Welcome! This blog gives a summary of each marathon with finish time/place, course info, conditions, and links to performance data and travel photos. There are also separate pages listing marathons in different countries/continents, states, and Canadian provinces as well as general info about my running background, frequently asked questions, and advice for anyone looking to start running or exercising more. This blog is linked on my Facebook page, but I'm very rarely on social media otherwise.
3:52 finish, 2029/7397 place overall.
Large urban race through scenic areas of Budapest, much of it along the Danube riverfront on both sides. It runs over the famous Szechenyi Chain Bridge, past the Hungarian Parliament Building, Buda Castle, and other city landmarks. Typical big city race atmosphere with good support and organization.
Aside from the several bridge crossings, it’s very flat and the weather was ideal. Okay finish time within my usual range.
3:45 finish, 37/131 place overall.
Nice small marathon in the northwestern Black Hills of South Dakota and a little of eastern Wyoming. It starts deep in the national forest at around 6,200 feet and runs mostly downhill through the scenic Spearfish Canyon to the finish in the small town of Spearfish, SD.
Even with the high elevation, the downhill course and good weather helped make it one of my faster finishes and get SD done under four hours as needed.
3:53 finish, 54/97 place overall.
Small but fairly scenic rural race on the northern end of Isle of Man in the middle of the Irish Sea, about halfway between Ireland and Britain. Isle of Man has its own separate government, but as a Crown Dependency of the United Kingdom, it’s not fully its own country and depends on the UK for defense and foreign policy. The scenery and culture are similar to rural parts of the UK, but it has its own unique history and identity.
The course is a little hilly but nothing too crazy, and with ideal weather - cool and cloudy - my time was okay. Good to be back in the normal range after the miserably slow hot and humid Malaysia marathon three weeks ago.
* Although Isle of Man is a Crown Dependency of the UK, Marathon Globetrotters counts it as its own country. Their list is the standard used by many international marathon runners.
4:45 finish, 994/4823 place overall.
Large urban race through the streets and highways of Putrajaya, a city just outside of Kuala Lumpur that serves as Malaysia’s administrative capital. Strangely it has the feel of a big city American marathon with overly enthusiastic announcements in English, pop music at the start and finish, and well organized support on the course. The big difference though is that, like other races in tropical locations, it runs in the middle of the night to minimize the effects of the extreme heat. Even with a start around 2am, it was about 80 degrees Fahrenheit with brutally oppressive humidity. The course is fairly flat but the weather is the biggest challenge.
This was one of my slowest road marathons ever. I went in expecting to be slower than usual due to the weather, but it was even worse because of sleep deprivation and the back-to-back two-week turnarounds (third marathon within a month) - something I had never done before and probably won’t do again. Just glad to get the country done without having to bail.