Need a Marathon to Run

[Aggie_Ama]

DH and I are targeting doing a marathon this fall to celebrate or collective 30th birhtdays. His is this April, mine February 2011 so we decided to hopefully split the difference.

We would like to do one out of state and hopefully a state we haven't been to. Is there a way to find a listing of nationwide marathons? We have quite a few in Texas but we figured traveling might be neat since it is to mark a milestone in life. :)

[pfunk12]

If you want to do a smaller marathon that is very well-organized, do Steamtown in Scranton, PA. It's a lot of fun! :)

Here's a guide for you -

http://www.marathonguide.com/races/races.cfm

[Grog]

Portland, OR
Seattle, WA
are in the fall.

Montreal, QC (not in the USA) is in September.

[zoom-zoom]

Grand Rapids and Milwaukee are both in the Fall and really nice races, too.

[michelem]

If you can wait 'til December, why not try the California International Marathon (CIM)? It starts in Folsom, CA (about a mile from our house) and ends at the State Capitol in Sacramento. It is a net downhill and touted as one of the "fastest courses" in America. The weather was atrocious this year, but usually quite nice, with temps in the low 40's. Lots of community support; it's a fun one! :)

www.runcim.org

[colby]

I think RW might even publish a marathon calendar in their print issue, but I can't remember what month it's in. Most of the northwest (WA, OR, ID, northern CA) marathons are October/November, as is NYC. Our southerly brethren (AZ, southern CA, FL, etc) enjoy them December-February.

If you wanted an "experience", NYC would definitely be one. ;)

[OakLeaf]

I spent a lot of time poking around that marathonguide site choosing mine, so I hope the reviews are reasonably accurate!

The half in Columbus (October) was great fun, it's a nice flat course, really well organized, and I hear the full marathon course is just as nice. If I didn't want to get mine done in the spring, I'd be doing the Columbus full marathon for sure. (Heck, if I have fun in Cleveland and can stay in marathon shape without sacrificing too much summer cycling, I may do it anyway. :cool:)

I hear good things about Disney (January), with the exception of the extended pre-race corralling. This year was definitely an outlier as far as the temperature. Chicago does look like a great time too!

[indigoiis]

coolrunning.com or active.com is a good way to find races.

Come to Rhode Island! The Amica Marathon is a beautiful course in October in Newport, RI! http://amicamarathon.com/

[Aggie_Ama]

Oakleaf - Columbus might be a good idea, one of my best friends lives there and DH hasn't been to Ohio. Plus we haven't seen her baby who will be one in the fall.

indigoiis- Rhode Island or some of the smaller New England states are appealing because neither of us have been north. Plus no offense to your state, but I can't imagine scheduling a whole vacation to see it but we do want to visit all 50 states together. :)

[kacie tri-ing]

I want to do this one next year:

http://www.mayorsmarathon.com/index.cfm

If I can convince DH :D:D

[Aggie_Ama]

We might be going to Alaska but not until July. :rolleyes: One of our closest friends lives in Anchorage now.

[colby]

indigoiis- Rhode Island or some of the smaller New England states are appealing because neither of us have been north. Plus no offense to your state, but I can't imagine scheduling a whole vacation to see it but we do want to visit all 50 states together. :)

The good news is RI is so small that it's actually close to a lot of stuff in the NE, so you could actually make a vacation out of it and see Boston, New York, Philly, depending on how fond you were of riding trains. ;)

[tulip]

The Richmond (Virginia) marathon is in November. You could come for that and then go see the Chesapeake Bay. Everyone should see the Chesapeake Bay!

[Bike Chick]

The St. Jude Marathon in Memphis is December 4. Awesome race!

http://www.stjudemarathon.org/

[indigoiis]

The good news is RI is so small that it's actually close to a lot of stuff in the NE, so you could actually make a vacation out of it and see Boston, New York, Philly, depending on how fond you were of riding trains. ;)

That's right. But you could spend a whole week up on Federal Hill eating in restaurants, or snorkeling in Mackerel Cove, or seeing the mansions, touring the Cliff Walk, going to Block Island, or hopping on ferries to Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, even Long Island.

You wouldn't be the first Texan to be taken by Lil Rhody!

[katluvr]

IMO I would find a "smaller" marathon. The really large ones (like Disney) sometimes require long pre-race time. Althougth they are fun, navigating large crowds, getting to race start, corals, and worrying about pre-race fueling and bathrooms (so much time spent in pre-race area). The marathon I am doing I have done the 1/2, so I knew a lot about the logistics. So if you know someone that has done one, or you can visit it on race day--that may be good. For me I wanted to take a much of the unknown out of it as possible. And it should be fun....I am sure I'll be stressed out enough!

[teigyr]

Try marathonmaniacs (marathonmaniacs.com), there is a pretty comprehensive race calendar there.

It's all in what you want. I've run larger races and smaller ones and I think I like the smaller ones. It isn't logistics for me...it's more about the fact I don't need a ton of cheering and flair. Portland is the exception. It's run a lot like a small town race but it has a ton of music and support by the local people. RnR for me was a waste. It was over priced and didn't offer anything more than a smaller race could.

Also, where do you want to visit?

In 2010 I am running a small marathon (+/- 25 people for the full), North Olympic Discovery Marathon (http://www.nodm.com), Portland, and maybe CIM. The NODM course looks stunning and the race is small. Portland is Portland and I love that race. I'd run CIM just to go for time. The small one will be with friends and being able to say "hi" on the out & backs and eating with them after is most fun of all.

[hoffsquared]

Might think about the Marine Corps Marathon (also known as The People's Marathon).

It is big with lots of people to navigate BUT running past the big cheering crowds, the monuments, the Capitol, the Archives, the Potomac river, etc more than make up for the extra company.

Plus you get a really nice long-sleeve embroidered tee and a big expo.

[Aggie_Ama]

Small or medium size sounds good to me, personally. We don't know where we want to go but here is where we have been together so preferably not one of these states:

Washington
California
Nevada
Texas (duh)
New Mexico
Florida
Tennessee (Memphis)
Arkansas
Louisiana

We have passed through Mississippi and Alabama but never really been there so they are okay. Neither of us has been east or north, so we might consider that. Really we want somewhere pretty we haven't been. DH liked the idea of VA, RI and Maine but isn't sure he has heard "the one".

[tulip]

DH liked the idea of VA, RI and Maine but isn't sure he has heard "the one".

You have many years and many marathons ahead of you. There is not just The One...why not do one in a different place every year (or a half marathon)?

[teigyr]

This is your first one, right?

I put great thought into The One when I did it. It didn't turn out to be the Only One but I'm glad I picked something meaningful.

[Trek420]

this one's on my birthday.

Too bad I'm going to be away http://www.oaklandmarathon.com/Home_Page.htm

Too bad it's gonna be hard (the route looks like all uphill :eek:) :rolleyes: ;)

Even riding that route is tough http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=14555

[SadieKate]

Can't find much prettier country than the west side of the Tetons (and mostly downhill).

http://mesafallsmarathon.com/race_information.php

[azfiddle]

Well, I don't know how ambitious you are, but my husband just alerted me to a new half & full marathon on Mt. Lemmon (Tucson, AZ) area (where Lance & the Radio Shack riders were training recently). October 17.

It sounds - um- challenging- with 6000 feet of vertical climb - running UP the mountain. If you want to know more- here's the website.
http://www.mountlemmonmarathon.com/