Marathon #58 (state #44): Detroit Marathon, MI

3:51 finish, 837/3999 place overall.  Sunny and very cool, ideal conditions. Very flat. Fairly scenic course running from downtown Detroit, over bridge into Windsor, Canada, and through tunnel back to U.S. Nice waterfront and skyline views; avoids worst areas of city. Cool weather and flat course made for 14 minute improvement over Nebraska last month and best finish time in over two years.

Garmin map and performance details

Marathon #57 (state #43): Monument Marathon, Scottsbluff, NE

4:05 finish, 23/101 finish overall. Sunny and very warm, almost no shade. Nice course though; runs through Scotts Bluff National Monument - more scenic area than most of Nebraska. Heat and minor altitude (4,000ish feet) made for slower pace, 8 minutes off Alaska last month. No complaints though given the conditions.

Garmin map and performance details

Marathon #56 (state #42): Moose's Tooth Marathon, Anchorage, AK

3:57 finish, 69/293 place overall. Cloudy and cool, ideal for running. Mostly flat and scenic course along Anchorage's Coastal Trail. Started strong, slowed down late as usual, but managed to get back under four hours for first time since May. Good race overall.

Garmin map and performance details

Photos

Marathon #55 (state #41): Loonies Midnight Marathon, Livingston, TN

4:11 finish, 74/233 place overall. Midnight start, cool temps with on and off rain. Course has five fairly flat loops within a small town - kind of monotonous, but it's dark so it doesn't matter much. Enthusiastic support from local volunteers, many of them kids, who stayed out all night in the rain. I'm not used to running any long distance in the middle of the night, so I expected to be slow. Sleep deprivation didn't affect pace too much early on, but later miles were much slower and more painful than normal. Unique experience overall.

Garmin map and performance details

Marathon #54 (state #40): Run4Troops Marathon, Dyersville, IA

4:07 finish, 32/121 place overall. Warm and very humid but luckily stayed cloudy; nice low key course along rural rail-trail supporting local military families; more scenic than expected for Iowa. Went in expecting to be slow considering weather and short turnaround (3+ weeks is ideal), but ended up being about a minute faster than KY two weeks ago. No complaints.

Garmin map and performance details