This is a really tough course, and I've decided the best way to run it is slooooow down. The hills are going to wear you out if you aren't careful. Take it ez, and if you get to around 3-5 miles and feel ok, then push it home.

Sooo... that's what I did, and I did it pretty well. I took around 5 minutes off my time from last year, and that makes a total of 8 minutes since the first time I ran it (this was only the third year). At this rate, I'll win the thing in fifty years.

Not much. I had a plan, the same plan I have every year in this race, and probably stuck to it the best I've ever done.

Oh... I would have liked not to have had an abscessed tooth over the Christmas holidays. That cut out some pretty significant training miles because the pain made me want to pull a Tom Hanks and knock my tooth out with an ice skate.

Warm down? Seriously? The temp had risen to a balmy 21F. I actually heard somebody say they only had Alaska left in their 50 in 50 quest and that he wished he was there now. I almost froze my nuts off walking back to my car.

Anyway, the full marathon was actually going right by my parents house. So, my wife and I drove over there, I drank some beers, rang a cowbell, blared some Jimmy Buffet, and cheered on those who went twice as far as I did.


I dunno if the cold hurt or helped. I've never run when it was that cold.


This a hidden gem of a race people. The weather gets crazy sometimes (it was 70 and 98% humidity last year). But the organization, the volunteers, the post race food, and the beer truck are awesome. The course is scenic and a challenge. There is just a cool vibe with it. It's not a Rock and Roll marathon... it's the Blues marathon. A guy plays a blues version of the star spangled banner on his guitar to kick off the race. They put harmonicas and blues cds in the race packets. Oh, and there's a pub crawl the night after. If you ran you got a wristband, and the wristband gets you on the bus that takes you bar hopping. Awesome.

Do this race, people!