Saturday, June 7, 2025

Marathon #168 (second round state #41): Bear Paw Marathon, Havre, MT

3:52 finish, 8/31 place overall. Very small scenic race near the Bear Paw Mountains in north-central Montana, about two hours northeast of Great Falls. A few tough hills on dirt roads, but the overall course is downhill and has only minor altitude - starting at about 4,000 feet in the mountains and finishing in the town of Havre at about 2,500 feet. Cloudy and cool weather; okay finish time.

Race map and details

Photos

Upcoming Marathons

7/6/25: Marathon #169 (country #33): Victoria Falls Marathon, Zimbabwe

8/10/25: Marathon #170 (country #34): Monschau Marathon, Germany

9/6/25: Marathon #171 / Ultramarathon #3: Old Forge 50K, NY

10/11/25: Marathon #172 (second round state #42): Rogue Marathon, Medford, OR

Sunday, May 4, 2025

Marathon #167 (sub-four state #45, second round state #40): Lincoln Marathon, NE

3:47 finish, 432/1082 place overall. Nice well-supported race in and around Lincoln, starting and finishing downtown near the University of Nebraska campus and running mostly through residential and park areas. Cool at the start but warmed up a lot in second half with very little shade, making for a tough finish. It’s a mostly flat course though and I was still solidly under four hours as needed for the state.

Race map and details

Photos

Marathon #166 (country* #32): Newport Marathon, Wales

3:47 finish, 1239/2846 place overall. Nice well organized mid-sized race starting and finishing in downtown Newport, a small industrial city in southeastern Wales just east of Cardiff and about two hours west of London. Most of the course is on farmland and very flat, allowing for fast times. Decent sub-four finish.

* Although Wales is part of the UK, international athletic organizations and marathon clubs count it as its own country along with England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Race map and details

Photos - Wales

Photos - England
(Many more England photos on 2015 England marathon post)

Saturday, March 22, 2025

Marathon #165 / Ultramarathon #2 (second round state #39): Badger Mountain Challenge 55K, Richland, WA

7:50 finish, 34/74 place overall. This was a short ultramarathon, which is defined as anything from a 50K (31 miles) to hundreds of miles. This 55K (just over 34 miles) was only my second ultra and longest run ever, the only other one being a 50K - three miles shorter on a much easier course - in 2018. It’s a scenic but very tough race just outside Richland, WA in the southeastern part of the state - a desert environment much different than the dense forests of western Washington around Seattle. The course is very hilly on mostly dirt roads and trails, making for a painfully slow pace. Considering the course and my lack of experience with ultramarathons, I have no complaints - only goal was to finish under the cut-off time without injury.

Race map and details

Photos