was Devo's, "Beautiful World", and later, "Through Being Cool". Not sure why Devo worked, but hey. I didn't even care much for Devo back in the 80's, so go figure.

It's a beautiful world we live in...

Around mile 19 or so we started heading into the outskirts of Missoula, so finally, spectators and their antics! Everyone was out! There were all kinds of oddities of things presented to us, mostly in the form of alcoholic beverages! You name it they offered it! A Japanese runner (he was on his phone talking in Japanese while he was running, I'm not profiling) grabbed a cup of whiskey and I'm pretty sure he didn't know what it was! OMG, coughs and gags followed!! Yes, there were lots of turns heading into town, but oddly enough it seemed easier to handle than a long straight away, and like I said, it was pretty entertaining.

I found myself walking the water stops a bit, coming really close to 4:30, and sure enough at mile 25 out of nowhere were the 4:30 pacer balloon guys! No Robert, so we must have crossed paths and not seen each other. The mile 26 banner was sitting at the top of an overpass, and from there you could see and hear the finish line straight ahead. I stopped to walk at that point, saw a bunch of finishers standing on a bar patio, and when they saw me take off running again they started cheering like mad, telling me to go get it. Ha! So I did finish with a 4:30 and quickly rejoined the others, who, other than Toby the freak, said yes it was hard. But it was hard for them for various reasons, none of which appeared to be related to altitude. Whatever, as I ran the best I could, so I have to be at peace with it.

Again, missing Robert! 

I have no complaints about this race. Everything was well executed from beginning to end. No glitches, plenty of water stops, the finish area was great, and they had Big Sky beer! I highly recommend this marathon, but you must make your way to Glacier National Park as well.

Marathon #52: Skidaway Island Marathon, Savannah, GA, March 2019

I didn't think I was going to make it to this one. I pulled a hamstring about six weeks into training, which left me hobbling and rehabbing for another 5 weeks. My only goal was to get well, which is what a normal person's goal should be, but then I saw that damn Nike commercial with a message that spoke to me. "It's only crazy until you do it". I guess it was in the back of my mind that if  I could ramp back up and get a few long runs in I could actually run the thing,so when I saw the commercial I found myself saying, "f*ck yeah!!". Well, folks, it's only crazy until you do it...then it's just plain stupid....

Ok so onward to the race blog. In summary it wasn't the worst marathon experience ever, far from it, and I did manage to run an ok race in spite of myself, but I wouldn't recommend cramming for a marathon. Just don't do it. (you see what I did there?)

I've always wanted to travel to Savannah, so this marathon was one of my top choices for the state of Georgia. The marathon runs entirely on Skidaway Island, 20 minutes outside of town. In addition to a state park, there's a gated residential community with six golf courses, over 40 miles of trails and walking paths winding along the marshlands and lagoons of the island. Many of the streets are lined with mansions and moss covered trees. Other than the pine tree lined stretch in and out of the Ocean Science Center we would be doing a sort of clockwise loop along the island with the exception of a few out and backs here and there. The full marathon count was around 200, with twice that for the half marathon. We would all start together until the split at roughly 8 miles. There is only one hill on the entire course!

My only recruits for this trip were my trusty husband Toby and sister wife Jamie. Toby would run the half and spend the rest of his energy taking care of us, ha! We got into town with just enough time to eat a big (and late) lunch, head to Dick's Sporting Goods to get our "packets" (bib and cotton shirt only), load up on Gatorade and other "necessary items", and hit up DQ (some rituals never die) before retiring for the evening. 

don't ask

Long before sunrise we were up and  on our way to the 7:00 AM race start. We really lucked out with the weather. It was going to be a relatively cool day, with unseasonably DRY air, YES! The sun would come out in full force, but it would never get out of the 60's by race end. We were warned there wouldn't be many water stops on the course, so I carried my water bottle. As the sun began to rise we were off without a lot of fanfare down along the tree lined road.

Right away I could feel the "not quite fresh and rested" feeling in my legs. The pace I found myself settling into was slower than I had hoped. Sigh...So the initial goal was set; just try to finish under 4:30. At least now I had my answer as to what effect the lack of training would have on the race and accepted my fate.

After the tree lined road we entered "The Landings" and began our ever changing twists and turns from road to path to road again, along a residential street, out onto a wide open path with a lagoon view, back onto a residential street, onto a path along a golf course, this way, that way, on and on. I was trying to focus on the beauty of the course (It really was pretty and the houses were amazing), but was annoyed by some things. After 51 marathons you start getting picky. First of all, at what few water stops they had they were using PLASTIC cups. Noooooo!!! Why? Every stop had them. Additionally, they handed out plastic water bottles to runners, which of course littered the roads and trails along the course. If I lived at "The Landings" I would not be happy to see that. Also, restrooms...quite scarce! Occasionally I'd come across one porta potty, but they'd always have a group waiting, so I fended off stopping until I came across a somewhat hidden park restroom around mile 12 that was unoccupied. Standing in front of the mirror at the sink, messing around, I'm like "get out of here and run already"! I used to be so fast at these things!

I guess the thing that ate at me most was the lack of people once the half marathoners split off. Not only were there few runners, but there were few people AT ALL. I did see residents out walking their dogs, but other than that very few of them were outside cheering on the runners. Some of the turns were manned, and the people there were always nice, but a lot of times there would simply be an arrow. More than once I freaked out, thinking I had missed a turn because I'd find myself running quite awhile without seeing anyone else. I was very grateful to have my music with me!

Mile 16. Hey look a photographer!

I was SO happy to see Toby around mile 19! I was asking him a lot of questions about his race, how's Jamie doing, etc etc, taking every opportunity to pretend I wasn't in a race myself while I strolled beside him, until he finally prodded me to get moving again. I was still able to do math and determine I was cutting the 4:30 mark really close, so I didn't fight him on this.

There was an out and back from around miles 20-23 or so, which I welcomed. Finally, people! Right away I saw Jamie! She said she was having stomach "issues", and I knew what that meant. Ugh. She still looked strong though. Along this stretch I saw some of the "pacers" with their pace signs, and every single one of them were running alone! What's the point? Around mile 22 the 4:30 pacer flew past me at a pace I couldn't even think of matching, which really confused me and made me question my ability to add. In no time she became a speck in the horizon. At this point my spirits were good anyhow. I wasn't feeling the urge to walk at all and my music was really helping me. Especially a song I added to my playlist and doubted, "Road to Nowhere" by the Talking Heads. It ended up being so fitting!

I thought I would dread the return to the long straight tree lined road to the finish, but at this point I was sick of the paths and growing interactions with golf carts. Toby joined me near the end and asked if he could take my water bottle and I said "no, I may need it later", which made him laugh because I was literally less than a minute away from the finish line. He said it seemed like I was going to finish around 4:31, to which I argued that I had at least 5 more minutes to go.  The mind is a funny thing on mile 26...or during the .2...wherever I was...Indeed I finished at 4:31.

...just 5 more minutes to go...100 yards...

Jamie ran a 4:03 and got 4th in her age group (by 18 seconds)! Yes, that was at least one visit to the woods!!

Toby ran a 1:30 half and came in second in his age group!

I managed to get 3rd in my age group. We were awarded pins to place on the race lanyards, which was nice, and all marathon finishers got really nice towels.

There was not a lot going on at the finish line (ie no beer), so before too long we headed back to Savannah to enjoy the rest of the week-end! Savannah was a blast! So much to see and do! Would I recommend this marathon? If it had been a typically warm and humid day it would have been brutal. We haven't had time to acclimate to that kind of weather by March. Even so, the trip to Savannah was so worth it, so yes, knowing that it's a small race with very few water stops, I say yes. Just do it!

Yet another great race with these two!!

Marathon #51: Philadelphia Marathon, Pennsylvania, November 2018

FREE blanket!

I had never been to Philadelphia, in fact I never even considered it, except for the desire to run the marathon someday. I'm so glad I finally got around to it, because I discovered that Philadelphia is a wonderful city with tons of things to see and do! Of course the marathon was great, as expected. It really showcases most of the sights of the city and surrounding neighborhoods. Not only that, but the people of the city come out in mass to celebrate the event, or should I say events because the half marathon and other races are ran on Saturday, with the full marathon on Sunday.

The half marathoners had warned us of their long lines going through security at the starting area, so Toby and I walked over to the area to scope it out, since the map showed an additional entrance north of where they had entered. It was right next to the bag drop off and porta potties. That's what we would do in the morning for sure.

On Sunday morning the four of us (me, Toby, Laura aka LSP, and Mark) made our way to the start. When we got off the bus they were directing everybody to enter the already way too long security lines, and we said nope! They were yelling at us to come get in line and we ignored them and headed north. We entered the checkpoint with NO LINE! Hilarious! We huddled in the warming tent until it was time to get it together for the race. Toby left us before too long, then the 3 of us headed to the drop off. As with these larger races I always forget the cluster and long lines associated with them and sure enough the lines were long at bag check. After that we had 15 minutes to somehow pee and get into the starting corrals, oops. We split and didn't see each other again!

Pre race..yet again the 4 of us getting after it!

I entered the corral without a pit stop and was already regretting it. When I realized the corral starts were going off about 5 minutes apart I made a mad dash across the street to a porta potty then got back in the corral with 15 seconds to spare. What a way to start a race!

The first half of the marathon circled through the city via Chinatown, near the Ben Franklin Bridge, a long lively stretch along Chestnut street, Farmount Park, Drexel University, and near the "Rocky steps" as we ran by the finish line to head out for the second half. I normally hate running past the finish line during a race, but I was able to see the first female finisher!

I was running a pretty steady pace through the entire first half, even through the hillier section in the park, roughly miles 7-11. It was hillier than I thought, but nothing like the last marathon, and of course, this would be all the hills we would encounter, except for a few inclines here and there. I really enjoyed the first half of the race and felt really really good, which is something I haven't felt in any of the marathons I've ran this year! Of course there was no gravel, roots, rocks, spiral staircases, excessive humidity or even heat! Not even a kidney stone! We had perfect weather conditions, and other than dealing with my cold hands and thick gloves everything was pretty effortless.

Boat house row

The entire second half of the race was an out and back along Kelly Drive, where the boat houses are along the river. The race turns around at mile 20 in the community of Manayuk. I love out and backs, especially when other friends are running the race too.  I knew I'd see Toby (and I did and we both said we were doing good), but would have trouble seeing Mark or LSP, because the road narrowed and got really crazy with spectators as we entered Manayuk. You had to watch your footing and not look over for very long and too, there were a lot of us! Mark had passed me early on after his porta potty stop so I knew for sure he was in front, but I never saw LSP.  After a while I just had to tell myself that she's out in front of me and she's crushing it (and she was!)

I hit the 20 mile mark at the same steady pace but mentally thought ok this last 10K is gonna suck, but every time I hit a mile marker I was still on pace! I started slowing at mile 24, so I walked the water stop and took in one last gel to make sure I didn't crash on the way in. That would be my only walk break during the entire race, and I finished strong. Wow, I sure wish they could all end like that!

It didn't take long to regroup and share what seemed to be a very similar experience to mine. (Yes we all had ran the Freedom's run 6 weeks ago so maybe that's why).

Our times:
Toby: 3:23
Mark: 4:03
LSP: 4:06
Me: 4:13

The course records were broken for both the men and women's race, in what was most likely the most perfect race conditions ever.

Our finishers medals have Liberty bells that jingle--one of my favorite medals so far.

I highly recommend this marathon and I highly recommend traveling to Philadelphia! We have to come back since there's so much we didn't get a chance to see or do. Fun town!

Oh and yes you have to run up the rocky steps post marathon. We did that, but it wasn't pretty, wasn't pretty at all! And going down the steps was pure torture! It was great traveling with the best buds in the world, including the entire Patterson family--priceless!

LOVE

Marathon #50: Freedom's Run, Sheperdstown West Virginia, October 2018

I'm drawn to unique marathon courses-courses that offer a bit of tourism of the area-a showcase of the character of the people and the land. For that reason I don't shy away from them if they are challenging. This course, summed up in one word, is a BEAST.  The course starts in Harper's Ferry West Virginia, does a small loop through Murphy Farm, then crosses the Potomac River into Maryland, descending onto the C&O Canal via a spiral staircase around mile 5. Miles 5-15 are flat miles along a gravel trail until the runners depart up and onto the undulating terrain of the Antietam Battlefield. Miles 15-21 contain the steepest of hills, but offer stunning views of the battle fields, littered with old artifacts and memorials of the Civil War's bloodiest battle. The final miles, heading back into West Virginia via Sharpsburg, contain rolling hills with a finish on the 50 yard line of the University's stadium.

We had an unusually humid summer that left me with little confidence in pulling off a decent marathon time, and combined with my Iowa meltdown in June, I was flat out scared of this one. The forecast was proving to be typical; unseasonably warm and humid, and there were so few water stops that I'd have to factor in multiple stops to refill my water bottle, so my only goal was to try to break 4:30 (four and a half hours).  In fact, we're all running marathons in 4-6 weeks, so we used the term "training run" to explain what our goals were, but in reality I was and always will give it all I got come race day. I just knew I didn't have a lot to give!

We had yet another HUGE group for this event, including Karen and Candy coming in from PA, but only 5 of us in for the full:

Toby, Mark, LSP, and Jamie (on the ground)

The temperature was right around 60 degrees and foggy-cooler than what we trained in, so that was good. And no sun! Without any of the big race fan fare or stress (except for Jamie's watch freezing up) we were off! Finally, starting this race felt like a great relief after freaking out over it.

Right away things got interesting. We went from asphalt (my precious favorite) to rocky gravel and then grass terrain. At one point we were traipsing across a grass field around cones as if we were in a cross country event. We looped back to the starting area then (whew) back onto asphalt as we made our way towards the canal. This was a beautiful stretch of road that allowed me to finally settle in for the ride. I was still seeing glimpses of LSP and Jamie in front of me, and sometimes I could see Mark ahead of them, so all was good. (Toby was nowhere to be seen of course).

The bridge across the Potomac River was pretty, although tiny with fencing on one side only, and I'm pretty sure the spiral staircase is the most unique thing I've ever "ran" on, but it all seemed a bit precarious, so I didn't exactly run any of this with ease.

We were led onto the C&O canal, and at first it reminded me of Iowa's course with finely crushed limestone, but as we continued it narrowed and became more shaded with stretches covered in leaves, sometimes hiding roots and rocks. I could feel the muscles in my back tightening up as I nervously watched the ground in front of me with every step. I've never been much of a trail runner, and after I broke my foot by rolling it on a rock I have been paranoid of trails ever since. Before too long I found myself in a very bad place mentally. 10 miles of this agony! My head hurt! Yes it was pretty, but because we were so spread out I also found it a bit creepy. And it was so stifling and humid in there I felt like I was running in a terrarium. I had a drained water bottle and hadn't come across water for several miles as well. I had anticipating building a buffer for my 4:30 quest, but couldn't run as fast as I wanted--just had to accept that and everything else and remember my mantra of the day: Gratitude and Attitude. It really helped to center me and allow me to make it through this stretch.

Mark popped out of a porta potta at one of our rare water stops, and we ran together briefly, which helped, but you couldn't really run side by side because of the trail tracks. At one point they were so narrow I tried running on the grass mound between them (fail), until FINALLY we were led off the trail back onto asphalt!  (People did trip and fall, including my friend Richard).

Yes, we were led straight up one of the steepest hills of the course, but it felt so refreshing to be out in the open air with cool breezes for a change. I saw Mark refilling at a water stop as I started up, and I put my music on and said time to get to work. The hardest part of the course was before us.

I can't adequately describe the profound "epic-ness" of what we ran through. Every hill summit afforded a more majestic view, cannons in the distance, monuments lining the roads, the wooden fences, the historical markers. It almost felt wrong to be running through such a somber place.

 I tried to run as much of the hills as I could, but some were just so ridiculously steep I had to walk. Still, I was within my sub 4:30 goal and was feeling surprisingly ok for most of the battlefield portion. Somewhere around miles 21 or 22, after leaving the battlefield I started struggling with the urge to walk. My legs were feeling it, that all too familiar wobbly feeling. Every walk break chipped away at my way too tiny time buffer. I would desperately get myself moving again because of it. Luckily there was an older guy in the same boat, and as silent partners we carried on down the road together. He walked faster and I ran faster. so back and forth it went. That helped.  The back of his shirt said 50 sub 4. This wasn't his first rodeo. On the last mile he smelled the barn and off he went. I looked at my watch and saw that it was getting close to noon, 4:30!! I was close, but not quite close enough. I entered the campus as the church bells were ringing over head. I was circling through the buildings as they clanged!  I swear I felt like Cinderella! So close!

Before I rounded into the stadium I took one last walk break and as I turned the corner to my surprise all my peeps were there screaming and cheering for me! They shamed me into running again. Haley decided to run along beside me, telling me to move my arms like this (because for 26 miles I've been doing it wrong), and I couldn't help but laugh. It was a great finish for sure!

Right away people were asking me about Mark, so I reassured them that he was ok. To be honest I never saw him again after mile 15 but the thing is this: when I had my Iowa meltdown and realized I was going to be coming in a lot later than normal the thought that Toby and Jamie were worrying about me really ate at me. Odds are Mark was not dying somewhere on the course and was simply having a bad day. Please don't worry about us! And sure enough he came in not too long after I did.
I had to lie down for what seemed like an eternity until my head stopped spinning, but it passed and I was able to rejoin the masses and share war stories with everyone.

My official time was 4:34. I'll take it.
Toby ran a 3:27, 2nd in his age group.
Jamie and LSP actually ran together until around mile 23, finishing in 4:19 and 4:23, respectively.
LSP got 3rd and I got 5th in our age group.
Mark's time was 4:40.
All the half marathoners had their own crazy stories to tell. Even Haley's 10K was a beast.

The Bavarian Inn had a great post race party across the street from the campus. I have to say that was one of my favorite post race parties, especially since the weather was at least pleasant enough for hanging around outside. Our entire gang was reunited at last!

Would I recommend this marathon? Hmmm...It's tough! There's lots of trickery; the slick grass, bridges, a spiral staircase, a narrow rocky little ledge, 10 miles of trail, hills with grades of 4-5 %, and only 7 water stops, but the Antietam Battlefield is worth seeing. Also, there's a lot to see and do in the area. We had a blast!

50 State Quest: Ideas for Remaining States

Not that I'm quite ready to be taken seriously yet, if ever, about finishing a marathon in every state (or about anything), but the current count of remaining states is at 18. That number actually sounds possible. Forget that I'm 57 and that I'm only knocking them down about 3-4 a year if I'm lucky. It is possible!!!

So what states are left, and what races are penciled in because hey, you know I got this whole thing mapped out, no matter what I tell you to the contrary...

1. West Virginia: I'm registered for the Freedom's Run this October. It's kind of a cheat, because although it starts in West Virginia, most of the course is in Maryland, runs through 4 National Parks including the Antietam Battlefields, and offers a very scenic and unique experience. It even includes a spiral staircase, which is a first! I'm very excited about this one! And yes, it does count as West Virginia officially!

2. Georgia: I'd only consider a Georgia marathon in Savannah, since I've always wanted to travel there. Rock and Roll has a mega race there, but I am planning on running a much smaller marathon on Skidaway Island, which is about 25 miles outside of town, run entirely in a gated community on the island, but promises to be scenic and serene, with only about 300 marathoners. This sounds more appealing to me. I can save downtown Savannah sightseeing for post race.

3. Montana: At breakfast one morning George pulled up my 50 state quest map, pointed to the big blank space in the center of the United States and asked if there was a marathon in this space that could coincide with a camping trip. Well yes, in fact, Missoula Montana, right outside of Glacier National Park. I swear he got all misty eyed. I think the camping will be more of a challenge than the marathon, but hey, one needs to take opportunities to grow as they present themselves.

4. New Hampshire: There's only one clear choice for me here and that's the Clarence DeMar marathon, a point to point race ending in Keene, New Hampshire. It's a beautiful course and I've wanted to run it for a long time.

5. Indiana: When I visited Indianapolis last year I was quite impressed with the urban vibe of the town, so I'm very excited about running the Indianapolis Monumental marathon. There are few urban marathons that appeal to me, so I'll take it.

6. Vermont: The Vermont marathon in Burlington is the obvious choice. There are other scenic marathon choices, but the state of Vermont is quite hilly! This race is held on Memorial week-end and is a lot of fun. 

7. Michigan: They are SO MANY choices in Michigan! My first choice is a marathon in Charlevoix, in the upper peninsula. There are two marathons in Chalevoix; one is an out and back, and the other one starts in Charlevoix, but runs along Lake Michigan and finishes in Harbor Springs. I prefer to run the latter, which is called the Top of Michigan marathon. This race is very close to Mackinaw Island, which I would love to visit post-race, which means this will be a pretty big trip for us.

8. Kansas: I've always wanted to do a fairly small low key marathon called the Prairie Fire marathon in Wichita. I once asked Dane Rauschenburg, author of "See Dane Run" which marathon was his favorite and oddly enough he said this one. I have a certain Kansas friend who may stray me to run another one instead, but for now I have this race penciled in.

9. Mississippi: After Jackson's Mississippi Blues marathon got cancelled due to an ice storm I vowed to return, but have been considering other options, such as the Magnolia marathon in Meridian or the Mississippi Gulf Coast marathon. All of them are decent marathons and a short trip away.

10. Idaho: After the Priest Lake fail (I had a broken foot and Jamie dropped out due to making a wrong turn and running 7 extra miles) we vowed to return, but now I'm not so sure. It's a trail race, which makes me wince when I think about how my foot snapped like a twig off that rock on the dirt path at the lake. I think I'll stick to friendly asphalt. Believe it or not Idaho doesn't have many good choices! Even Boise's marathon gets bad reviews. There's a marathon in Mesa Falls, which is pretty close to Yellowstone, which would make for yet another fun, but big trip. 

11. Maine: There are a lot of beautiful marathons in Maine, most of which are again really hard to get to and would end up being yet another big trip, which is great, but we can really only do one big trip a year, so I'm thinking I may run the Portland Maine marathon. It's easy to get to, it's pretty, and close to Kennebunkport as well. Of course my top choice is the Mount Desert Island marathon much further north in Bar Harbor, and another top choice is the Bay of Fundy marathon, which is even further north! Time will tell which one, if any, I'll end up running.

12. Kentucky: Most people choose the Kentucky Derby marathon, since it's pretty interesting, as the runners get to run past the horse track, but another Kentucky marathon that appeals to me more is the Horse Capital marathon in Lexington, which goes by 40 horse farms along Kentucky country side.

13. Wyoming: This is a hard one. Wyoming means elevation, which I don't handle well. There is a very small race called Sundance to Spearfish, which is a downhill course, most of which is in South Dakota. They only allow 50 people a year to run it, so getting in may prove difficult. If I can't get in I'll have to come up with a back up plan.

14. South Dakota: I'm still kicking myself for dropping out of the Mt. Rushmore marathon several years ago (not really but hey here I am talking about South Dakota). I'm thinking about the Brookings marathon. Previously I wanted to run the Ladies Spearfish marathon, but if I do the Sundance marathon (for Wyoming) I will be covering a lot of that terrain already. Brookings is on South Dakota's eastern border, offering a completely different area of the United States to explore. The race gets good reviews, and has been around since 1970!

Then there are three states that don't have any marathons that appeal to me in any way. That's why they will be saved for last (before Hawaii, the grand finale):

15. Alaska: ALASKA! I'm scared of all things bear. And other wildlife. And wilderness. The obvious choice is Anchorage, but just this past year some marathoners had an encounter with a bear cub on the course! It's a heck of a long way to travel for someone who is not all that excited about being there, so this will be one of the last marathons I do for sure.

16. New Mexico: Altitude, desert, heat, sand...still looking for a race that appeals to me on some level and not finding it. There was some hope with a race in Carlsbad, the lowest point in New Mexico, but it was cancelled for 2018, so not sure of its survival. 

17. Nebraska: HAVE YOU SEEN THE MOVIE? I have zero point zero desire to travel to Nebraska, because everybody who's from there says that movie was spot on. There is a possibility with the Monument marathon in Platte Valley. Although the terrain looks pretty brutal their slogan is "Nebraska like you've never seen it".

If I manage to make it this far...not that I'm saving the best for last. Running a marathon in Hawaii's tropical weather will be pure torture, but what better place to celebrate? If Jamie and I can finish this out together then it will be extra special...

18: Hawaii: The chosen 50th state marathon will be the Big Island marathon. Earliest estimate is 2025! Well let's just see...

Marathon #49: Run4Troops Dubuque Iowa, June 2018

"Ray, people will come Ray. They'll come to Iowa for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up in your driveway not knowing for sure why they're doing it"... "Field of Dreams"

Somehow I found this little gem of a marathon and decided this would be my top Iowa marathon choice, as I had never been to Iowa and got the impression that this one would truly showcase Iowa's character and beauty, as opposed to the more urban choices. To be honest I had no idea where in Iowa it was until later on, when I tried finding a nearby airport. (ha). Dubuque sits on the eastern borders of Wisconsin and Illinois, and separated by the Mississippi River. It's an absolutely gorgeous area, with lots of lush greenery alongside picturesque farmlands of soy and that famous corn. It's also extremely hilly! But no worries there, as the marathon itself doesn't actually run in Dubuque.

The marathon starts about 25 miles away in a town called Deyersville, as in the town where the movie "Field of Dreams" was made. There's a Rails-To-Trails limestone path called the Heritage Trail connecting the two towns. About 10 years ago some crazy runner decided running along this trail would make for a great marathon and they've been running it every year since. Technically, the trail head is on the Dubuque side, but Deyersville to Dubuque makes for a more favorable net downhill course.

First time I've had a course map on a trail marker!

The only recruits I could find for this one was Toby and the sister wife Jamie. Summer marathons are a hard sell, and this one is almost guaranteed to be hot. Sandwiched between two 90+ degree week-ends we "lucked out" with normal temperatures this year. Still, I was concerned because I haven't been handling the heat well, and at best I was looking at a long day anyhow, thanks to my lackluster training cycle. Still, the three of us travel well together and always have a blast so it was hard to get too worked up about that. Plus, when we got there it was overcast with light rain off and on; really pleasant compared to Dallas!

The "expo" wasn't much, as expected, since there were only about 250 marathoners and about 150 relay teams for this race. We drove out to check out the finish area at the trail head and it was gorgeous. A lot prettier than expected for sure!

The last mile of the race

We boarded the bus to Deyersville at 5:15 AM, but the sun was already rising. By 7:15, race start, the sun would be well into the sky. No rain and no clouds. Sigh...I finally ran into my x co-worker Richard in the porta potty line! It was great seeing him!

Big tank at the start

Richard in the line green shirt--Toby took this literally as I was heading in for my final meditation

Before we knew it, BOOM, a cannon blasted and we were off! To add in the 26th mile we ran out and back, circling a man playing the bagpipes and then got onto the Heritage trail and made our way east. There would be no twists or turns, so for the first time in marathon history our Garmins actually read 26.2 miles exactly! Anyhow, the three of us split immediately, as expected, and I told Jamie that I better not even see her ass at all out there! Toby and Jamie had really strong training  runs for this, so at least I wasn't worried about them.

 I ignored the race director's dismissive comments about the lack of water stops and carried my bottle, and I am SO GLAD I did! There would only be 5 official water stops, which were placed at the relay exchange zones. At street crossings there would be water as well, so no worries. Except that they varied in the craziest ways imaginable. Some would just be people handing out tiny water bottles, sometimes with the lids off sometimes not (an issue for me and my hands), sometimes paper cups, sometimes plastic cups (Noooooo!!!), and one time just a cooler sitting on the trail by itself! All of the people were so kind, but every bottle fill was a quirky challenge that was a bit unnerving.

Other things that I had concerns about prior to the race were unfounded. Running on the trail was awesome! Not rocky or muddy or too loose. It felt pretty forgiving on the body. The relay runners were nice and the lively exchange zones were fun to go through. Oh and the scenery of this trail was absolutely stunning. The trees made a canopy over the trail for much of the race, which felt about 10 degrees cooler than when out in the sun. We'd pass over streams on wooden bridges, sometimes along giant cold wet limestone walls, and sometimes out along open farms and fields or at one point a river.

I felt like I was struggling some on the first few miles until I remembered it was an incline until mile 5, and from there it would descend gradually for the rest of the way. Sure enough around mile 6 running felt a lot easier and I settled into what I thought was a manageable pace for the weather. At that point it was still in the 60's and I wasn't sweating that much, but about halfway through I started to feel the heat and slowed down some. I thought I was being smart, drinking a lot and taking my electrolytes, but before too long I was in trouble with the heat and started having to give in to walking way earlier than I thought I would. And so it went...Walk/run/walk/run/walk/walk/walk...

I can't say I was in hell exactly. It was too damn pretty. And in a sick way I was still "enjoying" being there. Nothing fascinates me more than watching myself and those around me go through the struggle. It's a mostly silent struggle in unity. A bizarre bonding or understanding. Some relay runners told the Gator guys that a guy behind me in red shorts was throwing up so they circled back to check on him. Moments later red shorts guy passed me. Badass marathoner too tough to kill.

So I finally finished with my absolute worst time ever of 4:42, which stings, I'll admit it, but I also feel like I've been handed another puzzle piece to figure out, hence I am undeterred from this crazy marathon madness! If I ever think I got it all completely figured out then perhaps I'll become bored with it and move on to a more sane hobby...like watching baseball...

My rock star companions ran  really impressive races!

Toby ran a 3:18, first in his age group and 11th overall.
Jamie ran a 3:54, third in her age group and 9th woman overall!
I didn't die and I came in 7th in my age group, so there's that.

I'd recommend this marathon with the caveat that the weather could be an issue, but if you don't have heat issues then go for it, because it can be a fast course!

Here's a link to some pictures of the day on the course:
https://run4troops.smugmug.com/2018-Run4Troops/2018-Run4Troops/

Oh and we had a blast visiting East Iowa!

LOVE these two!!

50 States quest update

My current count for states completed stands at 31. Not that I have fully committed just yet. I haven't joined the 50 States club, but I do follow them on Facebook. There are still 5 states that don't have any marathons that appeal to me, so I guess I'll just save them for last. At my rate I may never have to worry about those...FYI Hawaii will be the very last one if I can pull this off, and let's hope Jamie can line up her 50 state finish with mine! Time will tell.
PS: I accidentally colored in SDakota instead of NDakota.