I'm still undecided about doing my first marathon this fall. It'd be the Columbus Marathon, on Oct 20, and it's high time I make up my mind so I can get training. I feel like it's time I ran a marathon, but is that peer pressure or something I really want to do? And I'm not crazy about all those lengthening long runs in the heat of summer.

On the other hand, my brother will be living in Columbus only for a couple more years (grad school) and I'd like my first marathon to be flatter than Louisville or Cinci (the two closest). And training for my first 10k and first half-marathon were both great experiences, in ways that went beyond the physical.

Of course, it's a joint half and full marathon, and I could just opt for the half and put in some good hard work towards finally running a sub-2 hr time.

Any thoughts?