Travel Health and Fitness - destination marathons?

I bow down to Boston Qualifier Runners, you have your pick of races. For the rest of us mere mortals, have you selected your race based on destination and then course?

Missy and I walked five races in five time zones in 2007 and that was a blast. Anchorage to PHL - all with amazing views and memories.

I completed PDX in 2008, while it was close to me, it also was a destination because of Powells, Stumptown and Clyde Common.

This year we're schlepping to Bar Harbor for the Mt. Desert isle marathon. October in Maine will hopefully be cool and dry and with awesome views.
I have dreams of running Victoria as well.
How about you?

I used to read about destination marathons in Runners World back when I subscribed (and ran). But their destination marathons were pretty exotic.

I've only done the Honululu Marathon, which one could say is a destination but I basically flew in, did the marathon & flew out. And it rained most of the time during the marathon so it was pretty miserable. But I finished it, so what the heck.

Cheers.

I've only done the Honululu Marathon, which one could say is a destination but I basically flew in, did the marathon & flew out. And it rained most of the time during the marathon so it was pretty miserable. But I finished it, so what the heck.


Yeah I've heard all kinds of horror stories about Honolulu. Don't you start at some ungodly hour? And it's either hot as hell the whole time or pouring rain, from what I've been told. Sounds like a real interesting run. :)

I know dhuey did Berlin and Tokyo.. I think he really liked Berlin, as I recall.

Yeah I've heard all kinds of horror stories about Honolulu. Don't you start at some ungodly hour? And it's either hot as hell the whole time or pouring rain, from what I've been told. Sounds like a real interesting run. :)

Yeah, Honolulu starts at 5am I think (it's been a while; maybe it's before 5am, more like 4:30 or something like that). Dark as hades. When I did it, walked out to pouring rain & people were ducking into the local Starbucks to get garbage bags to put over them :eek: Cool thing is it starts w/ fireworks. Actually except for Diamond Peak or whatever it's called, the course is pretty flat. But you've got DP & of course on the back end you have to get up it to get down to the finish line (at the front end not as big a deal cuz you're still fresh).

You know how you know at the beginning of a race if it's going to go well or not? I knew at the start of this one when I got a cramp that it was going to be a long one, but I was doing ok. By the way, did I mention the torrential downpour yet? Turns out due to that, a lot of friction from the soggy socks & massive blisters ensued. Around mile 15 we lost the rain but had winds. At mile 19 one foot went ugh (ie, blister along the entire bottom of my foot & bloody) & at mile 20 same thing happened to the other foot. And I went down to a hobble but determined to finish. Which I did very, very slowly - and went to the medical tent right after.

I remember hobbling into the hotel afterwards & this older Japanese gentleman saw me hobbling in, but w/ the seashell necklace on they give you when you cross the finish line. He obviously didn't speak English, but pointed at the necklace & gave me 2 big thumbs up. :)

One of the things I like about Honolulu is there is no cut-off time. They don't shut it down until the last person crosses the finish line. I saw some of the wheelchair guys. I had great respect for them & awe when I was slowly going up DP at the end & thinking they were doing it in a wheelchair after me. I was so glad their times would count.

BTW - I've run in rain before, but never torrential rain - and it never occurred to me to carry an extra pair of socks to change into.

Cheers.

I saw some of the wheelchair guys. I had great respect for them & awe when I was slowly going up DP at the end & thinking they were doing it in a wheelchair after me. I was so glad their times would count.

BTW - I've run in rain before, but never torrential rain - and it never occurred to me to carry an extra pair of socks to change into.



As a wheelchair racer, let me tell you that pushing in the rain is one of the most horrible sporting experiences there is - once your rims get wet, you get absolutely no traction against the gloves. It's murder, and can easily triple your time.

Congratulations on your finish under difficult conditions.

It rained for the first time in 20 years the year I did PDX, nothing like Sharon's experience. That would be awful. My dreadful experience was more about not refueling often enough nor dehydrating. Miles 17-20 were not pretty and I have an fellow wogger to thank for providing me her extra gu.

I was in Paris last year during the Paris Marathon - it looked like fun.

This year we're schlepping to Bar Harbor for the Mt. Desert isle marathon. October in Maine will hopefully be cool and dry and with awesome views.


I'm doing their 1/2 in September

I'm using 1/2 marathons as an excuse to visit states I haven't been to yet.
I have 1 scheduled every month this year, but the earlier/later months are down close to me.
I'm visiting MT, OR, ID, ME, and AK this year for random 1/2 marathons.

I finished the Disney World 1/2 in January, but did not finish the Disney Princess yesterday. Next race is in Charlotte, NC, April is Clemson, SC, then my traveling begins.

I'm doing their 1/2 in September

I'm using 1/2 marathons as an excuse to visit states I haven't been to yet.
I have 1 scheduled every month this year, but the earlier/later months are down close to me.
I'm visiting MT, OR, ID, ME, and AK this year for random 1/2 marathons.



It sounds like there's a couple of people doing the Lehigh Valley Half Marathon, in Allentown, PA on May 1. There's info in the Community Buzz thread-->

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/communitybuzz/1147259-there-many-runners-ft-enough-runners-do.html


I'll be there. I've been trying to run a race near where I grew up for a while, but things just haven't worked out. I registered a while ago and booked my airfare yesterday, so as long as there's no illness/injury, I'll be running it.

For the rest of us mere mortals, have you selected your race based on destination and then course?
Having done one marathon (so far) just to accomplish it, I can say with conviction that the only additional marathons I will do will be for the destination (i.e., scenic, fun, silly, unusual, etc.)

Near term I'm planning Walt Disney World (Goofy Challenge Jan 2012) and Marine Corps Marathon (Oct 2012).

Longer term I'd like to do Venice, maybe (if I'm ever up for the stairs) Great Wall of China.

Closer to home, I hear the Hatfield & McCoy marathon is great fun, including a rope bridge and being "shot at" by water pistols. Allegedly every runner has a dedicated local cheerleader, and you're put on one family or the other to compete.

It sounds like there's a couple of people doing the Lehigh Valley Half Marathon, in Allentown, PA on May 1. There's info in the Community Buzz thread-->

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/communitybuzz/1147259-there-many-runners-ft-enough-runners-do.html


I'll be there. I've been trying to run a race near where I grew up for a while, but things just haven't worked out. I registered a while ago and booked my airfare yesterday, so as long as there's no illness/injury, I'll be running it.

I've already booked races through October. Just Nov and Dec are unbooked.
May 1 I'm running in Lincoln, NE with several friends from college.

Most of our events (runs/bike rides) are destination. I'm a traveler first I guess :)

I ride more then run but am going to do a 1/2 marathon with my wife (her first) sometime this year. Not sure where yet but Vegas (YAWN) looks to be good timing for us!

We started a couple years ago with a goal to do some sort of event ride in each state.
Oregon (STP)
Washington (STP)
Utah (Moab Moonlight Classic)
Wyoming (Tour De Wyoming and all my training rides ;)
Colorado (erock and a few others)
Nebraska (Cool-aid Classic)
SD (Black hills ride...can't remember name)
Montana (.....can't remember ugh)

I'd have to check my list but I think that is all we've done so far.

At the Disney World Goofy last year it snowed! I was lowley 5k and chief cheerleader for half and full, but when I booked to go to Florida, I was thinking sunshine not snowflakes!!!

I registered for the 2012 Disneyworld Marathon on Tuesday. Think this is the furthest out I've ever planned almost anything.

I registered for the 2012 Disneyworld Marathon on Tuesday. Think this is the furthest out I've ever planned almost anything.
Haven't registered yet but have hotel reservations and plan to do the same. Plus the Half, for the Goofy Challenge.

There's a whole health & fitness weekend going on there that weekend... prime location for a DO?

Hope the Boston marathon goes well for you.

Cheers.

I bow down to Boston Qualifier Runners, you have your pick of races. For the rest of us mere mortals, have you selected your race based on destination and then course?

Missy and I walked five races in five time zones in 2007 and that was a blast. Anchorage to PHL - all with amazing views and memories.

I completed PDX in 2008, while it was close to me, it also was a destination because of Powells, Stumptown and Clyde Common.

This year we're schlepping to Bar Harbor for the Mt. Desert isle marathon. October in Maine will hopefully be cool and dry and with awesome views.
I have dreams of running Victoria as well.
How about you?

The Mt. Desert Island marathon is one of the most beautiful runs I've done. You will really enjoy it.

Midnight Sun marathon in Tromso, Norway is also terrific. The marathon starts at 8:00 PM. There's an optional 'warm up' jog around town before the day-of-race breakfast that is also a lovely switch up on the traditional carb-load dinner the night before.

Lake Tahoe marathon, what can I say? I'd never been there, beauty that just got better and better as the race progressed. At the end of the race, everyone stood knee/thigh deep in the lake to relax tired muscles. The finisher's shirt the year I did it was a marigold-colored long-sleeved windshirt. The lake was really refreshing, but cooold, so everyone kept standing first on one foot, then the other. I wish I had a picture - we looked like some kind of exotic golden herons.

The Reykjavik half-marathon was good (I had just finished backpacking for two weeks, got a blister, decided to do the half instead of the full), but if you ever go there, I'd recommend the 10k. The support and scenery was just better for the 10k.

Oh, and in some ways my favorite - the Kilauea Marathon on the Big Island! Tough, but just gets better and better, and you finish along the rim of the crater surrounded by tree ferns and blooming ginger - awesome!

I have a question and this could be omni as well as here but what the heck I think i'll throw it out here

At work there is a lady who is rather big. she told me she is training for a marathon this summer.

when I say big, i mean shorter in height and wider in width. How does a person of that stature actually complete something so difficult? I can't see it being possible for someone like that to actually run it?

I have a question and this could be omni as well as here but what the heck I think i'll throw it out here

At work there is a lady who is rather big. she told me she is training for a marathon this summer.

when I say big, i mean shorter in height and wider in width. How does a person of that stature actually complete something so difficult? I can't see it being possible for someone like that to actually run it?

She may be walking it. She may be doing intervals (walk 8 mins, jog 2 mins).

I've heard couch potato/office jocks act like walking 26 miles in a day is no big deal, but it still takes a level of stamina and endurance. Averaging 3.5 miles an hour may not seem like much, but try it for 8 hours sometime....

My wife and 5 of our friends are doing the Jungfrau Marathon this year in September.

The last 10 miles start at an altitude of 2600 feet and they have to run to7200 feet. I hiked the route a few years ago. They are all crazy.

At least it's beautiful there. I'll be drinking my Hefe-Weisse at Kleine Scheidegg while they run.

I've completed 10 marathons and Big Sur was my favorite for scenery.

I used to travel a lot just to travel - now I travel to run. It gives a (slightly) more credible reason to excessive travel :)

Hope the Boston marathon goes well for you.

Cheers.

^ Thanks!

I'll have a race report for you later but it wasn't a great race for me. I had fun though. :)

Hi,

I did the WDW half marathon in January this year ( spent 2 weeks in WDW also) and tomorrow , I am doing the Edinburgh half marathon.

Regards

TBS

Hi,

I did the WDW half marathon in January this year ( spent 2 weeks in WDW also) and tomorrow , I am doing the Edinburgh half marathon.

Regards

TBS

Best of luck!

I know dhuey did Berlin and Tokyo.. I think he really liked Berlin, as I recall.

Hey, it only took me four months or so to notice this Travel Health and Fitness forum and this marathon thread in particular.

Outside of the U.S., I have run Berlin, Dublin, Tokyo and Barcelona. I highly recommend all of these as destination marathons. Berlin and Tokyo are huge (>40,000 entrants), major international races. Barcelona and Dublin are smaller (around 13,000 or so). Fire away if anyone has questions.

I have done San Farncisco the last 4 years. You get to run the Golden Gate Bridge. Lots of nice things to do there.

Hi,

I have just returned home from the EDI half marathon ( my 2nd half marathon) and did it in 1 hr 45 min ( my first one was at WDW in Jan with 2 hrs 12 but I was towards the back).

We set off from Just past Princes Street and Carlton Hill , run past the Scottish parliament and Holyrood Palace before part of the way round Arthur's seat , past Meadowbank Stadium and down towards Leith then along Portobello Promenade , past Musselburgh racecourse for 2 miles before doubling back.

Afterwards you have to walk up hill for 15-20mins for buses to take to back to Market Street in Edinburgh ( close to Waverley Station).

There was heavy rain last night but during my run only a couple of light showers and no wind. The wind and heavy showers are picking up now. The full marathon is still in progress.

The organisers do advertise this as the fastest UK half marathon.

Looking forward to a shower now!:D

Regards

TBS

Congrats & thanks for the 'trip report'!

Cheers.

I have a question and this could be omni as well as here but what the heck I think i'll throw it out here

At work there is a lady who is rather big. she told me she is training for a marathon this summer.

when I say big, i mean shorter in height and wider in width. How does a person of that stature actually complete something so difficult? I can't see it being possible for someone like that to actually run it?

If you have a big marathon near you go hang out at the finish line....you'd be amazed at the size/shapes/ages of people that finish.

How? Determination I'd say.

If you have a big marathon near you go hang out at the finish line....you'd be amazed at the size/shapes/ages of people that finish.

How? Determination I'd say.

Finishing a marathon in 5-6 hours is not nearly as difficult as is generally perceived. It requires a fair amount of work for someone who has been a couch potato for years, but if you already run regularly, it is not a particularly difficult training regimen or race day.

If you have a big marathon near you go hang out at the finish line....you'd be amazed at the size/shapes/ages of people that finish.

How? Determination I'd say.

Agree. It's all about training. I have a friend who is over 6' and over 300#. She finished a full marathon (at around that weight) and plays in a competitive tennis league.

There is more to fitness than weight, but less weight does mean less stress on the body and a heavy person will often go much faster after losing weight.

I've got the Marine Corps marathon in DC this October to look forward to. Did NYC last year and the Goofy Challenge + 5km at Disney early that year.
May enter Comrades in South Africa next May and will end up doing San Francisco one year (flights always expensive at that time of year, although I'll be in SF for a day or two before or after MCM so I'll run across the bridge then). Would love to do something in Asia/Australia but not sure how I would cope with the weather / time of year being wrong.

Always make a holiday out of these as well with the further away destinations being the longer break. Good way of seeing the cities as well running around them!

...will end up doing San Francisco one year (flights always expensive at that time of year, although I'll be in SF for a day or two before or after MCM so I'll run across the bridge then).

You might consider running the Emerald Nuts Across the Bay 12K on March 18, 2012: http://rhodyco.com/eab12k-2011.html

The course is extremely scenic, starting in Sausalito, across the GG Bridge, through Crissy Field, Marina Green, Fort Mason and finishing at Aquatic Park. This captures about 80% of the best scenery of the SF Marathon course.

One more plug for Emerald Nuts Across the Bay 12K. The timing of this race in March is much better than the SF Marathon in July if you are looking for clear weather to enjoy the scenery. As someone who lives here and who will be running the SF Marathon next month, I like how the probable weather during the marathon is high 50s and heavy fog (typical summer day in SF is heavy fog overnight, clears during the day and rolls back in during the evening). But if you're coming here for the scenery, this 12K in March gives you a much better shot of having a clear morning on race day.

Mt desert island marathon was awesome. Weatherwise - started at 55 degrees and ended at 59. Windy, spitty at times, but then sunny and pleasant. Course starts out a little hilly, but then flattened out and the next set of hills was rolly. Great views and good fall foliage had just peaked, but still spectacular. This is definitely a destination marathon - not an easy place to get to and somewhere you want to enjoy for a few days. We had to leave right after the race to get to BOS for a morning flight, not great for the old and sore.

Registration open for 2012 now.

Knock yourselves out.

Not a marathon, but had the good fortune to be in Addis Ababa by surprise for the Great Ethiopian Run 10k in 2009. In 2010 I extended my trip a few days to stay and run the race. Foreigners had to pay something like 10x the entry fee but were also afforded the chance to attend a pre-race dinner with Haile Gebrselassie and other elite marathoners for the charity. Even was able to snag an autograph on my husband's running shop's singlet I happened to have along on the trip.

My husband also did the Mt. Faber 10k on a trip to Singapore. He really enjoyed this part of the trip.

Another one here going to be at WDW in January 2012, for the Dopey (5K, 1/2 and full). Did it the freezing year--2010---hoping for much better weather this time around. Not too hot, but not icy. :)
Not a very good/fast runner. I am a triathlete at heart. But working on the running to help with both sports.
Only marathons I've run were: Austin twice, WDW twice, and part of a relay in the Prince of Wales marathon in Alaska. And 7 Ironman races. :D

Bumping this up in hopes that if any FTers did Boston Marathon today, they'll report in that they're ok.