I'm starting to think about Life After Ironman Florida.
I'm going public with an aspiration (delusion?)that a few of my friends may be aware of.
I want to qualify for Boston.
At my age (55-59) it would take a 4:15 marathon. I've run that before. I've run under that before. With structured speedwork, I think I might be able to again.
So I'm looking on marathonguide.com and runningintheusa.com for marathons in Sept. and Oct. that are reputed to be fast, are a reasonable drive from Maryland, in states I haven't run before. Columbus is a fast course that I'm well-familiar with but I'd like to add to my 50-State tally into the bargain.
I'm looking at these:
Atlantic City (probably Oct. 14, 2007)
Johnstown, PA (probably either Sept. 30 or Oct. 7)
Rochester, NY (not as close by, but possible, probably Sept. 16)
I haven't run a marathon yet in any of these states. They're early enough to recover from and then re-train for Boston (if I make it), and also could be made to fit whatever timing we have for our fall traveling to wherever.
Johnstown is only about an hour and a half from Garrett County, MD and it looks like that would be the easiest to get to. According to reviews from previous runners, traffic control could be better but I'm used to running in traffic. There's a net elevation drop of 500+ feet in a combination of downhill and rolling. I'm used to that. I might just go for that one. I might just.
6 comments:
What do the marathonguide.com reviews say? Rochester kind of sucks, IMO. Johnstown would be wicked hilly. Atlantic City might be fun. You could always go to Cape May nearby, we love it there.
What states/region/time frame are you looking at? There's a lot of marathons in the NE that have fast reputations, for example Steamtown
http://www.marathonguide.com/races/racedetails.cfm?MIDD=540061008
or for NY how about Wineglass, that *jeanne* just did?
Atlantic City would be the flattest, but the course looks kind of deadly, 3 out-and-backs.
Detroit sounds fun... goes through a tunnel, doesn't it?
no fair!
your life is to be consumed by IMFL right now?!?
isn't it?!?
Royal Victoria marathon is in early October. Run beside the Pacific ocean. Not flat though...
Calgary marathon in July - mostly flat.
I think there's one in Toronto in October too.
I know, I know - no travel budget...
Ellies' going to Boston, Ellie's going to Boston. I say that because from I can tell of you, once you make up your mind, you get what you want. How exciting to have a new goal! Of course, I have to ask if you've got Texas already. If not, Houston is a really fast course, and actually White Rock is pretty flat and fast, too (just not for me!). I love long-term goals!
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