Marathon #23 (state #11): Rehoboth Seashore Marathon

3:48 finish, 201/643 place overall. Nice scenic and flat course along Delaware coast. Great ocean views. Ideal cool temperatures for running, but on the windy side. Course was mis-measured and short by about 1/4 mile, but would be a good time regardless. Great post-race food and beverages in heated tent, making for a good day overall.

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Marathon #22: New York City Marathon, NY

3:57 finish, 14299/47624 place overall. Best NYC Marathon time to date. Ideal weather - cloudy and cool. Great NYC atmosphere as usual.

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Marathon #21 (state #10): Chicago Marathon, IL

3:55 finish, 7483/35670 place overall. Best crowd support and "big city atmosphere" of any marathon so far other than NYC. Course became rather dull in second half, running through industrial areas with less fanfare, but great finish in Grant Park made up for it. Much warmer than average for early October - a strange trend for the past few years with this race - but generally a good day. Being my 10th State, this qualified me for membership in the 50-States Marathon Club. I had been on the fence for much of 2011, but this was it.

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Marathon #20 (state #9): Timmy's Challenge Marathon, Cairo, WV

4:40 finish, 121/360 place overall.  This marathon was a very last-minute decision - literally three days in advance. Coming off of Pikes Peak the previous Sunday, I had no thoughts of any marathons until October. With the approach of Hurricane Irene, however, I checked online for a 10K or half marathon somewhere to the west to give me an excuse to get out of NY and get a "recovery" race under my belt. My search brought me to Timmy's Challenge, an inaugural event in WV that featured a half and a full. I considered the half, but by this point I was leaning more and more towards taking the plunge on the 50-states marathon goal. If I am going to drive eight hours to WV, why not get a state out of the way, even if I have to walk half the race? Having no idea how my body would react to marathons on back-to-back weeks, I took the chance and signed up. The course was an out-and-back on a rail-trail in rural WV.  Warm weather, but not brutal, and a nice escape from Irene that was hitting the northeast literally as the race was happening. Starting off very slow and not caring how bad my time would be, I was pleasantly surprised to finish under five hours - even beating my personal worst (Pikes Peak notwithstanding) in San Francisco two years earlier. Race had some organizational issues, such as not having sports drink (only water) and not having anyone at the finish to hand out medals, but I got another state out of the way and proved to myself that back-to-back weeks were possible albeit far from desirable.

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Marathon #19 (state #8): Pikes Peak Marathon, Manitou Springs, CO

7:25 finish, 428/729 place overall. Hardest running event I've ever done. Although my finish time was a personal worst by almost three hours, that didn't matter because the winners finished around the same time I do on an average road marathon. "Hilly" does not properly describe the course. It is literally a 13-mile, 7,000+ foot climb up a mountain trail, topping out at over 14,000 feet of altitude at the summit of Pikes Peak, followed by over 7,000 feet down the same trail for the second half. Aside from the first and last miles in Manitou Springs, the entire course is on a trail, much of which is very technical with rocks, roots, and plenty of chances to get hurt - especially on the downhill. Combine that with the fact that the lowest point of the course is higher than the summits of most mountains in the East, and you have a recipe for a challenge like no other. At higher altitudes, above treeline, this marathon was more of a glorified hike - running was impossible due to the lack of oxygen and the inability to pass people on the narrow trail. It took me longer to reach the halfway point at the summit than it does to complete most marathons. Even with a 7:25 finish, I view this as my greatest accomplishment in running.

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Marathon #18 (state #7): Grandfather Mountain Marathon, Boone, NC

4:10 finish, 121/360 place overall. The purpose of this race was mainly to serve as a long, hilly training run for a much bigger challenge a month later - the Pikes Peak Marathon in CO. Vast majority of this course was uphill, climbing from Boone, NC to a location near the summit of Grandfather Mountain. Great scenery when the fog didn't get in the way, but that same fog kept the temperatures down and comfortable for running a summer race in the South. The almost constant uphill was slow and tough, as expected, but provided the physical and mental training I was looking for getting ready for Pikes Peak.

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Marathon #17 (state #6): Vermont City Marathon, Burlington, VT

4:07 finish, 936/2405 place overall. Nice, well organized and supported race through Vermont's largest city.  Great atmosphere. While this was another relatively short turnaround (four weeks this time), the bigger issue here was weather - very warm and humid, especially once the sun came out in the later miles.  The final part of the course - relatively flat along a bike path paralleling Lake Champlain - was a death march with a mixture of walking and slow jogging through what felt like a sauna. Slowest time in almost two years.

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Marathon #16: Long Island Marathon, East Meadow, NY

3:49 finish, 154/611 place overall. Second time doing this course, and even though I knew how boring it was, dirt cheap registration and no travel costs motivated me to sign up. It helped to know ahead of time that the second half would stink, and I managed to plow through it with my second best marathon time ever, only four minutes off PR from just three weeks earlier. The three-week turnaround appeared to be a non-issue, reinforcing the conclusion I reached after Philly that I can handle more frequent marathons.

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Marathon #15 (state #5): Charlottesville Marathon, VA

3:45 finish (PR), 121/411 place overall. Scenic, rolling course through Charlottesville and the surrounding country. A solid training cycle and perfect running weather - cloudy and cool - made for a great day in spite of the hills and only four hours of sleep (seven hour drive after work the night before). Another PR - this time by ten minutes.

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Marathon #14 (second round state #3): Disney World Marathon, FL

3:55 finish (PR), 1832/13522 place overall. Second time doing this course, but much different experience. Temperatures were at near record lows for central FL - mid 30s at race start. I was also fighting a cold going into it and had not dressed appropriately. Why pack a hat and gloves for a race in FL? First hour or so was extremely cold and uncomfortable, but as sun came up and temperature moderated, I gradually felt better and got into steady groove that would last for the entire race. Ended up being a PR - about a minute faster than previous best at Long Island in 2007.

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