Anyone doing a Marathon / Half Marathon this year ?

Hey everyone. I'm curious how many of you are doing marathons this year. I'm doing my first, a half marathon, in 6 weeks. I'm already looking forward to doing it again next year to improve.

I hope to be running in the Big Sur Marathon near Monterey in March. I am recovering from a muscle injury and only up to a four mile run so far :( I long to hit the road and run those nice 12-14 milers on the weekends again with warmer weather trying to work its way in! I live in northern KS BTW.

I will also probably hit the Kansas City Marathon on October 16th, it is the day of my birthday!

Thinking of hitting the Lincoln, NE marathon if I don't make it to California. Lincoln puts on a great event and the public comes out in full force to cheer you on the whole course. They are out with breakfast setup in their yards, cars honking and cheering, parties.. it is a blast!

Andy

How exciting to have your first half coming up, Melly! Good luck!

Andy, I've heard lots of good things about the Big Sur marathon. And a marathon sounds like a great way to spend your birthday!

I'll be running a trail marathon in Lawrence, KS in April. It's my 19th marathon. The race is dog-friendly so my dog will be running his first marathon! I think he's more ready for it than I am.

lefty33,
What is the name of the on you speak of? Got a link? :)

October 16th marks my 35th year of age, I can now be slightly slower and get into the Boston Marathon LOL.

BTW mellybones, have fun! Pick a pace and stick to it at the beginning. You will feel like you are not going fast enough, just let all the other newbies run by you. You will be passing some of them back by the end if you are ready. Know your pace, watch your mile times and don't get caught going to fast :)

Andy

Oh, right! It's probably right out your back door! The marathon guide page for it is here. The race's official website is here.

Oh, the psychowyco group!

Here is a run a few local guys into ultra's put on. I have not done this one, but their events are usually more for fun than anything and are a good time.
http://www.lunartrekrun.com/
It is only a half hour from my house, so I plan on going.

Andy

Hoping to do the Birmingham (UK) Half in October again, if the tweak in my calf goes away and I get used enough to my anti-cholesterol low-fat diet to be able to fuel myself adequately for training and the race!

I've got a place in the Stratford Half that I can't take up, if anyone would like a transfer?

Good luck Mellybones! I did my first half here in Canberra just on 12 months ago, at age 51. I did the same event again last weekend and got my time down by about 15 minutes this time. I'm training for the National Capital Marathon in May which will be my first full marathon if I get there, though I'm starting to have some doubts...

Thanks for all of the encouragement ! Only five weeks away and I feel ready to go. I originally signed on to do it with my mom but in the process I've started loving running so much I want to do it on my own next year, because I've been training myself harder than she will be able to go.

How is all the planning, training, and such going?
Hope it is all well.

After healing and PT for 2.5 months I am finally running again. Timed it just right with spring weather rolling in! Has been awesome to be able to get out in the mornings and get that 4 miles in. Solitude, birds starting to wake up, chasing off deer/coyotes/coons LOL.

I live in a rural area and run around the section (roads here in this part of the midwest are all on 1 mile grids) that I live on. Mix of gravel and dirt roads depending on my route and weather.

Andy

I'm hoping to squeeze in one more long run before April 24th. I probably need to do it by this weekend or I'll do more damage than good. It's for Miles' sake more than mine. I know I'll be fine but Miles' longest run so far was a mini. Granted, he didn't seem the least bit tired after, but I'd still feel better if we did one more longer run just to make sure he'll be happy doing 26.2. :)

8 (gimboid13): I also ran my first half marathon at age 51, just last weekend. Glad to be inspired that significant improvement is possible. My pace was actually better than my best case hope -- I'd never run a race, and I'd never run that far, so I didn't know what to expect, but I suppose the presence of other runners is influential even though I wasn't consciously competing. However, my best case hope wasn't that great, and now I'm kinda hooked on the idea of trying again with higher standards... How's the marathon training going?

Well done qebo - excellent stuff!

Excellent, qebo! It is kind of addicting, isn't it? :)

Book Bully, here. New to the group and looking forward to it. Way to go, qebo. And one for us over-50 folks - yea! Now that you're hooked, what's next on your list? Half marathons are fantastic.

I'm doing my second Boston on Monday. Hope to see you there in the future. Best, BB

BookBully -- Good luck in Boston! (And congrats for qualifying! I'm a looong way from that.) I used to live there, typically watched the marathon from Kenmore Sq, about a mile from the finish line. Wish I could be there again...

Welcome to the group, BookBully! Have fun at Boston. It's one I'd love to do but I don't know if I'm disciplined enough to get my times fast enough. Right now I have to take about an hour off. I'm impressed!!

Many thanks! I'll let you know how it goes. I'm packing the second S. Larsson book and hoping that takes me both coming and going on the plane trip from/back to Portland.

>12 qebo: Hi qebo and congratulations on running your first half. I can't say my times are anything to brag about but I'm glad to have made the step from couch potato to regular runner.

My training for the full marathon is going OK although I've missed a couple of long runs and with the race now only 2 weeks away I'm concerned that I may not cover the last 10km in any less than walking pace. Still, it's my first marathon so it'll be a PB as long as I can cross the finish line.

Well done to BookBully. Boston must be an amazing experience.

Finally, for anyone interested in running fiction I've just finished Flanagan's run and can highly recommend it. It's about a footrace across the US in the 1930s and is loosely based on an actual race in 1927 called the Bunion Derby.

Good luck gimboid!

I've got a copy of Flanagan's Run I picked up on via BookCrossing - interesting to hear someone's opinion on it (though it's after Kelly Holmes and Paula Radcliffe's autobiogs in my To Be Read pile)

Book Bully: How'd it go?

Oowee-Oowee! Actually race was great and I bested my Boston PR by two minutes. I can't say enough about how tremendous the volunteers were, especially at the finish area. Perfect weather - low 50s with clouds/some sun - and tons of spectators. (The best of those were offering orange slices - God love 'em!)

It's a tough course even before you get to the Newton hills but well worth the effort. Many thanks for the encouragement.

Now it's up to oakesspalding to do LT proud - have a fantastic race!

Miles (my pup) and I are running Lawrence, KS Saturday. I've done marathons, but this will be my first trail marathon. And I've also never run a marathon pregnant so this should be interesting. I have no expectations for my time. The trip should be fun at least!

Perfect description, oakesspalding! So many folks focus on the Newton Hills and forget what happens before that point. This year I ran a 3:52:35 and I'm a female about to turn 53. Just watched DVR'd coverage of the race on Universal Sports and was awed by some of the winning performances. Plus you get to see just how many "inclines" there are apart from Newton.

Have fun on Sunday!

BookBully: Congratulations! I'm impressed. And envious. I'm female age 51 and I can run a 5K at that pace...

Lefty33: Yikes. I suppose next year you can run while pushing a stroller. Though maybe not trails.

How did the trail marathon go, Lefty33? Hope it was a blast. I'm a terrible trail runner - tend to fall too often. (One time with a pack of chocolate GU in my pocket which busted on impact. I'll leave it to your imagination as to what that looked like for the next 12 miles....Suffice to say my running partner cackled every time she looked at me.)

When is the Blessed Event? I hope the pregnancy is going well. If this is your first, you have so much to look forward to! Best, BookBully

The trail marathon was quite an experience! It will be a while before I'm brave enough for another like that. The 6-inch deep mud made up about 15 miles of the trail (it had rained the 3 days leading up to the marathon). Everything that wasn't muddy was rocky. There were about 2 miles along a lake that had boulders we were hopping across. It was definitely a REAL trail marathon! My dog ran it too and had a grand ol' time. :)

Pregnancy suits me fine. I haven't been sick at all. So far I'm not showing much either, so I'm still able to run without a big belly bouncing uncomfortably. I'm due in mid-October. And this is my first! Hopefully first of a bunch!

Fantastic pics, lefty33! and it looks like both you and Miles had a great time. Also looks a lot like my neck of the woods (Portland, OR) where trail races are loved by many. Around here you see a lot of pregnant runners - they just go slower as the months tick off.

What's next? I'm looking at a half-marathon on July 4, a totally flat course - yeah!

Awesome :)

Andy

That's great that pregnant runners are common there, BookBully. I've heard that Portland is a popular running area. Here, I get a lot of people asking if I should still be running. *sigh* I just smile and tell them that continuing exercise while pregnant makes for an easier pregnancy and labor. Though I don't know if they all believe me.

The next marathon in the plan is around Thanksgiving in Philadelphia. But since I'm due mid-October, I'm not sure if I'll be cleared to run by then. I've been told I'll be made to take 6 weeks of rest.

Congratulations lefty. Good to see your dog got a medal too. I finished my first marathon on Sunday. Weather was perfect, the organisers did a fantastic job and the atmosphere was great. There was a stadium finish and Aussie Olympic gold medalist Rob De Castella did the presentations. I was happy with my time and everyone in my training group went really well. And now... some shorter races for a while and a bit more time for reading and other things before training starts for the next big one.

Way to go, gimboid13! Sounds like your first marathon won't be your last. It's a great accomplishment. Per the reading - what's on your night stand?

Hang in there, lefty. I was living in South Carolina when pregnant with my daughter and "jogged" up until my eighth month. Then it became too much wobble for me plus the looks and comments I got were priceless. So I walked same distances. Had to have emergency C-section but I know I recovered much more quickly thanks to being in decent shape.

If I may, I'd agree with your doctor per the six weeks. Especially if you're nursing. Probably TMI, but I noticed change in milk when I started running so I keyed down to - yeech - aerobics. (Yes, this was a while ago...) Just one example, however.

I'm headed South for about 10 days and pray the humidity hasn't begun to peak. Portland weather is ideal for running most of the year so I'm a bit spoiled.

Awesome job everybody!

I am really getting the trail running itch lately.

Andy

Andy, you need to pick up latest copy of "Running Times" which has a big section on trail running. Out here in the Portland, OR area it's king! especially this time of year.

And Lefty, I wanted to ask if you saw the story in the Sunday New York Times two weeks ago (May 9 edition) about Kara Goucher and Paula Radcliffe, both of whom are pregnant. A good friend of mine wrote the story and I think it's worth a look.

Plus this past Sunday I was running and saw a typical Portland sight: young couple running together with a toddler in a running stroller and the wife trotting along about six months pregnant. Thought of you and smiled!

Finished my official recovery period after Boston and will now focus on some tempo runs for the half on July 4. Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying great running weather...

I ran a half in Cincinnati a few weeks ago and I have another half this weekend.

I hope to get at least 3 more in the fall.