#25--Indianapolis Monumental Marathon

Indianapolis, IN

November 6, 2010

4:39:19

With the Huskers getting ready to travel to Indianapolis to compete for the Big 10 Championship, this is a good time to post on my Indiana marathon, the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon.

This was supposed to be another family trip marathon, but my son came down with an ear infection right before the trip, so my wife stayed home with him.  I traveled to Indianapolis alone.  It's not easy to get there.  This is one of the reasons why so few Husker fans seem to be traveling for the game this weekend.  It's a little too far to drive, but without any direct flights you spend almost as much time in flight.

I liked everything about this race.  Packet pick up was a breeze.  There was an excellent pre-race pasta dinner.  Race day was cool, calm, and clear.  Indy is famous for it's architecture and monuments (hence the name, Monumental Marathon), and the course highlights many of these.  My favorite thing about the race was the Hoosier trivia along the course, with small hand written signs sharing Indiana history and facts.  This was a very nice touch.

I ran a steady race, finishing in a familiar time of ~4 hrs and 40 minutes.  Afterwards, I met my sister and brother in law for a steak at St. Elmo's, truly one of the great independent steak houses in the country.  I don't get to see them enough and we had a very nice visit.

The city of Indianapolis reminded me of a mini-Chicago.  I felt the same thing about the marathon.  The Chicago Marathon is the undisputed king of midwest marathons, but I think with a few more years, Indianapolis has the potential to be one of the best marathons in the midwest.

Holiday Season Fun Runs

The Holiday Season is upon us.  So then, is the season of burgeoning waist lines.  One way to minimize the impact of the holiday season on your BMI is to stay active.  The YMCA Turkey Trot last week was a great way to kick off an active, holiday season.

There are a few more races coming up to help you celebrate the season, while staying fit and active.

The Lincoln Track Club annual Holiday run is coming up this weekend and the second annual Country Club Neighborhood Association Holiday Fun Run 5K is later in the month.

http://www.lincolnrun.org/races/holiday

http://www.ccnalinc.org/

#24--New Hampshire Marathon

Bristol, NH

October 2, 2010

4:47:55

This race was run on my 6 year wedding anniversary.  My wife is gracious and understanding enough to accept that trips where I spend 5 hours running are a great way to celebrate our anniversary!

I had never been to New England during the fall, so this did seem like it would be a fun trip.  It certainly was.  We stayed in Bristol, which is a small town 100 miles or so from Manchester.  We found a Bed and Breakfast place that didn't mind us bringing our 9 month old son.  Of course, they stuck us in the coach house out back!

The race was run around Newfound Lake in Bristol.  It is small race with only a few hundred competitors.  It was cool and overcast with intermittent showers.  The course was a beautiful tree lined journey with endless rolling hills.  I was having some foot problems (self diagnosed as 2nd MTP synovitis--a very common foot ailment) that slowed me down, but the race overall was very enjoyable.  

My time was nothing special, but the trip certainly was.  

http://www.nhmarathon.com/

This Performance Enhancing Drug is Legal and Good for You

Lance Armstrong was just the latest in a long line of elite athletes embroiled in controversy over performance enhancing drugs.

This article takes a look at the effects of a safe, cheap, and legal performance enhancing drug.  The drug, of course, is caffeine.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/11/19/165157480/caffeine-gives-endurance-athletes-a-third-and-fourth-wind

Scenes from an Ultramarathon

Great story this morning about two brothers, one who is an ultra-marathoner, and one who struggles to understand why?

http://onlyagame.wbur.org/2012/11/17/why-run-an-ultramarathon

#23-Famous Idaho Potato Marathon

Boise, ID

May 15, 2010

4:23:43

This was the first marathon trip that the whole family went on.  It would also be the first of many marathons to follow with very little sleep the night before.  Our son was not exactly what you call a good sleeper.

I had always wanted to visit Boise and this seemed like a good time.  A friend from residency was practicing in Boise and he and his family put us up for the weekend.  With all the screaming from Linus, the flight to Boise and the car trip to my friend's house was frankly harder on everybody than the marathon would be.  Once we got settled in it was a very nice and relaxing weekend.

The marathon was a point-to-point route mostly following the Boise River Greenbelt, with the start outside of the city limits and then running into town.  The course was scenic, but I was a little disappointed that the course didn't include more of the city.  Although this was not a trail marathon, per se, it was almost as secluded as one.  Aid stations and support were adequate.  It was very warm by the finish, but most of the course was run in the shade.

I ran a very easy pace and came in under 4 1/2 hours.  There were therapists at the finish that helped runners stretch out.  This helped a lot.  The thing that helped the most, probably, was seeing this face at the finish line.

World Record Set

I am very good luck to have at your race.  I have been on the course for at least 3 world records.  I was at the 1997 Chicago Marathon and the 2008 Berlin Marathon when overall world records were set.  On Sunday in West Virginia I was again part of history.

90 year old Mike Fremont of Cincinnati, Ohio set an age group record, clocking a 6:35:47 in the Marshall Marathon.  Way to go, Mike!