Sandy Runs

Two weeks after running Jersey , Scot and I ran the Baltimore Marathon . It was his third time at this race and my first. I spectated for him in 2013 when he ran, but I did not run. This year we registered late. We were not initially planning on running Baltimore, but we changed our minds when we learned that two of our friends would be celebrating marathon milestones. Drew was going to check off his 100th marathon, and Sid was going to finish his 200th marathon. We decided to be there to show our support. Silliness in the car after Baltimore I drove up to Baltimore on Thursday night to pick up our packets because it would be less crowded than waiting until Friday, and traffic wouldn't be as bad. That was the idea, anyway, but in truth, traffic between DC and Baltimore can be heavy anytime except in the middle of the night. It took me a while to get there and back home, but it was good to get it done. Then on Saturday morning Scot and I drove up for the marathon bright an...

One week after the Berlin Marathon , Scot and I ran the Jersey Marathon on the UK Channel Island of Jersey, located off the coast of France. This was the 2nd reunion of the Marathon Globetrotters (MG). According to MG rules, Jersey counts as a "country" because it is a distinct geographical and political entity. In fact, each UK country or territory counts as a unique "country" for MG purposes. By these rules, Jersey was Scot's MG qualifying race, allowing him to join the club as a provisional, or non-voting member. For me, it was my 7th MG "country". The decision to stay in Europe after Berlin was an easy one, knowing we could run another marathon the following week and see many of our MG friends. After Berlin, we flew to London, spending a few nights there and also visiting Dover, Salisbury and nearby Stonehenge. Then we flew to Jersey for the weekend; it was a short flight from Gatwick Airport. My favorite photo from our stop at Stonehenge...

One of my fellow runners has moderated running related Facebook groups where people sometimes get a little too worked up and can take themselves too seriously. He attempts to lighten the mood by saying: "it's just running." I like this, as it always reminds me to step back and realize that this is a hobby...chosen by me...and it's not the be-all, end-all of my existence. Lots of blood, sweat, tears and dollars went into finishing a marathon in all 50 states, and I reevaluated my goals all the time In the last few days I've read several Facebook posts from friends who had a bad race weekend (including some DNFs). Other friends have reported feeling some burn-out from doing so many marathons. Among my marathon clubs ( Marathon Maniacs , 50 States Marathon Club , and Marathon Globetrotters ), it's not uncommon for runners to run several marathons in a month, often traveling far and wide to do so, and at great expense. Just looking at the number of marathon...

At the end of September I had the privilege of running the Berlin Marathon . It was my second of the six World Marathon Majors . All of the Majors are difficult to get into. Berlin registration works as a lottery, and Scot was selected via the lottery. I was not. I chose to gain entry through the tour group Marathon Adventures . Our travel package included the hotel and a walking tour of Berlin, along with my marathon entry. We decided to plan for the weekend in Berlin, then some additional time in England and then run another marathon the following week on Jersey, one of the Channel Islands that is part of the UK. After flying all night from DC to London, we changed terminals in Heathrow Airport and then flew to Berlin. Our bags did not make it. We went on to the hotel and got checked in, then we headed to the race expo. We met up with Jc and Jeanette at the expo, which was huge, and took place at the old Tempelhof Airport . With Jeanette and Jc at the expo It was...