Comments

Marathon	Date	Comment
Silver State Marathon	2/27/2006	Live music and picnic at the finish. Beautiful course, unique medal.
Los Angeles Marathon	2/27/2006	Big expo, big race. Pleanty of fans to motivate you. Well organized. No cut-off times. Elites and non elites are equally supported. When else can you conveniently see the majority of LA's neighborhoods safely on foot?
Myrtle Beach Marathon	2/27/2006	Are you a golfer? This area has the largest concentration of golf courses of any city on the East Coast. Great winter destination marathon. Nice expo.
Shamrock Sportsfest Marathon	2/27/2006	You will pass through Fort Story, a US Army installation which home to the the oldest light house in the US. Built in 1780 and now a tourist attraction for visitors, it is adjacent to the "new light house" built in 1880. There are open areas especially here on Fort Story, where you can be buffeted around by the wind. You will also past through an area of several miles of trees, bordering Seashore National Park, which is a treat since they close a portion of the local highway down just for the marathon. The expo has a good number of vendors relative to size. If you are a beer drinker you can show your number at the post race cool down area for "free" beer. The marathon no longer uses the indoor finish that it once did.
Yakima River Canyon Marathon	2/27/2006	The race director of this marathon is appraoching his 400th marathon ran, so to say that the event hasnt been well thought through logistically is an understatement. if you are a Marathon geek and you live in Washington, or in the region, you should try it at least once!
Boston Marathon	2/27/2006	As marathoners we are aware of this marathons cult status amongst us. That being said, if you can brush aside the elitism and the purist mentality, average marathons that struggle to, and finally find themselves in, this event, will be well rewarded despite themselves. From the pasta party to the post race dance party and everything in between it is a marathoners Mecca. I met Olympic Trials winners there, Marathon Gold Medalist Frank Shorter, and the late Johnny Kelly and more. As to the event itself, running the course at an even tempo, despite all my training (to include placing equivilant grade of hill/series of hills at exact place on the ground training route that it would be located actual race), is something I for one could never master. I hope you can!
New Jersey Shore Marathon	2/27/2006	The Race Director is a friend, so forgive me if I put in a plug. I do qualify to speak from an informed standpoint, I ran the innaugural event in 1997. The 10 year anniversary event looks to be spectacular. Art Castallano had put a lot of work into the race and implemented a lot of improvements based on input. He has completed in nearly 100 marathons, is a local running club manager, adn listens to folks, so look for an excellent race.
Whiskey Row Marathon	2/27/2006	This marathon has correctly been identified as one of the toughest in the US. Its certainly the toughest I ever ran. It goes through part of the town of Prescott Arizona then straight to the top of a Mountain, down the other side, back up the mountain and down the other side. Very scenic trees and granite boulders, sandy rural forest roads. Just dont let it distract you from the objective of eventually crossing that or you may never finish!
Shiprock Marathon	2/27/2006	Appropriatly named. This region is so open you will be able to the the "rock that looks like a ship" almost the entire race. Disappointed that there were no finishers medals and no pasta party, especially considering how far I traveled (by car) to run here!
Vancouver International Marathon	2/27/2006	Very large event. Many fellow marathoners and pleanty of crowd to motivate you. Very international city. Many resteraunts from all over the world nearby.