Kiawah Island Half Marathon (SC), December 10, 2016

The Bourbon Chase Relay (KY), October 14-15, 2016

Great Smoky Mountain Half Marathon (TN), September 10, 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).

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.

Although it was flat, the course was not lacking in scenery and diverse views.  We started at the Dewey Beach lighthouse before heading into Rehoboth and enjoying a mile down the Rehoboth Beach boardwalk.  The next 20 miles wound through Cape Henlopen State Park and salt water marshes, before turning south near Lewes and following a paved trail back to the post race party in Dewey (which was awesome, after 26 miles, you can’t beat sitting on a beach with lunch, a beer (or 2) and your bare feet in the sand).

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.