The other day I was lamenting about my slight feeling of guilt over whether or not I should register for Chicago this year…”register for Chicago” essentially means “register for the Bank fo American Chicago Marathon.” Chicago has always been a race I’ve loved, well before I’d ever even thought about running it. And it’s forever going to be my hometown race. But in that same respect, it’s always going to be there. Even when it sells out in one day. Even if they decide they need to be like NYC and start doing a LAME ASS lottery system because being unique and different from the others just ain’t good enough. It’ll still be my hometown race. So BB dared to present another idea: why not travel somewhere to run a marathon? At first I was all like (to myself)
"did this cat just suggest there are other races besides Chicago????" I mean, I did Cincinnati, but that was in 2008…that was my first full marathon (after the 2007 Chicago debacle) so I didn’t know what to expect, didn’t have a great post-race experience, etc… Why
not train and plan for a race out of town…get there with enough time to pick up my race packet n stuff, stay for a day or more to enjoy the scenery? So where could I go? Here are some ideas in no particular order:
13. Portland Marathon. October. Never been to Portland. Love the show Portlandia. Intrigued by the idea of running (again) in the Pacific Northwest. The course looks pretty decent. Hmmm. Maybe.
12. Seattle Rock n Roll Marathon. June. I ran Seattle RnR HALF a few years back, and I use the term “run” loosely. More like walk/run. But Seattle is beeeeeeYOOOOOOOOtiful, I loved the city from the moment I set foot in it. I definitely want to come back and run the full sometime. Not sure I would put this on my agenda for the next few years, only because I’ve been to Seattle fairly recently and assuming I continue working as a Planner, my annual conference will be held there in 2015. But sometime in my life I want to run the full marathon…
11. Memphis Marathon. December. Never been to Memphis, but always wanted to go. Blues. BBQ. Relatively warm weather compared to Chicago that time of year. That may even be doable for this year. Hmmm.
10. San Diego Rock n Roll Marathon. June. They say San Diego is perfect weather year round. Bears radio personality Jeff Joniak ran this race a year or so ago. Apparently the course is awesome. And what’s not to love about southern California?
9. Denver Marathon. October. Ok…truthfully, I will likely never run this race. Why? See below from the CDC about carriers of the Sickle Cell Trait, which includes yours truly…I’m not trying to find out if I’m one of those rare cases. Apparently there's no finding out until your ass is laid out looking up at the sky and people peering down at you, talking about "what happened?":
I once asked my doctor about risks and she himmed and hawwed (wtf is that saying? my mom always used to say it and now i say it.) anyway she himmed and hawwed a little too long for my taste. There's no way to know.
8. Honolulu Marathon. December. I’ve ALWAYS been intrigued by the prospects of this race, and it's the teaser that those fundraising marathons use to get people to train for them and travel for free. Given the travel needed to get there (and since I’ve never been to Hawaii), this should be a vacation. How long does it take to get used to the time difference? Does it matter—should that even be a factor? Relaxing on the beach with a tropical drink in hand and waves lapping nearby sounds like a fantastic post-race recovery/celebration. And maybe even go hike around some volcanoes a day or so later. Sounds lovely. And expensive. This one’ll have to wait for awhile.
Someday my feet will touch the black sand of Hawaii.
7. Miami Marathon. January. (February in 2014—Superbowl Sunday to be exact—um, hell to the no. I don’t mix sports that I love.) But anyway…Miami? Great beach city, great restaurants, great hotels. Seems like it would be a lot of fun.
Oh, this bar! You may not be a fan of foofi drinks, but their pina colada is KILLER!!!
6. Philadelphia Marathon. November. I like Philly. I love the old cobble/brick streets and the architecture. Seems like it would be a fun race. This could even be doable this year maybe, if I wanted.
5. Does Baltimore have a Marathon? I love all of those old east coast cities. Philly, Baltimore, DC….I’ve never been to Boston but I’m sure I’d love it too. I was a history major in undergrad so I really dig those old cities. Oddly, I’m not sure I’d want to do the Marine Corps Marathon (Washington DC.) Maybe I should think about it though. I realize I could have easily looked up whether or not Baltimmore has a mararhon, but I'll leave the mystique and wonder in place for a bit.
4. I’d also love to do a race in Arizona like the PF Chang Rock n Roll Marathon in January, but I can’t in good conscience spend my hard-earned money in a state that is so dedicated to making life difficult for brown-skinned people. They’ve been on my shit-list since refusing to accept the MLK as a federal holiday, and more recently, with the immigration shenanigans, assault on anything-but-white cultural education and programming…sure, state rights are state rights. But I don’t have to support them with my money. It sure is a beautiful state though. I used to follow a runner via her blog who lived in AZ named Summer. One day after several years of following each other’s blogs, she abruptly posted her blogger goodbye. A few weeks later her blog was erased from the internet. Wonder if she’s still running. Maybe someday.
3. Speaking of beautiful states…California. The Big Sur Marathon (April) is just down the road a bit from Asilomar State Park,
where I spent a week last summer. I love this place and want to go back with people I love (code: NOT work-related, as my August 2012 trip was). Maybe I could do the half marathon which is in November along Monterey Bay, and the actual turnaround is AT ASILOMAR. Good God, this might be the most perfect race ever. I want to do this half marathon. SOON. I ran my 16-mile run while staying at Asilomar as well as several other shorter runs, and they were all DIVINE. (Click on the link above to read about my runs.) Asilomar will always have a special place in my heart. It was the peace I needed during the "end of the end"--b/c the beginning of the end began a long time ago with life as I'd known it for the past 9+ years in an unhappy marriage...literally from Day 1. Ok, Day 2. It's where I found the ME begging to get out that was lost for a long time. But anyway.....here's pics from the marathon course. Breathtaking. An experience of a lifetime, no doubt.
2. I’m stuck on Asilomar!
Running shoes on solid ground, at the edge of the country.
1. It feels like this list of other race ideas is anti-climatic. But other marathons of interest include the following:
New Orleans Rock n Roll Marathon (February); London Marathon (April); NYC (November) is always on my list but I've become disenchanted by the shenanigans of these races that are way too popular and super difficult to get in to; Alaska Midnight Run Marathon (June)—I thought this race used to be at midnight on the longest day of the year, but the website shows something different now. Hmmm.
And of course, this lists assumes that I will get back in marathon mode. I'm sure I will, I'm just in a bit of a funk. Lots going on in getting squared away in my new place, (etc) so I'm trying to cut myself some slack.
p.s. Doesn't this Portlandia Drinking Game look like fun? (If you haven't seen the show at all, I suppose it just looks like another excuse-to-drink drinking game.)
12. Seattle Rock n Roll Marathon. June. I ran Seattle RnR HALF a few years back, and I use the term “run” loosely. More like walk/run. But Seattle is beeeeeeYOOOOOOOOtiful, I loved the city from the moment I set foot in it. I definitely want to come back and run the full sometime. Not sure I would put this on my agenda for the next few years, only because I’ve been to Seattle fairly recently and assuming I continue working as a Planner, my annual conference will be held there in 2015. But sometime in my life I want to run the full marathon…
11. Memphis Marathon. December. Never been to Memphis, but always wanted to go. Blues. BBQ. Relatively warm weather compared to Chicago that time of year. That may even be doable for this year. Hmmm. 
10. San Diego Rock n Roll Marathon. June. They say San Diego is perfect weather year round. Bears radio personality Jeff Joniak ran this race a year or so ago. Apparently the course is awesome. And what’s not to love about southern California?
9. Denver Marathon. October. Ok…truthfully, I will likely never run this race. Why? See below from the CDC about carriers of the Sickle Cell Trait, which includes yours truly…I’m not trying to find out if I’m one of those rare cases. Apparently there's no finding out until your ass is laid out looking up at the sky and people peering down at you, talking about "what happened?": 
I once asked my doctor about risks and she himmed and hawwed (wtf is that saying? my mom always used to say it and now i say it.) anyway she himmed and hawwed a little too long for my taste. There's no way to know.
8. Honolulu Marathon. December. I’ve ALWAYS been intrigued by the prospects of this race, and it's the teaser that those fundraising marathons use to get people to train for them and travel for free. Given the travel needed to get there (and since I’ve never been to Hawaii), this should be a vacation. How long does it take to get used to the time difference? Does it matter—should that even be a factor? Relaxing on the beach with a tropical drink in hand and waves lapping nearby sounds like a fantastic post-race recovery/celebration. And maybe even go hike around some volcanoes a day or so later. Sounds lovely. And expensive. This one’ll have to wait for awhile. 
Someday my feet will touch the black sand of Hawaii. 
7. Miami Marathon. January. (February in 2014—Superbowl Sunday to be exact—um, hell to the no. I don’t mix sports that I love.) But anyway…Miami? Great beach city, great restaurants, great hotels. Seems like it would be a lot of fun.
Oh, this bar! You may not be a fan of foofi drinks, but their pina colada is KILLER!!!
6. Philadelphia Marathon. November. I like Philly. I love the old cobble/brick streets and the architecture. Seems like it would be a fun race. This could even be doable this year maybe, if I wanted.
5. Does Baltimore have a Marathon? I love all of those old east coast cities. Philly, Baltimore, DC….I’ve never been to Boston but I’m sure I’d love it too. I was a history major in undergrad so I really dig those old cities. Oddly, I’m not sure I’d want to do the Marine Corps Marathon (Washington DC.) Maybe I should think about it though. I realize I could have easily looked up whether or not Baltimmore has a mararhon, but I'll leave the mystique and wonder in place for a bit.
4. I’d also love to do a race in Arizona like the PF Chang Rock n Roll Marathon in January, but I can’t in good conscience spend my hard-earned money in a state that is so dedicated to making life difficult for brown-skinned people. They’ve been on my shit-list since refusing to accept the MLK as a federal holiday, and more recently, with the immigration shenanigans, assault on anything-but-white cultural education and programming…sure, state rights are state rights. But I don’t have to support them with my money. It sure is a beautiful state though. I used to follow a runner via her blog who lived in AZ named Summer. One day after several years of following each other’s blogs, she abruptly posted her blogger goodbye. A few weeks later her blog was erased from the internet. Wonder if she’s still running. Maybe someday.
3. Speaking of beautiful states…California. The Big Sur Marathon (April) is just down the road a bit from Asilomar State Park, where I spent a week last summer. I love this place and want to go back with people I love (code: NOT work-related, as my August 2012 trip was). Maybe I could do the half marathon which is in November along Monterey Bay, and the actual turnaround is AT ASILOMAR. Good God, this might be the most perfect race ever. I want to do this half marathon. SOON. I ran my 16-mile run while staying at Asilomar as well as several other shorter runs, and they were all DIVINE. (Click on the link above to read about my runs.) Asilomar will always have a special place in my heart. It was the peace I needed during the "end of the end"--b/c the beginning of the end began a long time ago with life as I'd known it for the past 9+ years in an unhappy marriage...literally from Day 1. Ok, Day 2. It's where I found the ME begging to get out that was lost for a long time. But anyway.....here's pics from the marathon course. Breathtaking. An experience of a lifetime, no doubt. 
2. I’m stuck on Asilomar!
Running shoes on solid ground, at the edge of the country. 
1. It feels like this list of other race ideas is anti-climatic. But other marathons of interest include the following:
New Orleans Rock n Roll Marathon (February); London Marathon (April); NYC (November) is always on my list but I've become disenchanted by the shenanigans of these races that are way too popular and super difficult to get in to; Alaska Midnight Run Marathon (June)—I thought this race used to be at midnight on the longest day of the year, but the website shows something different now. Hmmm.
And of course, this lists assumes that I will get back in marathon mode. I'm sure I will, I'm just in a bit of a funk. Lots going on in getting squared away in my new place, (etc) so I'm trying to cut myself some slack.
p.s. Doesn't this Portlandia Drinking Game look like fun? (If you haven't seen the show at all, I suppose it just looks like another excuse-to-drink drinking game.)
1 comment:
am totally with you about your feeling with Chicago and NYC. i have done the lottery and am due this year however have NO clue what is going to happen b/c of last years cancelled race.
my vote goes for hawaii!!! :)
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