Marathon #102: Rehoboth Seashore Marathon, DE

3:45 finish, 245/951 place overall.  Flat, scenic, and well organized race along the coast of Delaware. Sunny and cold, but not windy - ideal conditions.  Decent finish, consistent with recent marathons, and fastest of the four times I've done this race.

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Marathon #101: Philadelphia Marathon, PA

3:48 finish. Nice well-supported race through downtown area and local parks, starting and finishing near the famous “Rocky Steps.” Mostly flat with a few hills in the mid to late miles. Ideal conditions - cloudy and chilly but not too windy. Third time doing this race; beat 2016 time by ten minutes and 2010 time by 16 minutes. A little slower than some of my recent marathons, but still better than average.

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Marathon #100: Suffolk County Marathon, Patchogue, NY

3:39 finish. 53/297 place overall, 3/11 in age group. Third time doing this race, which starts in Patchogue, runs west on Montauk Highway, through Heckscher, and finishing back in Patchogue. Much better weather this year than first two times when it was unseasonably warm. This year was ideal - cloudy and cool - helping me to my third best finish ever, just a minute slower than my personal best in April.

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Marathon #99 (sub-four state #30, second round state #15): Newport Marathon, RI

3:55 finish, 110/645 place overall. Scenic but hilly course in and around Newport, with many stretches along the ocean and passing famous historic mansions. First half is the more scenic and less hilly part, but the second half was rough and I struggled more than usual. The extreme humidity didn’t help either, but luckily it stayed cloudy and not too hot. Far from my best marathon, but still finished sub-four and 15 minutes faster than last time I did this race in 2012.

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Marathon #98 (country #14): In Flanders Fields Marathon, Ypres, Belgium

3:44 finish, 259/895 place overall. Nice course through farms and small towns in Flanders (the northern, Dutch-speaking part of Belgium), passing some historic World War I locations. Very flat, mild weather, and another decent finish time - fourth best ever, about 20 seconds faster than Edmonton last month.

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Photos - Belgium

Photos - France

Marathon #97 (Can. prov. #4): Edmonton Marathon, AB, Canada

3:44 finish, 218/884 place overall. Nice small city marathon going through mostly residential areas of Edmonton, starting and finishing downtown. Well organized with sporadic but enthusiastic support. There was concern this race would be canceled due to smoke from wildfires in British Columbia, which was severe over the past few days, but conditions improved enough to keep the race on. The smoke was still noticeable but not a problem, and with cool temperatures and a flat course, I managed a fourth-best finish time.

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Marathon #96 (Can. prov. #3): Nova Scotia Marathon, Barrington, NS, Canada

3:53 finish, 11/60 place overall. Small but friendly race along the southwest coast of Nova Scotia on rural roads with some nice scenery. Some short rolling hills, but fairly flat overall. Not too hot but extremely humid, which was tolerable when it was cloudy and foggy early in the race, but when the sun came out it felt almost tropical, slowing me down more than usual in the later miles. Still had enough of a cushion from the early miles to ensure another sub-four finish.

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Marathon #95 (continent #3 / country #13): Pacasmayo Marathon, Peru

4:15 finish. Small, remote race along the northern desert coast of Peru, about 350 miles north of Lima. The area gets few visitors aside from surfers and the marathon, and there’s not much English spoken, but the people are welcoming and friendly. This is not the Andes, so no altitude issues, but it’s still a fairly tough course with some steep hills and long sections of trail and beach running. Weather was fine - cloudy and 60s - until the last 10K when the sun came out and it got hot fast. That last section was also the hardest part of the course, running on loose sand and rocky dirt paths, slowing me down to 12-13 minute miles. Slow finish time compared to recent races, but no complaints considering the course.

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Photos

Marathon #94 (sub-4 state #29, second round state #14): Vermont City Marathon, Burlington, VT

3:48 finish, 532/1935 place overall. Scenic and very well supported mid-sized race in and around Burlington, finishing along bike path overlooking Lake Champlain. Somewhat hilly course, but weather this year was mostly cloudy and relatively cool, making for a 19 minute improvement over my 2011 time when it was very hot and humid. Much better experience this time overall.

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Marathon #93 (second round state #13): New Jersey Marathon, Long Branch, NJ

3:38 finish (PR), 498/2118 place overall.  Nice, well-organized mid-sized race going through towns and neighborhoods along Jersey Shore, starting at Monmouth Racetrack and finishing along the boardwalk in Long Branch. Very flat course and ideal weather allowed for another personal best finish - by just 44 seconds - beating my previous best in Maryland five months ago.

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Marathon #92 (country #12): Olympia Marathon, Greece

3:49 finish, 35/110 place overall. Small but friendly and well-supported race through rural areas of the western Peloponnese peninsula, with a unique finish in Ancient Olympia next to the ruins of the stadium where the original Olympic Games were held in 776 BC. A couple of tough hills in the second half, but otherwise relatively flat with ideal running weather, leading to a decent finish time.

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Photos

Marathon #91 / Ultra-marathon #1: Caumsett Park 50K (31 mile) Run, Lloyd Neck, NY

4:53 finish, 12/47 place overall. This was a 50K (31 miles), the shortest standard ultra-marathon distance. (Ultra-marathons can range from 50K to upwards of 200 miles.) Since it was my first time ever going beyond the marathon distance, my only goal was to finish without bombing at the end. It was painful late in the race, but with good running weather and a relatively easy course, I was able to finish with a 9:27 average pace - just under five hours. It may be my only ultra-marathon, at least in the near future, but glad to have done at least one. My main focus is still on regular marathons, completing them in different countries, continents, and Canadian provinces while filling in calendar gaps with local U.S. races.

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Marathon #90: Icebreaker International Marathon, East Meadow, NY

4:21 finish, 32/66 place overall. I went into this as a long training run rather than a race, not looking for a fast time. Only signed up because I needed a 23-24 mile run this week anyway as part of training for my 50K in March, and since this is a very cheap local race and the timing worked out, why not add a few miles and get another marathon under my belt? It's a small race with not the most exciting course (eight loops around Eisenhower Park), but it is well organized and supported for what it is. Finish time was slow as planned, but I got the training run I needed with the added bonus of a marathon completion.

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