Marathon #44 (state #32): Twin Cities Marathon, MN

3:57 finish, 3010/8847 place overall. Twin Cities, along with Chicago, could be considered the Midwest's version of the NYC Marathon. Consistent enthusiastic crowd support for the entire course from Minneapolis to St. Paul. Pleasant fall scenery and great running weather (cool with clouds and a little light rain) made for a great day. Best finish time since PR in July 2012.

Garmin map and performance details

Marathon #43 (state #31): Mesa Falls Marathon, ID

4:06 finish, 51/142 place overall. This was the ID race I had to skip last year due to injury, and this year it ended up being two weeks after Crater Lake, which I had already planned. As I learned from the NYC-Philly combo in 2010, two-week gaps are not ideal for me but can be done without major detriment, so I signed up. Course was at high altitude, but mostly downhill, beginning in a national forest near Yellowstone and finishing in the small town of Ashton. Maintained sub-four pace for first two-thirds of race, but the two-week gap caught up with me in the later miles as I resorted to a painfully slow jog. Ironically my time was almost 20 minutes faster than two weeks earlier, but that is due to this course being significantly easier than Crater Lake.

Garmin map and performance details

Marathon #42 (state #30): Crater Lake Marathon, OR

4:25 finish, 29/69 place overall. Probably the most scenic marathon I've ever run, with Catalina as a close second. Even with the constant hills and elevations ranging from 6,000-8,000 feet, the nearly constant views of the Cascades and Crater Lake made the challenge more than worthwhile. The only downside, if there was one, was that the organizers decided to add an out-and-back for the last four miles that went up and down an extremely steep trail - steeper than anything we had run earlier in the already very hilly course. With that "insult to injury" aside, this will be a race to remember with very friendly support and top notch scenery.

Garmin map and performance details

Marathon #41 (state #29): Missoula Marathon, MT

3:58 finish, 318/1098 place overall. Great race in every way. For a small city in Montana, the organization and support could not be topped. Relatively flat course with nice scenery - varying from farmland to forest to residential neighborhoods - finishing in downtown Missoula. Broke four hours once again, but still haven't done so by more than two minutes since my PR one year ago.

Garmin map and performance details

Marathon #40 (state #28): Bay of Fundy Marathon, Lubec, ME

4:10 finish, 132/448 place overall. Unique, inaugural event in a very remote location on the Maine-New Brunswick border. Race begins in Lubec, ME - at the easternmost point of U.S. - and crosses into Campobello Island, NB around Mile 6. Very hilly through the Canadian portion of the course before crossing back into Lubec for the finish. Perfect running weather, but relentless hills made for less than ideal finish time. Cool experience running across international border with amazing local support from both countries and even from border patrol agents. Passport and customs procedures taken care of pre-race, so no hang ups on race day running over the border.

Garmin map and performance details