Sandy Runs

On short notice, Scot and I decided to run the Annapolis Running Classic Half Marathon on November 22nd. Friends Doug and Jody would be there, and it was another one close to home. Because we found a great hotel deal, we drove out the night before to make things easier for us in the morning. Doug was picking up everyone’s packets, so we met him for dinner. Race morning was another very cold one, similar to the weekend before in Richmond. I had forgotten to pack running tights, but thankfully, I realized this the night before and we were able to make a quick trip to Target. I was dressed in layers and ready to get going as soon as we parked the car at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. At the start, I saw Annapolis native Jen, who was spectating that day. Doug, Scot, me, Jody at the start The Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium We ran around near the stadium for a while, but because of the position of the sun, it was difficult to get a good photo. In this area, I al...

I’m behind on a couple of my race reports from November. It happens when I have other things going on. So, let me catch up by starting with November 15 th , when I ran the Richmond Half Marathon . I was originally registered to run Richmond Marathon in 2012 but deferred my entry because I needed to save myself for other marathons in new states. Then in 2013 I deferred again because of injury. This year I decided to drop that deferred entry down to the half marathon because I was going to be coming off a few weeks of crazy marathoning, and I thought that I’d rather have somewhat of a break by running the half. Thanks to Eddie, who picked up our packets, Scot and I were able to get up early and drive the almost 2 hour drive to Richmond without needing to book a hotel. We got in and parked with plenty of time to spare. It was COLD, in the 20s and 30s, but we dressed for it. Here I am with some Marathon Maniacs before I had to get to the Half Marathon starting line: Eddie, Scot, m...

On Saturday I ran the Celtic Solstice 5 Miler  organized by Baltimore's Falls Road Running Store . It was my third time running this race, but the first in about five years. A few things have changed, but it was still a good event. The Celtic Solstice is always run in December, near the winter solstice (not sure why they didn’t wait and do it next weekend). It’s usually cold, and sometimes there is snow. Baltimore is a 45 minute drive from home, so why do I make the drive to run a cold, winter 5 miler? I’d be lying if I said the race premium wasn’t a factor. Since I’ve done this race, Celtic Solstice has always had a really nice Brooks tech shirt with new, original Celtic artwork each year. And we’re not talking about a cheap Brooks shirt. The premium has been a high-quality, gender-specific shirt as long as I’ve been involved, and that was before tech shirts and gender sizing were standard even at larger races. This year was the 15 th running of the Celtic Solstice, so the...

This past weekend was another quick in & out of town marathon trip. What was different about this one was that it was in the Cayman Islands. Normally, my quick trips are in the US. This time, I went all the way to the Caribbean just to run and then come back home. Normally, I would like to stay a little longer in a new country, but I was on a mission. In order to join the Marathon Globetrotters club in January at their annual meeting (at the Marathon Bahamas ), I needed to first run Cayman Islands Marathon . The qualification for joining the club as a Provisional, or non-voting, member is to run in 5 countries. Cayman Islands was country #4, and Bahamas will be country #5. I wouldn’t have been able to do either of these trips without using frequent flyer miles. I am lucky, indeed, to have this opportunity. Without further ado, here’s my report from Cayman: Saturday was a full day of travel. With the limitations on frequent flyer tickets, my itinerary had me flying from DC t...