Need a Marathon to Run

[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.