I have a number of friends who were supposed to be running the Dallas Marathon right now. In some instances they have trained for months and this was to be their first marathon or half marathon ever. Of course others of them run marathons regularly and likely already have another one on the books. I know what your disappointment is like this morning, believe it or not. Several years ago, I trained for the White Rock half, you know, back when it was still called White Rock. Then just 6 weeks before it was to take place I blew out my knee and spent the next several months in rehab. On the day the doctor told me I wasn't going to be able to run at White Rock, I was devastated.
The good news for you guys is that you have two healthy knees and as soon as some of this ice melts off you can go right back to running. So, now all you have to do is find another marathon to run in the next few months and I'm here to help! Unfortunately, the Honolulu Marathon is taking place later today and it's too late to get a flight out for that one at this point. But worry not.... we'll find you an event to run. I've found this handy-dandy website that lists all the marathons available. So all we have to do now is find a great place to run and then book your trip.
Just scrolling through the list. The first one to catch my eye is the Maui Paradise Run on January 12th. I mean you definitely wouldn't have to worry about ice on the roads there, right? But reading the reviews for that run, it would seem that it's a small local event and if you don't carry your own water, you'll collapse midway through since it's so sparsely attended. One reviewer said that in 2009 they only had about 50 runners. You probably don't want to fly all the way to Maui to collapse and die during a marathon. So, let's look some more, shall we?
Of course on the same weekend as that Maui run, you could fly the other direction and do the Disney World Marathon. I have several friends who have run this one. People really can't say enough good things about it. You run through 4 Disney parks, what's not to love? We could set you up in a Disney World Resort and you could do the Goofy Challenge if you are goofy enough to put yourself through that. Or you could just run the marathon, enjoy a few days at Disney and then come on back.
But if you are really aching to do a Hawaii marathon, the following weekend, January 19th is the Maui Oceanfront Marathon. This one only allows 600 entrants. So it might be too late to register. But it is a qualifier for Boston. And apparently based on the reviews, you're probably going to be running past humpback whales jumping off the coast along this course. Plus who doesn't want a shirt from that marathon, right?
Looking to stick a little closer to home but still have a great experience? Let me just tell you about the New Orleans Mardi Gras Marathon on February 2nd! Guess what folks, it's a rock n' roll marathon! Come on, seriously, you are going to have the time of your life. Why isn't this the biggest marathon in America? Bands playing along the route every mile, in NOLA, I would assume that you get beads in your goody bag and surely they must pass out Hurricanes at the water stations, right? Who's in? Heck, I'll even come with you to cheer you on. One of the things that a lot of the reviewers seemed to like about this one is that the 1/2 runners start with the marathoners, so you get 12 miles with the 1/2'ers and that seems to make for a good pace and upbeat runners. Let me know if you need me to book you a room for this one. The nice thing is that you can drive to this one if you don't want to spend money on a flight.
If you are looking for something even closer to home, February 16th you'll be in luck. On that day you can choose between the Austin Marathon and the Koala Health and Wellness Galveston Mardi Gras marathon. Austin is a big one with 22,000 plus runners while Galveston is going to have a much smaller group of runners. It's only in it's third year. Reviewers say that the Austin race course can be a little boring in some spots as far as scenery. In Galveston assuming the fog isn't too think at race time you at least have the Gulf of Mexico to look at. Austin starts and ends at the capital. Galveston basically takes you around the island twice, the first time with the 1/2 runners and the second time with just the much smaller group of marathoners.
Want to stay even closer to home? Then let's talk about the Cowtown Marathon on February 23rd. This race gets really great reviews. So why don't we hear more about it locally? If you did this one, you'd probably want to get a hotel room over in Ft. Worth the night before just to make sure you don't miss the start. Otherwise, you are spending practically no money other than on registration. Even parking is free. And are you ready for this? You get TWO shirts!!!! Yep! One for registering and another for finishing.
So despair not runners. There are other events out there you can run to make up for this one. If you wanted you could run one every weekend of the year... and we haven't even touched on the ones in foreign countries yet. I'm thinking a travel agent could make a living just setting you crazy people up with hotels and flights for your races. Have a great Sunday and stay warm!
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