Sandy Runs

This past weekend marked the Endless Summer 6-Hour Run in Annapolis. Scot was registered for this event, and I tagged along to do a self-supported training run. My training plan had me running 12 miles this weekend, but my training group was only up to 10 miles. With the Endless Summer loop being just over 4 miles, I could do three loops and that would be my training run. My running buddy Rebecca met me there to do her 10 miles (she was to turn around one mile into the third loop). Scot and I were up early to make the drive (a little less than an hour) and get decent parking before his race started. I packed a bunch of drinks and snacks, and juice pops to keep in the cooler. I would set up some folding chairs and make our "camp". Our timing was just about right. Scot had enough time to pick up his packet and make a bathroom stop before the start. We found some Marathon Maniacs and got a group pic. Maniacs at Endless Summer; I took the pic since I wasn't a registe...

A year ago I recapped some of the many marathons that led to my achievement of Titanium status in the Marathon Maniacs. This is the top level of the club and can be earned one of three different ways. I earned Titanium by running marathons in 30 different states in a 12 month period. My Titanium qualifier was the Self-Transcendence Marathon in Congers, New York in August 2013. I didn't blog about it at the time, so here's a throwback race report, which may have a few fuzzy details. Finished Self-Transcendence, earning Titanium and New York! Self-Transcendence was not originally supposed to be my Titanium race; it was my back-up race. I planned to earn Titanium at ET Full Moon Midnight Marathon in Nevada. But the week before ET, I had to drop to a shorter distance at the Wildcat Ridge Romp 50K in New Jersey. That meant that now I would finish this quest at Self-Transcendence. At first I wasn't sure about this race. It was put on by the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team...

Wow, this one was another challenging double! Yes, as echoed from some other throwback race reports from this time, I had a bad case of plantar fasciitis. But my foot was not the only thing that made this weekend tough. It was the distance between Bismarck, North Dakota and Omaha, Nebraska. Scot and I flew to Bismarck on Friday, ran the Bismarck Marathon on Saturday, then drove to Omaha after the race. Google Maps shows that drive as 8.5 hours without stops. Of course we had to stop a few times, so it was a long day. We arrived in Omaha after midnight. Thank goodness Abbi had already checked into the hotel there. We ran the Omaha Marathon on Sunday, stayed overnight (thank goodness!) and flew home from Omaha early on Monday morning. I don't have many photos from this weekend, for some reason, but here's the story. My first impressions of Bismarck were not great. It seemed such an uninteresting place for a state capital. There wasn’t a downtown or a city center area that ...

On Sunday I ran the Pacers Freedom Four in Arlington. Afterward, I drove over to the Thomas Jefferson Community Center to spectate at the Grant Pierce Indoor Marathon . I did the same thing last year and blogged about it here . This is pretty much a repeat. Pre-race selfie wearing last year's shirt The only reason I registered for the Freedom Four is because it would be a guaranteed training run, and I knew there would be beer at the finish. It's not because I like the course. The course has some initial downhill through Arlington, then some ups and downs, and then an all-uphill, steep finish. There isn't a lot of shade, and it's hot this time of year. Also, there is only one water station. You pass it before Mile 1, when it's kind of too early, then you pass it again after Mile 3, when it's kind of too late. I really wish they would put a water station at the halfway point. This is the same course that Pacers uses for the Four Courts Four Miler , an ...