Sandy Runs

I have wanted to run the New York City Marathon for several years, and started entering the lottery drawing in 2012. Every year I have been rejected, including this year. But Scot was accepted in the lottery drawing, so I decided to run for a charity. I chose the Migraine Research Foundation and committed myself to raising $2,500. With the help of several friends and my employer, I met my goal early on. Get ready for lots of photos as I tell my story of marathon weekend. 2016 NYC Marathon shirt (long-sleeved) and medal I insisted on spending a non-rushed weekend in New York. And at the encouragement of my friend and fellow marathoner Richard, decided to also run the  Dash to the Finish Line 5K  the day before the marathon. Scot and I took a bus up to NY on Friday and were dropped off a block from the Jacob Javits Center where the expo was held. Like all the other huge marathons I've done, this one had a big expo with a lot of vendors and activities going on. We spent ...

I didn't run the Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) this year (I ran the 10K), but it was still a big weekend for me. The weekend started on Thursday evening when I met Richard and Teresa for happy hour. They are two of my fellow admins of the Marine Corps Marathon and 10K Club Facebook group. On Friday afternoon Scot and I went to the marathon expo, which was located at the Gaylord National Harbor for the first time. The logistics were tricky as Metrorail does not go to National Harbor. MCM did have shuttles from various locations, and we took the shuttle from the Eisenhower Avenue station in Alexandria. We found the expo to be very crowded and noted that there was a lot of trash in the aisles. The marathon shirt was a nice shade of green, but I disliked the 10K shirt, which was a strange tan-like, yellowish color; not very attractive. At least it would still be a good winter running shirt with the thick material and mock neck. We didn't purchase any official merchandise as we d...