Number 28
Mad River Valley - Vermont

Number 27 - Mayor’s Midnight Sun Marathon, Anchorage, AK
A couple of months ago one of my running friends said he signed up for the Anchorage marathon and was looking for someone to go along. Although it was not in my immediate plans, I said sure. Well, we left Phoenix Thursday at dusk, and arrived 5 hours later at dusk. We got the hotel around 1:00 am, still dusk. The next morning we went to check out the glacier at Portage, around an hour south of Anchorage. When getting to Portage we hiked up a trail that led to Byron Glacier. Instead of a colorless sheet of ice, it had a blue tint to it as a result of the ground up rock being imbedded into the ice; quite different than anything I have seen. We then took a tour boat to the foot of the Portage Glacier. This lake was formed from the runoff of the glacier which had a greenish/blue tint to it, again from the ground up rock. They said the boat was particularly designed to operate on this lake full of icebergs from the calving (chucks of the glacier falling into the water). Waterfalls all around pouring into the lake; it was a quite a sight. The visit south was capped off by seeing a moose and her calf next to the highway as we drove back to Anchorage.
Race day was overcast occasionally drizzling with temperatures in the 50’s; ideal conditions for running a marathon. There were about a thousand marathoners and an usually larger than normal crowd of “fifty state'ers”. While waiting for the start we saw three people with signs on the shirts that this was their fiftieth today. We talked to a few others; a middle aged woman was running her 400th today. She has been doing this about twice a month for the last twenty years, has run marathon on all continents and done the fifty state challenge three times. My 27th marathon seemed like nothing in comparison. We met several others who had run over forty and one guy who had run 250.
The course was reasonably flat in the beginning and then took off into the woods on a gravel road at about the eight mile mark. About five miles on this sometimes slippery and loose surface, would take a toll later. After the gravel road, the course took to the trails for a couple of miles before getting back on solid pavement. It was a beautiful route through the forest, not doing much of that these days living in Phoenix. The course then got back into the city of Anchorage, but instead of streets the course was on paved paths through city parks with many brooks and trees; really serene and refreshing settings eventually emptying out near a lake which led to the finish. Although I always try to hit a challenging target time, I knew this would not be a fast time due to the course, the extensive travel I have done lately and the subsequent lack of training. Those five miles on the gravel took there toll and by twenty-three I was done. I walked/ran the last three and finished in 4:15. In spite of the five miles of gravel road it was a beautiful course and a real pleasure.
My friend Lowell and I went to Humpy’s Alehouse afterwards and enjoyed the locals celebrating the solstice. Part of Humpy’s fame is hosting the “Man vs. Food” challenge. They have a menu item called the “Kodiak Arrest” and anyone who can eat it all gets the ultimate bragging rights (7 crab cakes, 1 foot of reindeer sausage, 3 lbs of Alaska king crab with sides and a wild berry crisp with ice cream). I passed on this one. We ran into many runners and swapped stories, four others joined us at our table. One person was flying to Kona to due her fiftieth next weekend. So don’t call me crazy; I know crazy.

Number 26 - Boston Marathon, Boston, Mass.
If you are going to repeat a marathon, this is the one. No where is there more excitement leading up to or during a race than here. The enthusiasm of the crowd is beyond compare. The streets are lined from beginning to end with spectators. If I lived closer and qualified, it would be hard to not sign up each year. This year, unlike in 2004 when it was 86 degrees, the conditions were near perfect, with temperatures in the low 50’s, partly cloudy and a cross wind of 15 mph.
My two sisters came over from New York to support me for this race. We had a good time, although short visit. I tried to arrange a nice pasta dinner at a nearby new restaurant, only to find it closed when the cab dropped us off. Of course, then is when it started to rain. We took shelter a few blocks away in a coffee bar where we settled on a late lunch. Later in the day we strolled through the marathon expo sharing some of the craziness around us runners with my sisters before finding a small book store/restaurant on Newberry Street to eat dinner. On race day they met me on the first long hill on the course, mile 16, and again near the finish. It is amazing with all the people and logistics getting from one place to another that we were able to meet up.
I received a great deal of encouragement during the race, wearing my orange colors for MS and my request for prayers for my daughter on the back of my shirt. At least a dozen people offered prayers for her during the race, including one in particular that really touched my heart. A fellow runner came up to me and we spoke for a few minutes and he said his brother, a priest, had died recently. We were coming up to a church in the town of Natick and he said as he passed the church he would talk to his brother about my daughter because he knew he had good connections with the Lord. It was moving. I am sure many others prayed that did not say anything and for all these prayers I am thankful. As I have said before, I am always looking for that righteous man/woman who can turn the tide for my daughter in her battle with MS.
My qualifying time placed me in the second wave of runners starting at 10:30 compared to the previous noon start for everyone, which took 20 plus minutes to just reach the starting line. This time the delay was only three and a half minutes. I started off down the hills in Hopkington clicking off the miles at a little faster pace than planned and eventually accumulated about a one to two minute cushion before reaching the hills in Newton. I thought I was doing ok, but for some reason thought I had climbed the last hill only to realize that the last and most severe hill was ahead of me. This is where I started loosing my cushion. I started checking my watch and calculating how to hit my 3:59 time goal. Just maintain a 9:30 pace and I’ll make, I kept telling myself. That was not easy and while the miles for the first half of the course passed by quickly the last 5 took forever. With a mile to go and the crowd’s encouragement I was able to pick up the pace and finished in 3:59:27, ten minutes faster than my 2004 time.
I was pretty stiff and sore, but after a shower and short nap took off to check out the restaurant we missed the day before. I convinced myself the mile or so walk was good and was pleasantly surprised to get a seat right away and enjoyed a great meal before setting off to find the home made ice cream shop we saw the day before. This time I indulged with no limits and thought about my next stop, Anchorage, Alaska in June.

Number 25 - Disney Marathon, Orlando, Florida
This was another marathon like no other with the lure of Disney and roughly 50,000 runners participating in all the events over the weekend, in spite of record low temperatures for Florida. My daughter and I had been planning this for 9 months, well before she was diagnosed with MS. In spite of the hurdles, she trained through them and reached the starting line healthy, but quite a bit under the goal of 20 mile training runs. The goal was to finish before the “sweepers” caught us. You see, this race had a time limit and anyone not keeping up would be pulled off the course. This was not something Jaime would accept.
The weekend started off with my granddaughter, Anna, running her first race; a 200 yard dash as part of the Kids Marathon race program. It was rainy and cold, but she was undeterred. She ran strong until I told her to look for the sign we made for her as she approached the finish line, then she nearly stopped running trying to find the sign. Of course, the race was not timed, but there was a medal which she proudly wore all day.














Marathon day started at 3:00 am ET, so we could leave by 4:00 and get to the start by 5:30. There was a ton of traffic and we ended up getting there just in time to bring up the rear of the field. We had our extra jackets, plastic bags for cover and gloves which we wore for almost half the race. We built up a cushion for our time goal in the early miles, but by the time we hit 15 miles it was trouble city. Jaime hit the proverbial wall. However, she worked through it and we kept going. At 21 miles the “sweepers” were only 10-15 minutes behind us and we were well behind the required pace per mile. With the fear of not finishing we kept pushing to get to one milestone after another. Hoping that if we reached a certain gate or reached the Hollywood Studios part of the course, we would be safe. With about a mile to go the end was in sight, however it was on the totally other side of the lake in Epcot. It seemed like another marathon just to get there, but Jaime persevered and we reached the finish line in 6:56:26; just three and half minutes ahead of the required finish time. Amazingly, Jaime only suffered one blister on one foot with no other significant injuries.
We all thanked God for this accomplish and continue to pray for Jaime and her battle with MS. She did great. I was so proud.

Number 24 - St. George Marathon, St. George, Utah

This marathon was dedicated to my daughter, who was recently diagnosed with MS. I wore a shirt recognizing the disease with a message on the back requesting prayers on her behalf. I am always looking for a righteous man, who's prayers are powerful. I am so appreciative of all the runners who approached me wishing Jaime well and praying for her during the race.


I was also uplifted by my running friends from Phoenix as they prayed for Jaime in a prayer circle the day we left town. Thank you, my friends.

The venue was beautiful with red rock mountains in the background and a small town who puts out the red carpet for this event each year. The course was advertised as a downhill track, but included a testy stretch of hills between miles 7 and 12 that brought me to a walk on several occasions. I felt good at the start and was able to get a few fast miles under my belt before giving back several minutes. My goal was 3:45:59 which would qualify me for Boston again. Driving the course the day before gave me serious doubts due to the hills, but with the help of great conditions (low temps, clear weather and little wind) I clocked a 3:45:22 finishing in the top 25% of my age group, and running a negative split (runner speak for running the second half faster than the first half) in spite of being hampered by leg cramps (calves and hamstrings) the last six miles. With the help of prayer, mind games and an altered stride to control the cramps, I finished ahead of plan with 37 seconds to spare. And so, off to Boston I go again.
This was the first time I was able to join several of my fellow runners from Phoenix for a marathon weekend. All eight of us stayed together in a large old home in St. George. I truly enjoyed spending time together and sharing our running experiences, cooking our pre-race pasta meal (broken glass and all), relaxing with pizza after the race, and finding Nielsen's frozen custard (anyone who knows me, knows how I love custard). An extra bonus was helping one of my friends adopt a dog. We rode back to Phoenix with an extra passenger, Zoie; a six month old German Short Hair. It was a treat to spend time with a dog again and made be itch for getting another dog; one of these days.
It has been a busy and challenging summer working in Phoenix, while many family issues and events occur miles away. I remain thankful for my family and my friends, old and new. I appreciate my new running friends and their support in training, their expert advice on how to run St. George and most of all the fellowship I have enjoyed this summer.

Number 23 - Bataan Death March Marathon, White Sands, NM
All marathons are different, but this one is truly one of a kind. It is dedicated to the 1942 WWII event on the island of Bataan where thousands of Allied troops, including many from the New Mexico National Guard, were forced to march across the island (about 80 miles) with many dying in the process.
The event takes place in White Sands, New Mexico. Where, in the nearby National Park, you can see miles and miles of white drifting sand. It is unlike anything you will see. We visited the park the day before the event and found families picnicking, playing, and climbing the dunes. It was very cool.
The location for the race course was the White Sands Missile Range base, about 20 miles east of Las Cruces, NM. Most of the participants in this memorial event were military personnel; many carrying a 30 pound backpack to emphasize the physical demands many endured in the real march. Survivors of the Bataan Death March were on hand to greet the participants, with the names of those who passed since the last event announced prior to taps being played at the start. The course is on gravel roads including a six mile ascent up one of the mountains of the beautiful Organ Mountain range that hovers over this area. After the decent from the mountain everyone experiences the pit, where the road becomes nothing more than soft gravel and seemingly goes on for miles. This was the most grueling race course I have experienced during my marathon quest. The primary objective quickly became just to finish the event because quitting seemed unconscionable. My finish time was the slowest since I started running, 5:08, but I finished.

Number 22 – Phoenix Rock n’ Roll, Phoenix, AZ
Wow a marathon in my hometown. This has not happened since my very first marathon in my then hometown of St. Louis. However, the real treat was running it with my son. I have challenged all my children to run a marathon with Dad. My oldest son, who came out for the race to support us, ran a marathon about four years ago; unfortunately, Dad had a stress fracture and could not run. The last leg of the heritage challenge is with my daughter, who is working toward her marathon in two years. Sharing something I love with my family make these marathons special. I am able to share training stories and remedies for ailments. You know dad’s love to give advice, and on this topic at this point in their lives they listen.
We had a great day; cool in the morning reaching about 70 by the finish. The course is flat and other than a surprising headwind when we turned toward the East, it was what we thought it would be. The course starts in downtown Phoenix, heads North for five miles, then East toward Scottsdale, before heading South to Tempe. The route included passing a sister church of ours, and I was able to say hello to a friend who leads services at the church, who also has strong ties to my home town of South Haven; a pleasant surprise for both of us. The mountain vistas were a spectacular backdrop to the course and the fan support with bands every few miles was great. If I wasn’t spreading my races over the fifty states, this is a definite repeat.
We had a pace plan laid out for a five hour finish, and finished just a couple of minutes over our target. A long line at the porta-john turned out to be the difference. Congratulations to my son who trained hard, ran a great race and survived with no apparent lasting injuries. My wife, my older son, his girlfriend, and my cousin and his wife met us on the course in Scottsdale. I have been quite fortunate to have a great support team with my wife, children and other family support. Thank you all.

Number 21 – Maine Marathon, Portland, Maine
Working in Hartford these days made it an easy trip to Portland. My sister lives nearby in New York and joined me for the event. We had a great trip over to the Old Port section of Portland. It is an ideal place to stay, enjoy the seaport experience, shops and relatively close to the race start and finish.
It was a beautiful fall day with a clear sky and race time temperature about 40 degrees. The race is run on an out and back course, up to Falmouth and return. The first/last five miles are relatively flat with a few good hills around 10 and 17. They closed one of the primary roads in the area which provided a wide open track for everyone. About half the entrants ran the half marathon so the course was quite open for those going the distance. Not too many unusually dressed runners except for three who were wearing mullet wigs with signs on the their shirts that said the main, Maine, mane event.
I always wait to sign up for a marathon until the last opportunity in case I get injured. Well, shortly after signing up for Maine I took a hard fall from stepping on a black walnut. Sounds odd, but the walnuts with cover can be almost the size of a tennis ball. I suffered a grade II sprain. The fall was likely partly due to new shoes that have a slightly higher heel. This situation was causing some hip pain before the fall, afterward things got much worse. Refusing to succumb to an injury I resumed my normal plans. The following day I was on my feet all day, flew to my work location Sunday night and worked the full week before returning home. Things deteriorated during the week with increased swell and internal bleeding within my entire foot. When I got home, I spent the weekend with my leg up and iced all weekend. The following week things starting getting better, and I was able to resume running. Compensating for my ankle, I began having hamstring and additional hip pain, which did not go away. Warming up on race day was uncomfortable, but doable with the help of Aleeve. My sister and I scoped out the course the day before, locating a good position for her to provide support and worst case provide a sag wagon for me. Fortunately, I was able to manage the pain with the help of drugs and friends back home praying for me.
The course was enjoyable, running along the shoreline from downtown Portland to Yarmouth. Even though I tried to run most of the tangents, my new Garmin GPS watch recorded 26.35 miles instead of 26.2. Oh well, it did give me an accurate reading of my pace which stayed in the 9-10 minute mile range. I ran with a couple of “50 staters”, one of whom was running his fiftieth this day. I celebrated by 21st with a lobster dinner and started dreaming about the next event – Phoenix in January with my younger son.

Number 20 - National Guard Marathon, Lincoln, Nebraska
For our return trip to Michigan this year, we took a Northern route through Colorado, Nebraska and Iowa before hitting the familiar roads of Illinois and Indiana. It was a pleasure to see Pike's Peak in the background when we started our second day of driving. The destination for day two was Lincoln, NE where I signed up to run in the National Guard Marathon. A major snow storm had just passed through western Nebraska two days before we came through. We got to see just traces of snow as the temperatures were up in the fifties.
Lincoln is the home of the University of Nebraska, so everything is about the Cornhuskers. We stayed downtown, which I recommend, as it is within a mile of the race start and finish. There were about 7,000 signed up for the combination of half and full marathon, which appeared to be 80% half marathoners. There were quite a few guardsman running the race; this is a major event for them. If you are in the Guard, this is the one to do. The local guardsman supported the race, much like the Marines in Washington, D.C.
The course traversed through several very nice neighborhoods (probably where the faculty live), back through downtown for the half finish and back out again to a park and return. Jan met me with treats at the half way mark and again at mile 18. The course was reasonably flat although from mile 14 to 18 it was slightly uphill, and this day with a wind in our face. The hill and wind did me in. I did not train as hard this past Winter, and I put my core building exercises on the shelf since the last marathon; and that really hurt. I ran the first half on my goal pace of 9:00 minute miles, but the last half turned into 11:00 minute miles, finishing in 4:24:01. I was 25 out of 47 in my age group and overall 754th of 1,170 marathon finishers. This was a far cry from my last race. I hope I am not getting old.
Not sure where the next stop will be, maybe Hartford, CT. I am currently working in Hartford and will run the marathon here in October if things continue as they are, and God is willing.

Number 19 - Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C.
My neighbor, Chuck and I have been planning this race for about a year, and it lived up to our expectations. It had great fan support, awesome sights to see and we each hit our goal, plus Chuck qualified for Boston!!
Jan and I arrived Friday night and stayed with my daughter-in-law’s parents. We had a nice visit and a great breakfast before leaving to survey the course, checkout the expo and check into our downtown hotel. It took a little while to get acquainted with the city and the trains. Jan had a new challenge, navigating our rendezvous points via the train, not an easy task to meet me four times on the course. Saturday night we had a pasta dinner with our neighbor and his son and family at their home in Alexandria, along with their daughter and all their grandchildren.
Sunday morning my alarm went off an hour later than planned. It seems the alarm time was correct but the time of day was an hour earlier. It was a fast dash around the hotel Sunday morning and fortunately we no incidents finding or catching the train. I was suppose to meet my neighbor at the start line but never found him; of course, there were only 26,000 other runners there.
The course was hilly for the first 8 miles then relatively flat until the last 1.2 miles. The last .2 was up a severe hill in front of the Iwo Jima Memorial. The hill was a challenge but inspirational. There were many marines working the course from the start to the end. They were great and we runners were very appreciative for this and obviously the more important commitment they make on our behalf.
I took my time during the first 8 miles, as I don’t do hills very well. It paid off later as I was able to sustain a pretty good pace in the second half. Overall, the second half was just 36 seconds slower than the first half. I am sure the practice marathon I did about a month ago also helped.
I finished in 3:57:04 which was 83rd of 638 in my age group. This was better than usual for me, as I usually finish in the top third and this was in the top 15%. My left hamstring and right quad reminded me for days after what I demanded of myself in the race. Other than that, I am in pretty good shape.
It has been a good year, completing four marathons. I am off for a while, next year my main target will be Alaska, plus a couple others, tbd.

Number 18 - New Hampshire Marathon in Bristol, New Hampshire
It was a beautiful ride through Vermont and New Hampshire to get to Bristol. This is a small town with a very big lake on its border. The course started North on the East side of the lake and turned around on the Northwest edge in a town called Hebron, where we retraced about five miles of the race course then headed South on the West side of the lake. It was a great sunny Fall day with temperatures in the fifties and sixties, with winds from the Northwest at about 10-15 mph.
Running this race was a last minute decision as some personal and work situations happen to afford the opportunity for a vacation in the Northeast at this time. I have been training for the Marine Corps marathon at the end of October and decided that I could run this race and still recovery for the next one in four weeks. The last minute decision provided some challenges in registering and finding a hotel. We raced through the mountains to get there in time to be the next to last entrant that evening. We then searched for hotels and found none nearby. My cell phone was out of range and we reverted to a pay phone in a convenience store to find a hotel. Quarter after quarter until we had none left, when we found a hotel about 15 miles from the race site.
I intended to run the race at a relatively easy pace so as to not hurt my chances for a good race in Washington. It was an extremely hilly course, which is particularly hard going down hills with these old knees. Jan met me three times on the course and provided Gatorade, Powerbars and Tylenol. As usual I got a great deal of satisfaction during the second half of the race when I was able to maintain my pace and pass many younger runners. It does not get much better than beating youth when you are an old man. My heart did go out to a young woman who was lying on the street during the 26th mile. I stopped to help her deal with her leg cramps and encouraged her to keep going. She had a friend with her who was also helping. They seemed to get it back under control and I proceeded on. She collapsed again with about a tenth of a mile to go. EMT and lots of other volunteers were there to help. She finally was able to finish.
The finish area had a Art Fair where spectators could shop while waiting for the runners. This was great for Jan as she did find an unusual piece for us. They also had massages at the finish and Jan signed me up as soon as I finished.
I really enjoyed the small town culture and race, as well as the scenery driving to and from Bristol. The entire week was a pleasure with visiting my sisters, my father-in-law and enjoying my favorite pass time. I finished 11th of 30 in the 50-59 year old age group and 63rd of 169 overall with a time of 4:18:04.

Number 17 - Kentucky Derby Marathon in Louisville, KY
One third of the way to completing the tour of 5o states + D.C. The weather was good, mid-50's to mid-60's partly cloudy to sunny. This was my second trip to Louisville for this event; the last time (99) I ran the half marathon with my friends from St. Louis, Steve and Vicki.
Jan and I stopped by my cousin Harry's house to visit he and his wife Helga, their daughter Heidi, husband Lenny and grandchildren Maggie and Alyssa. Helga prepared a great pasta dinner for us with home made cheesecake and snickerdoodles. Harry, Helga and Heidi also came down to the race where I met them at about the 12 mile mark.
This course had a few more hills than my usual selection for a marathon, but I seemed to handle them well. I finished 10th of 44 runners in my age group with a time of 3:59:07. I guess that 26.2 mile long run four weeks earlier helped my endurance. One of my favorite parts of the course was running into Churchill Downs. The route runs under the track and around the infield. We were treated while running in the infield with recordings of prior Kentucky Derby races.
While it was not like the mega-events of Chicago, Boston or New York, it was one of my favorites of the mid-size cities. Jan was a great support again; she met me at all the check points and encouraged those around her to root for me when I came by. The race had a few other highlights including a running Elvis club that played Elvis songs while running and a jokester who was leading a 4:00 pace group. Here is one of his jokes: A guy and his wife were playing golf. He hits his ball behind a tool shed. He says to his wife, if I open the shed door I can hit the ball through the door and through the window up onto the green. He hits the ball, it ricochets off the workbench in the tool shed and hits his wife in the head and she dies. Two years later the same guy is playing golf with a friend. His friend hits the ball behind the tool shed and says if I open the shed door I can hit the ball through the door and through the window up onto the green. The other guy says, that is a bad idea. I did that two years ago and took an 8. Being a golfer that was pretty funny.
After the race we visited Jan's sister Phyllis and her husband Harvey, and their son Marty and wife Nancy in nearby Winchester, KY.
It was a great weekend; Jan and I had time alone, we visited family and I had a very successful race. Next stop is the Marine Corp Marathon in Washington, D.C. in October.

Number 16 - Olathe Marathon in Olathe, KS
Preparation for number 16 was unlike any other race. I had no plan. I have been so busy traveling, working and building the outdoor grill, I did not have time to develop or work a plan. Essentially, there was no preparation. I did run with my Phoenix East Valley Runners club each Saturday, but a race diet did not exist nor did not I get in my full quota of runs.
Well, the day came and went and I am not in Kansas anymore. We left the same day as the marathon. While the day threatened with major thunderstorms, it remained overcast until late morning when the sun finally shined. It was a warm 60 degrees and quite humid with 25-35 mph winds.
We drove to this suburb of Kansas City on Friday after leaving Phoenix on Thursday. Marathon day started at 4:00 am with breakfast at Waffle House. On the way back to the hotel, I was approached by a woman in the parking lot. Her name was not Dorothy, but it was Doris. I had to push her car out of a parking spot to give her car a jump. Fortunately, no injuries.
The race started with the firing of a cannon. I guess tieing into the theme of old stagecoach days since the site is the convergence of the Oregon, Sante Fe and California Trails. It was by far not my best time, but it was acceptable considering the circumstances. I ran in 4:03:05 and finished 9 of 29 in my age group. The course was rolling hills but they all seemed uphill to me, and in the wind. Ughh!!! Of course, I was not that slow. Jan got stopped by a cop for speeding as she was trying to catch up with me on the course. Fortunately, the cop had sympathy for her and let her off the hook.
We returned to the hotel where I showered and packed to leave for St. Louis. Upon putting the Yukon in reverse, we got nothing but a high pitched whine. First gear was not much better. Stuck in a pull-in parking spot, Jan put it in 4 wheel drive and spun out around the yard of the hotel. We were going to stop in St. Louis on the way home to visit Heidi and attend church in Florissant, but we decided to keep going as long as the truck was running. Fortunately, we made it. When we stopped we made sure there was someone we knew in the towns we got gas. We stopped in Columbia in case we had to call on Charlie Martin, we stopped in St. Louis in case we had to call on Tim and Heidi or Steve and Nancy. We stopped in Bloomington, Il in case we had to call on my friends from State Farm, Larry and Dianne. We finally made it around midnight. The truck is in the shop today with an estimate of $1,800 in repairs. Do not buy one of those GM trucks, maybe a Toyota next time.
Next stop is Louisville, KY on April 28, 2007.

Number 15 - Marshall University Marathon in Huntington, WV
Well this is the first time I ran 3 marathons in a calendar year. I thought that was an accomplishment until I met a man who was running his 481 marathon that weekend. This is not a typo, really 481. He has been running for about 20 years and does about 25 marathons a year. Wow!!! Some have thought I was a compulsive runner; thanks to this person I am reasonably normal.
The course was flat (I prefer these as I am too big for pulling this body up hills or holding it back going down hills); this time around the Ohio River town of Huntington. Huntington is known for the railroad industry and their university. Some may have heard about the catastrophe in 1970 when their entire football team, including coaching staff, died in a plane crash. A local restaurant has a hall of fame for the university including photos and newpapers from the time of the crash and a walk of fame for well known alumni, Randy Moss and Chad Pennington from the NFL and Hal Greer from the NBA (you have to be as old as me to remember Hal Greer). In December a movie is being released about the tragic event, starring Mathew McConneghy. It will be enjoyable to see the movie and reflect on my time around the city and university.
The course was enjoyable, running through a park, alongside the Ohio River and around the campus, finishing on the football field. Everyone was given the opportunity to carry a football the last 100 yards. I ran the course in 3:52:34. I was trying to run faster than my last marathon of 3:50, but ran out of gas at 20 miles. I managed to maintain a pace about a minute slower than planned the last six miles, but it put me over my goal. Maybe it was too soon since the last one (9 weeks) or not enough training. I could not blame the weather; it was perfect (low 40's to start and finished about 50).
I am off for a few months. Next stop is likely to be Louisville, KY the last weekend in April.

Number 14 - Erie Marathon at Presque Isle in Erie, PA.
This peninsula that extends out into Lake Erie is extremely flat and requires two loops to cover the 26.2. It has little commercialization and the beauty of the lagoons, sand dunes, trails, wildlife makes it worth the trip. The flat course allowed me to run a negative split, which only occurred one other time for me. On this course I ran the second half about 2:00 minutes faster the first, finishing in 3:50:45. The lack of hills facilitated a good time and little pain afterward. The food after the race was good, provided by Panera Bread Company and the pasta meal the day before was cooked up and served by the families of the Erie Runners Club. A good stop on the marathon journey.