First Inaugural ING Marathon - Atlanta, GA

Race Day:
3/25/2007

Weather:
With a high of 85 degrees, the heat was literally record breaking in Atlanta on race day. However, the race directors were smart in starting the race at 7a.m. and kept us out of the sun for a reasonable amount of time. With luck, future race days will have the advantage of cooler temperatures.

Also, look out if you have allergies. The pollen count was about 2300. Every car on the road was covered in a thick layer of yellow dust. Take your claritin!

Course:
This was without a doubt the most difficult course I've attempted. A loop course with many rolling hills made this race quite a challenge. While the suburbs of Atlanta are naturally hilly, the directors have to put some serious thought into remapping the course.

Beyond the actual mapping of the course, I'd say there are three things that you have to look at when evaluating a race: Start, Finish, and Aid Stations. Atlanta started on time and early enough to beat the heat. The finish line was not congested and i was actually very impressed with the efficiency of moving runneres through the gauntlet of chip collection, medal, and carbs. The race directors did an excellent job. However, the aid stations are where they lost me.

Problem #1 - The aid stations were far too small, particularly in the areas of the course where the marathoners and half marathoners ran togethor. They need larger tables and more volunteers. Having to come to a dead stop to get a mouth full of water is completely unacceptable.

Problem #2 - How do you run out of poweraide at everystation?? I ended up getting one cup of very dilluted poweraide around mile 13. Other than that, it was nonexistant on the course. Not having a sports drink on the course is a good way to send a lot of your participants to the ER. Next year they better stock up!

Experience:
There's nothing like staying with family when traveling for a marathon. Beyond the free room and board ... there is just something more relaxing about not having to deal with a hotel. While the course did not lend itself to setting a PR, I was happy to show Atlanta how DC does the marathon.

Conclusion:
All in all, this was a good marathon. I was impressed with how they did considering it was the first year. While there are a lot of bugs to work out, I can see this being a very successful and popular marathon in the coming years. Atlanta is a running town and its about time they got into the marathon business. If you're itching to go to Atlanta or are a local and can do it on the cheap ... go for it! Otherwise, maybe give them a couple of years to work out the bugs.

Final Grade: C+

Ocean Drive Marathon - Cape May, NJ

Race Day:
3/25/2007

Weather:
Windy and Chilly! When we woke up in the morning the weather was pleasant; mid-40’s and sunny. I guess that doesn’t mean much at the Jersey shore, because where it was pleasant for us near the finish is was very windy on the rest of the course. Overall we trudged through a steady 20 mph headwind throughout almost the entire course, with serious gusts over all the inter-island bridges. But, with a 9:00 a.m. start, the organizers made the best of it. Not much the officials could do with the weather except (as Dave suggested) reverse the route as determined by the weather.

Course:
Outside of the weather, this was a perfect point to point. The course ran from historic Cape May, NJ, north to Wildwood, Wildwood Crest, Avalon, Stone Harbor, and then to Sea Isle City, a.k.a. Paradise (where I’ve most of the summers of my life). For most of the race we traveled on the closest road to the beach, except through Wildwood and Sea Isle City, where there was a boardwalk.

The scenery was great and I would have appreciated it more, had the wind not taken up most of my concentration.

Overall the course was flat with the exception of the inter-island bridges, but they weren’t all that bad. The roads were good, however be prepared for sever crowning. I tried to run on the sidewalks or the far edge of the road to save my knees.

All the towns we traveled are summer beach towns so there aren’t a lot of people down there in March. However, for 600 runners the crowd support was good. After all Dave and I came equipped with our own mobile cheering squad. So all was good! Medal:Medals are good… After all that wind, I’ve never wanted to feel a medal around my neck so badly. Personal

Experience:
Dave is running Boston in three weeks, so this was a training run for him, therefore I was happy to reign it in and block the wind for him. Dave and I crossed the finish line in 3:41, but it was special because we did it together! Not to mention the family was there at the finish to congratulate us!

Conclusion:
Switch the direction of the course with the weather and I might be back. Otherwise, I’m very happy I did this race for reasons of personal significance, but I have no desire to suffer like that again.

Final Grade: B

L.A. Marathon - Los Angeles, CA

Race Day:
3/4/2007

Weather:
Hot, hot, hot! Wow, 80+ degrees can take a lot out of you when you're used to training on a treadmill. While the weather can't be controlled, the start time of the race could have easily been changed. An 8:15 start time is simply unacceptable in the heat of L.A. Let's start a little earlier next year, please ...

Course:
Devine was heralding this course as significantly faster than previous years and the extreme down hill over the first 8 or so miles would lead me to believe them. However, the fact that many elite runners were banning the race in protest of Devine not paying out last year's prize $$ in a timely fashion, slowed down the average time quite a bit. Don't be fooled by the average times ... this course is fast (assuming you are prepared for the heat).

As for scenery, I would have preferred a run through Beverly Hills but I guess Mr. Hefner doesnt want my Cliff Shots and banana peels in his front yard.

The crowd support was excellent. The Fire Dept. was happy to hose you down if the heat had gotten unbearable at several points on the course but was also courteous enough to leave room for those of us that prefer not to run with soaking we shoes weighing us down.

Medal:
No complaints here ... its hanging proudly on my wall.

Personal Experience:
I held myself back and ran a 4:31 in L.A. Not my best, but not my worst either. This trip taught me that you shouldn't be so stingy with your leave. The "red-eye" on Sunday + Working on Monday = A pissed off Tommy!

Conclusion:
Find a way to loop through Beverly Hills and start a little earlier ... I'll be back. But, I damn well wont be taking the "red-eye" again!

Final Grade: B

Rock 'N' Roll - Phoenix, AZ

Race Day :
1/14/2007

Weather:
It was unseasonably cold for Phoenix on race day. A brisk 34 degrees at the start gave us out-of-towners a distinct advantage. Although its hard to be happy about that when you flew across the country to avoid the cold.

Course:
One word ... flat. All in all I'd have to say it was a good course if you're going for speed, up hills were gradual and rare. However, the scenery left a little something to be desired. The vast majority of the run was through the suburbs and was only salvaged by the bands, which although not terribly great ... did give you something to look forward to every mile or so.

Medal:
Would have seriously preferred 2006's version, but its still one more marathon medal than most people have.

Personal Experience:
After nearly bonking and seriously considering a DNF at mile 3 due to a bad cramp in my left shit muscle (that didn't actually dissipate until mile 9) ... I managed to completely turn my race around and set a PR. Thirty minutes faster than my previous best, I'd have to say I'm satisfied with the way I ran my 2nd marathon.

Conclusion: I wouldn't rate this a "must run", but if your goal is getting the Rock Star Medal or if you're an aspiring 50 Stater ... this race isn't exactly a disappointment either.

Final Grade: B+

Pikes Peak Marathon

Being true to who we are, Mark and I have once again set ourselves on a path of self destruction in what I know to be a classic display of unbridled stupidity. To you non-marathoners that wonder how we could possibly be any dumber, I say ... "How about running one up a mountain??"

The 2007 Pikes Peak Marathon (www.pikespeakmarathon.org) will be an event to remember. With a 7,815' vertical gain and standing 14,410' above sea level, it describes itself as "America's Ultimate Challenge." Trees can't survive above 12,000' on Pike's Peak, on August 19, 2007, Mark and I will find out if we can!

Why do we do it? For the shiny medal of course...

Who?

This post is the first in a series of posts that I hope to complete on running philosophy. It is my humble attempt (as a rookie) to explain the 5 Ws of long distance running.

WHO??
Mankind is the greatest hunter in the long history of our planet. We dominated civilization far before the invention of the sniper rifle and the days of sitting lazily in a tree for an unexpecting deer to wander into our sights. In fact, millions of years of evolution have blessed us with bodies ideal for going the distance. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4021811.stm)

In the days of our spear chucking ancestors, distance running was a survival skill. Today, true distance running is a rarity. Marathonguide.com lists more than 397,000 finishing times in the USA in 2006. If we make the assumption that there were no repeats and nobody ran multiple marathons during that year (highly unlikely, seeing as how I will have run 4 over the couse of 6 months) ... it is still a weak turn out of 0.13% of the population. (http://www.marathonguide.com/features/Articles/2006RecapOverview.cfm#TotalFinishers)

If evolution has created a body that is fully capable, why then do so few people reach their potential? Or worse yet, why do so few people even try? I contend that it is not a lack of desire, nor laziness .., but another epidemic that has plagued humanity for many years. It is the philosophy of "I CAN'T!" and it is destroying us as a society. As a marathoner, I hear it all the time and am ashamed to admit that I am reformed member of the Cult of I Can't.

Who then are these marathoners that dare to say, "I can ... and I will!"? Our bodies are no different than anyone else's. We are simply those that have over come the brainwashing that has swept across the rest of the world. We believe in the limitless potential of the human spirit and dare to tap into it. We challenge ourselves to run, not to win, but to honor the gifts we have been given. Marathoners live to break down the preconceived notions of what is possible on the road and in life. You too can be a marathoner ... it just starts with the simple task of believing that YOU CAN. Understanding that, "to give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the Gift. (Prefontaine)"

The City of Angels does the Marathon

The City of Los Angeles Marathon, despite high temperatures and a discombobulated start, was an excellent experience not likely to be repeated. I certainly do not want to give the impression that LA was a bad marathon, if fact I ran a great race, I simply would not categorize the race and as a yearly “must do.”

The race officials redrew the race route this year in order to make the race faster. I don’t know what the old race was like, but I would say they succeeded.

The Bad…
First, race officials encouraged participants to get to the start early for the 8:15 start. I mean you have to be kidding! 8:15 is late, especially when the day’s highs were forecasted to be in the 80’s. The start corral was a disorganized free for all with no readily identifiable pace groups to sort out the herd. After an hour of waiting in the corral and once the race actually started, faster runners were forced to fight through walls of walkers who somehow positioned themselves up front. I think it’s great for people to get out there and walk the marathon. Good for them! PLEASE don’t start near the line! Move to the back, or if you can’t, move to the side…

The Course…
The course started near Universal Studios and proceeded up a short hill, then downhill for about 9 miles. It appeared this change had a negative effect on many runners. I observed many runners losing steam around the half-way point; probably do to going out too fast. Nonetheless, the race continued through some less than appealing neighborhoods before heading straight for downtown. Around mile 23 we were treated to a steady uphill, which zapped the last bits of energy from my legs. Throughout the race temperatures climbed from about 60 at the start to probably 80 at the finish.

The good…
Now, aside from the start, I can’t complain (except for the heat, which was not the race’s fault). The crowds were awesome. Many people made it out to support the runners even in areas that looked liked abandoned industrial parks. Thousands of people volunteered and passed out bananas and oranges. It was great.

I ran an awesome race, set a personal record (3:28) and made myself believe I should push myself beyond my pre-conceived limits.

Tom and I had an awesome time in LA. We had our post race meal at In-and-Out burger and saw a movie, where two of the actors in the movie we actually in the movie theater with us (where else in America does that happen?!?!). Our hotel was 6 blocks from the finish and just fine for $50.

I’m glad I ran the LA marathon, but with so many other marathons in California, I doubt I will be back to run in LA. Now, see the sights and eat the food? Definitely…