Sandy Runs

I only posted one full race report in 2013. I was busy with races and travel and got out of the habit of blogging. I’m caught up on everything from January 2014 to now, and I’m slowly working my way back to write some Throwback race reports. Sometimes I do a throwback report because the race in question is coming up again, or it’s timely for some other reason. Right now I don’t have a specific race to cover, so I’m starting at the end of 2013 and working my way back, focusing on full marathons first. That puts me at the 2013 Tucson Marathon , my selection for Arizona. Scot and I chose to run Tucson mostly because it fit into our schedule. There are several other races in Arizona, with a few choices in Phoenix, but those are at other times of the year. Tucson is in December, and it seemed like a good time of year for us to visit a warm climate. I had been to Scottsdale, and had flown through PHX airport a number of times, but I had not spent anytime elsewhere in the state. I was lo

In another catch-up race report, I talk about my one marathon DNF (did not finish), which occurred at the 2013 Atlantic CityMarathon . I went into this one with a nasty case of plantar fasciitis that I’d been running on all summer, against better judgement (but a Marathon Maniac doesn’t always use good judgement…especially when several race weekends are already booked and paid for). I also made the mistake of being a spectator at the Baltimore Marathon the previous day. Let me tell you: it’s not a good idea to stand on your plantar-fasciitis-ridden foot all day, especially the day before a marathon. I had fun in Baltimore, and saw lots of people I knew on the course. But this may have been the reason I wasn’t able to finish Atlantic City. Lesson learned. Some of the Maniacs before Baltimore 2013; I'll be spectating with Magenta the Road Trip Flamingo   Scot after Baltimore After Scot finished the Baltimore Marathon on Saturday, we drove to Atlantic City. We were pick

Because I run so many races, I’m often asked to name some favorites. This is very difficult for me to do because I like different races for different reasons. Lately, I’ve been naming Chicago Marathon as my favorite urban race ( I blogged about it here ). And for scenic races, I’ve named Madison Marathon in Montana as a favorite. I ran Madison in 2013 when I was blogging less, so I never did write a race report. It’s time to do that. I learned about Madison Marathon from my friend Jody. She was planning to double it with the MAD Marathon in Idaho Falls. I needed both of those states, so I looked into them. I was immediately awed by the beautiful scenery for Madison Marathon, which is set up high in the Gravelly Range outside Ennis, Montana. The description of the course was truthful; it would be difficult, but very rewarding. There was an early start and a generous time limit, which was necessary for me if I was going to run a hilly marathon with an elevation peak near 9,500