Oakland Cheering & Back to Fall Planning
If you follow me on any social media, you probably already know I didn't get into the NYC Marathon. I'm a little bummed, but now I get the excitement of starting over and finding a new race to look forward to! I love researching races, so this isn't a bad thing at all.
The current contenders:
1. Santa Barbara Marathon on November 8 - Looks great, has scenery, and I love wine country areas. I'm concerned about the shuttle situation from past race reviews and the logistics sound difficult. (Ignore the fact I was willing to forgo all of my preferred logistics for NYC, that was a different beast.)
2. Two Cities in Fresno on November 2 - Logistics and cost are just right, but reviews and blog recaps suggest the half marathons cause difficulty and dodging for marathoners. As hard as it feels to move forward at the end of a marathon, I don't like the idea of having to dodge people coming at me too.
3. Columbus Marathon on October 19 - Logistics for the race are good and I'd love to see friends/family at a race, but it's a much longer and more expensive trip. Flights look bad right now too, which doesn't help. (Again, ignore what I was willing to do for NYC...)
4. Oregon Coast 50K on October 19 - I love trails and a 50K was my initial goal for the year. Perhaps I just forget the whole road marathon deal and go straight back to trails? Not sure how my body will feel about that yet, but on the bright side it's a much easier flight and has no time zone change.
We shall see. For now I'm enjoying my research and how many options there are.
Race planning aside, I want to give a big shout out to my friend Mike who completed his FIRST half marathon at Oakland last weekend! Kevin ran too, and I stayed on the sidelines with my cowbell and lots of energy. Cheering was a blast and I enjoyed cheering on quite a few run friends - plus running from one spot to another helped me get my own workout in.
Mike and Kevin wore their matching Blerch shirts for the race as I hoped. Because they both happened to own one, and why not? Gotta love the Blerch shirts.
We also had a nice shakeout hike the day before Oakland, starting on part of the Dipsea Trail, then hiking the Sun Trail, and finishing off with Muir Woods. Marin county is one of my favorite places because it's always so gorgeous.
The current contenders:
1. Santa Barbara Marathon on November 8 - Looks great, has scenery, and I love wine country areas. I'm concerned about the shuttle situation from past race reviews and the logistics sound difficult. (Ignore the fact I was willing to forgo all of my preferred logistics for NYC, that was a different beast.)
2. Two Cities in Fresno on November 2 - Logistics and cost are just right, but reviews and blog recaps suggest the half marathons cause difficulty and dodging for marathoners. As hard as it feels to move forward at the end of a marathon, I don't like the idea of having to dodge people coming at me too.
3. Columbus Marathon on October 19 - Logistics for the race are good and I'd love to see friends/family at a race, but it's a much longer and more expensive trip. Flights look bad right now too, which doesn't help. (Again, ignore what I was willing to do for NYC...)
4. Oregon Coast 50K on October 19 - I love trails and a 50K was my initial goal for the year. Perhaps I just forget the whole road marathon deal and go straight back to trails? Not sure how my body will feel about that yet, but on the bright side it's a much easier flight and has no time zone change.
We shall see. For now I'm enjoying my research and how many options there are.
Race planning aside, I want to give a big shout out to my friend Mike who completed his FIRST half marathon at Oakland last weekend! Kevin ran too, and I stayed on the sidelines with my cowbell and lots of energy. Cheering was a blast and I enjoyed cheering on quite a few run friends - plus running from one spot to another helped me get my own workout in.
Mike and Kevin wore their matching Blerch shirts for the race as I hoped. Because they both happened to own one, and why not? Gotta love the Blerch shirts.
Mike and Kevin pre-race.
21st Amendment Beer at the finish, 2 per person. Kev shared with me, he's nice like that.
And both done! Congrats again to Mike.
We also had a nice shakeout hike the day before Oakland, starting on part of the Dipsea Trail, then hiking the Sun Trail, and finishing off with Muir Woods. Marin county is one of my favorite places because it's always so gorgeous.
Sun Trail.
More Sun Trail, with a view.
Inside the big tree at Muir Woods.
Tell me, do you know anything about the races I mentioned? Good, bad, or otherwise? Let me know!
Saw you on the sidelines at ORF! Great cheering! Love your blog and wish you good luck with your race schedule. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks! :)
DeleteSorry to hear you didn't get in to NYC. Just means its time to try a new race out, as your research is suggesting :) I think it's awesome to be there cheering or running with someone for their first race - any distance, really - it's an inspiring feeling! I don't have any good advice on your list - but I will say that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Santa Barbara! It's a gorgeous place to visit, going to school an hour or so away, made it a fun getaway for the day!
ReplyDeleteYes! I'm enjoying the decision process right now and making it harder than it needs to be, haha.
DeleteSun Trail is one of my favourites...it's so beautiful and I love the way it winds round the hill!!! I just wish it were longer! Congrats to both the guys on running ORF...and it's always fun to try and choose a new marathon, so try to enjoy it! NYC will be another year!!
ReplyDeleteI love it too! Need to go do it more.
DeleteSorry about NYC! Unfortunately I haven't any good advice about the other races, but here's something you guys should check out: there is a Beat The Blerch race in WA... http://www.beattheblerch.com/ !
ReplyDeleteYes! I tried to register for it but the site went down and I wasn't one of the lucky ones to get through. :) Looks awesome though!
DeleteI ran Two Cities in 2011, here's my race report: http://ariavie.blogspot.com/2011/11/two-cities-marathon.html
ReplyDeleteI don't know if they have changed anything since then, but I didn't have any trouble with the half marathon at all. The half marathon started 30 min after the marathon and went out on a different out-and-back than the marathon did. I didn't see any half runners until about mile 22-24. They divided the road on the second out and back of the marathon (the half course) and kept all the half runners in the outside lane and the full runners on the inside lane.
I thought it was a wonderful little marathon and the course is worth going for a PR as it's pretty close to pancake flat, especially for the West Coast.
Thanks for sharing, loved your report. This one might be winning even though I heard there was more crowding in 2012 with a new event, I think I'd be ok.
DeleteI'd also like to suggest Humboldt Redwoods Marathon (Oct 19), redwoodsmarathon.org
ReplyDeleteIt's basically 26 straight miles of the tallest trees in the world. It's a no-frills race, but because of the size of the marathon, you might even win a prize in your age group! Last year's medal was also a bottle opener.
That one looks pretty! Might add that to the maybe list. I'm being really indecisive right now, I don't do many full marathon so want to make the right choice!
DeleteI think I passed your friend Mike during the race - I definitely remember seeing the shirt and thought very briefly saying, "Nice shirt." But I was too tired - it was probably around mile 23 or so for me. :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck deciding on a race! If you decide to run a trail marathon, I think I'm doing Golden Hills on Oct. 11th.
That one looks awesome! Sadly (or happily really) my friend is getting married on October 11 so there will be no racing that weekend. :) Thanks for the tip! So funny you saw Mike.
DeleteOops - that should say, "thought very briefly about saying..."
ReplyDelete