50 states, races, and t-shirts
Introduction
A couple years after getting into long distance running, I decided to try to run a half-marathon or marathon in each state. After crossing off my fifth state, I recounted the race to my sister. As I described the hills, puddles, cows, lightning, thunder, and cornfields, she suggested that I begin a blog about my experiences and races. While it’s hard to imagine the many different races running together, I could see how it might happen. So, I looked back in my mind (and with the help of my t-shirt drawer) am going to document my runs through all 50 states. End of 2015 update: 16 states done!
12/10/2016
10/15/2016
9/10/2016
8/20/2016
Reykjavik Half Marathon (Iceland), August 20, 2016
I’d
been tossing around the idea of taking a trip to Iceland with some friends for
a little while, an epic journey that included camping, biking, and taking
several weeks to see the whole country.
We looked at several dates before realizing there would be a half
marathon there in mid-August, a time that worked with our schedules. We had to do it.
We
wrapped up our journey around the ring road (roughly 1,000 miles around the
country) ending in Reykjavik.
Reykjavik is a pretty town, and our 13.1 mile foot tour took us along
the harbor, through historic areas, and the modern waterfront fine arts
center. Although beautiful, sights
on the racecourse paled in comparison to what we’d seen in the past 10 days
(think Mars-like volcanic rock formations, green rolling hills, black sand
beaches, unbearably hot natural springs, and glacial lakes).
The
one thing that stood out during our time in Reykjavik compared to the rest of
our trip was the chance to get more of an exposure to the lifestyles of
Icelandic people (one thing to know about Iceland is that 60% of the country’s
population live near Reykjavik, with a couple exceptions, we hadn’t had the
chance to immerse ourselves to far into the Icelandic culture). The race, which included everything from
a kids 550m race to a full marathon, was a celebration of fitness and
running. After finishing the half,
we spent a couple hours at the finish line waiting for a friend to finish the
full and watching people of all ages finish races and enjoy the day (it was in
the 60s…a warm day there and a wonderful break from North Carolina’s 90+ heat).
4/24/2016
Coastal Delaware Running Festival-Marathon (DE), April 24th, 2016
Occasionally
I will brainstorm a list of states I still need to run and in late 2015 I
realized I hadn’t run one in Delaware.
What makes this a shocking realization is that I grew up there and visit
my parents there on a regular basis.
Knowing I had logged countless miles as a cross country and track
runner, along with having an entire drawer dedicated to my MS Society Thanksgiving
5 and 10k t-shirts, it was time to cross off a half or full.
I
know that many people are surprised that Delaware is big enough to hold a
marathon without having to run laps around the state, but it is. My parents live in the northern part of
the state, which is a beautiful area with some gentle hills. Coastal Delaware, the southern part of
the state is also beautiful and wonderfully flat. Needless to say, I chose a race in the southern part.
3/27/2016
Westminster Trail Run (CO), March 27, 2016
I’ve
put in a lot of miles in Colorado, although most of them are on skis. In 2016 my ski trip coincided with the
Westminster Trail Run outside of Boulder, so I decided to log some running mile
as well. Weather in Colorado that
week was great for skiing, not as great for running. We made it to the race start where temperatures were in the
upper teens (my watch data has the temperature for the run logged at 21
degrees). We huddled at the start
to get last minute instructions from the race director. Apparently there were a couple spots to
watch out for on the course, he listed 4-5 intersections to make sure we didn’t
miss turns, identified 5-6 slippery spots, and a few more places where the trail
narrowed, so to watch out for runners coming the other direction. But other than that, things were great;
there wasn’t anything else we needed to know (having absolutely no idea what
the course was like, the long list of suggestions were not so helpful).
The
trail was relatively flat, winding through natural areas, around ponds, and
through small neighborhoods. From
what I could tell, the trail was a mix of pavement and packed sand. Unfortunately it was hard to tell the
exact surface due to the layers of snow, and ice, and after a few runners,
slush on top of it. Wishing I’d
packed ice skates, or at least something with more traction than my road shoes,
I carefully picked my way through the race, thankful that I managed to stay on
my feet for the whole thing (I did see a runner slip on the ice and fall into a
puddle of slush several inches deep).
Following
the race (having thawed my frozen toes) it was time to continue on to Aspen and
log more miles on the skis slopes.
12/31/2015
Kiawah (half) Marathon (SC), December 12th, 2015
After Chicago, and New York, I was ready for a break. I ran the half and remembered how much fun they are. Given the 70+ degree temperature, I was happy not to be running the full and to spend the rest of the day on the beach. (Want to know more about the race itself...check out December 2014, 2013, and 2012, this one's becoming an annual event :)
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