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.
4:04 finish, 2/16 place overall.
Very small and unusual but friendly race on the island of Upolu, the most populated island of the independent nation of Samoa (separate from the neighboring U.S. territory of American Samoa). They are very welcoming to foreign runners and even have a little parade the day before through the center of Apia, the capital city, displaying the flags of each country represented. Unlike anything seen in a larger marathon, the race director personally knows each runner by name, where they’re from, and a little of their background.
Like other marathons in tropical locations, it starts in the middle of the night to avoid the intense heat, and for a tiny race like this (only 16 full marathoners), that means running alone in the dark for much of the race. For this reason, rather than regular aid stations, they have individual support vehicles driving behind each runner to carry what they need, provide light, and help ward off the many loose dogs on the road that constantly bark at and chase runners.
With less than two weeks since my last marathon, lack of sleep, and tropical weather, I was expecting to be slower than usual. With a flat course and a nice breeze, my finish time just over four hours wasn’t as bad as it could have been.
3:53 finish, 2949/9594 place overall. Very popular and well-supported race based in Duluth, a small city at the western tip of Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota. It has been sponsored for 50 years by Grandma’s Restaurant in Duluth, which is the reason for its name. It starts in the small town of Two Harbors and runs along the lakefront, with some nice views, to the finish in downtown Duluth. This year, being even more crowded than usual due to it being the race’s 50th running, they had delays with the buses to the start line, forcing me to start near the back of the pack and weave around many slower runners for the early miles. Luckily this caused only a minor slowdown and, with a fairly flat course and good weather, I was still able to finish under four hours - not needed for the state but always nice to get when possible.
3:48 finish, 300/1190 place overall. Nice downhill race through Poudre Canyon and finishing in Fort Collins, about an hour north of Denver. The first half is cool and shaded in the canyon with great mountain and river scenery, but the later miles are more open along bike paths with not much shade, making it much warmer and slower. It has fairly high elevation starting at over 6,000 feet, but the downhill course (dropping over 1,000 feet) minimizes the effects. Decent sub-four finish as needed for the state.
3:48 finish, 86/243 place overall. Scenic race based in Antalya, a popular resort city on the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. Nice views of the coast and mountains as well as the downtown historic area. It’s a fairly large event that has a a big city race atmosphere in the beginning, but that’s mainly because of the shorter distance races. Once the half marathon splits off, there are only a few hundred marathoners and it’s much more spread out. A few minor hills and a little warm towards the end, but mostly good conditions. Decent finish time within my usual range.
6:33 finish, 24/38 place overall.
Very unique and scenic but brutally hard race centered around the ancient Mayan ruins of Palenque (the “lost city”) in the jungle of southeastern Mexico.
The first couple of miles are on trails and stairs through the ruins themselves - nice scenery but lots of walking. After leaving the ruins, most of the marathon is on very hilly dirt roads past farms and through small rural villages. Mixed in there is a four kilometer section on narrow trails that is insanely steep and muddy with several river crossings. There is very little running in that section and the main goal is just to get through it without spraining an ankle or getting bitten by a snake. Once back on the dirt roads, the steep hills and extreme heat make it very hard to run fast if at all. The final few miles are less hilly but have almost no shade and temperatures by that point in the low 90s - lots of on and off walking just to avoid complete heat exhaustion.
This was my second hardest and slowest standard marathon ever, aside from Pikes Peak in 2011, and by far the hottest. Interesting challenge but glad to be done with it.
Garmin map and performance details
3:54 finish, 360/980 place overall. Nice race through residential areas and a state park along the southern Delaware coast. Good weather and flat course. A little slower than usual for this race, but still under four hours.
5:35 finish, 15/37 place overall. This was a 50K (31.1 miles), the shortest ultramarathon distance - about five miles longer than a marathon - and only my third time going beyond 26.2. It’s a scenic but fairly tough, hilly course in the southwestern Adirondacks running mostly on dirt paths that are used for snowmobiles in the winter. It was significantly harder and slower than my only other 50K in 2018, but nothing close to the 55K earlier this year that was only three miles longer but over two hours slower.
4:29 finish, 244/443 place overall. Scenic and very challenging race in the area around Monschau in far western Germany, just a few minutes from the Belgian border. Most of the course is on rural dirt roads and paths through woods, farmland and small towns - the largest of which is the historic center of Monschau. Ideal cool weather with nice scenery and friendly local supporters, but the hills are steep and relentless - about twice as much elevation gain as the tough Victoria Falls race last month and harder than any regular marathon since Portugal in April 2024. Much slower than usual finish time as expected.
4:06 finish, 176/444 place overall. Scenic but tough race near Africa’s famous Victoria Falls on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia. Most of the course is on the Zimbabwe side in the town of Victoria Falls, but it crosses the bridge over the falls and runs briefly into Zambia as well before turning back. The falls are a major tourist destination and the race draws people from all over the world in addition to the local runners and friendly volunteers. Weather was cool to start but it got very warm in the second half without much shade and some tough hills; hardest and slowest marathon I’ve done in the past year (not counting the 55K ultra in March).
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.
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.
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, Marathon Globetrotters counts it as its own country along with England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Their list is the standard used by many international marathon runners.
Garmin map and performance details
Photos - England
(Many more England photos on 2015 England marathon post)
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.