Marathon #107 (continent #5 / country #17): Knysna Forest Marathon, South Africa

4:25 finish, 232/689 place overall. Very hilly but scenic race on mostly dirt roads in the dense forests around Knysna, about five hours east of Cape Town. Hardest marathon by far in the last two years - almost constant hills and a rough road surface with rocks and potholes to watch out for. The scenery makes up for it though, especially in the later miles with nice mountain and coastline views. Weather was cold at the start and stayed fairly cool throughout, which also helped. Slow finish time, but not unexpected considering the course.

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Marathon #106 (sub-four state #31, second round state #16): Sugarloaf Marathon, Carrabassett Valley, ME

3:52 finish, 265/408 place overall. Scenic course along the Carrabassett River in west-central Maine, running past Sugarloaf ski area and finishing in Kingfield. Long grueling uphill early in race, but gradual downhill in second half makes up for it, allowing for an okay finish time. 11th sub-four in a row - longest streak ever - but that will most likely end here since the next one has a lot of hills and trails.

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Marathon #105 (continent #4 / country #16): Nagano Marathon, Japan

3:55 finish. Fairly large race in and around Nagano, a small city about 100 miles northwest of Tokyo made famous by hosting the 1998 Olympics. The marathon has been run every year since, passing several of the Olympic sites and finishing inside one of the stadiums. The course itself isn’t too scenic in the first half, with many miles through industrial and commercial areas, but improves in the second half with more mountain views and the stadium finish. There are only a handful of international runners and minimal English is spoken, but it is friendly and well organized with good spectator support. Weather was nice and cool early, but warm later, which slowed me down more than usual. Jet lag was also more than I’m used to, which probably didn’t help. Slowest time in awhile, but still under four hours (10th consecutive sub-4 in nine months, longest sub-4 streak ever).

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Marathon #104 (country #15): San Valentino Marathon, Terni, Italy

3:52 finish, 255/627 place overall. Small scenic race running through Terni and the surrounding rural areas of Umbria, about an hour northeast of Rome. The theme and timing of the race commemorate St. Valentine, who was supposedly born in Terni in the 3rd Century. The town makes a giant deal out of Valentines Day and the race is part of the celebration. It’s a mountainous area and the course is hilly, but there’s no real altitude and most of the inclines are gradual and not too strenuous. Weather was ideal. Finish time was a little slower than recent marathons, but still faster than average and solidly under four hours.

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Marathon #103: Disney World Marathon, FL

3:51 finish, 1030/11480 place overall. Popular, well organized race through and between Disney parks, starting and finishing at Epcot. Unseasonably warm weather made the later miles a little slower than recent races, but still a better than average finish.

Garmin map and performance details