Marathon #70 (finished 50 states): Hartford Marathon, CT

3:54 finish, 600/1909 place overall.  Fairly flat, well-supported course through mostly residential areas of Hartford and suburbs. Ideal cool weather for running. Felt consistently strong through most of the course with only a minor slowdown in later miles. Nice to be under four again and finally done with the states.

Race map and details

Photos

Marathon #69: Suffolk County Marathon, Heckscher State Park, NY

3:58 finish, 125/631 place overall. Mostly flat course along Suffolk's south shore, starting in Heckscher, running along Montauk Highway to Patchogue, and then back to Heckscher on the same route. Nice crowd support through towns - much better than Long Island Marathon. Warm and very humid, however, with not much shade. Felt strong through first two-thirds of race, but slowed somewhat as the heat and humidity got to me in later miles. Still managed to break four hours (barely) - first time doing so since North Dakota in early May.

Race map and details

Marathon #68 (country #5, Can. prov. #1) - Run the Rock Marathon, Texada Island, BC, Canada

4:11 finish, 3/16 place overall, 1/6 place for males. Very hilly but scenic course on Texada Island - a remote ferry-access-only island between mainland British Columbia and Vancouver Island. Sunny but not too hot and mostly shaded. Small marathon with very friendly support from locals. Hills made for slower than average time as expected, but the tiny field - 16 marathoners total - allowed for a first place finish among males and third place overall.

Race map and details

Marathon #67 (country* #4): North Devon Marathon, Woolacombe, England

4:54 finish, 97/170 place overall. Brutally tough but very scenic and unique trail course along the coast of southwest England. Mostly cloudy and cool weather, but hills were almost constant and often very steep with uneven surfaces. Race runs up and down rocky ridges, through sand and mud, and across large grassy meadows with sheep and cattle (and their foot-wide piles of droppings) all over the course. Spectacular scenery, however, with ocean and mountain views similar to the U.S. west coast. Toughest course and slowest time of any marathon I've ever done aside from Pikes Peak. With my lack of trail running ability and the amount of walking necessary, breaking five hours was actually an accomplishment.

* Although England is part of the UK, Marathon Globetrotters counts it as its own country along with Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Their list is the standard used by many international marathon runners.

Race map and details

Photos - England

Photos - Scotland

Marathon #66 (state #49): Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon, Deadwood, SD

4:14 finish, 91/358 place overall. Tough but scenic course on rail-trail through Black Hills. First half is gradual but relentless uphill, topping out at over 6,000 feet; second half is gradual downhill, finishing in historic town of Deadwood. Cool at start but warmed up fast with heat and not much shade in later miles. Hardest marathon in almost two years. Maintained normal marathon pace for first eight miles in spite of uphill, but altitude got to me in middle miles, and even with second half downhill, pace did not recover. Slowest finish time in awhile, but not unexpected given the course and conditions.

Race map and details