Wednesday, April 29, 2015

I Will Qualify for Boston...

Last weekend, the Illinois Marathon didn't go as planned.  I ran a 3:42:58. I needed a sub-3:30 to qualify for Boston. That's OK. It was a miserable day in Champaign...in fact, the marathon was cancelled when I hit 24 miles. Still finished and received a medal. The wind and rain slowed me down. Eventually, I gave up chasing the unicorn. That's also OK.

I will qualify for Boston...on a trail marathon!

Yep, I'll run a qualifying time on a certified trail marathon course. I love trails. And they love me. Of course, many trail marathons are rather hard. Lots of hills and uneven terrain. Fortunately, I've found several "easier" trail marathons. They are run on packed dirt or crushed limestone. They don't have lots of hills--they are mostly flat or net downhill courses. Here they are:

Towpath Marathon, OH (October)
Light at the End of the Tunnel, WA (June)
Tunnel Lite Marathon, WA (September)
Whistlestop Marathon, WI (October)
Peak to Creek Marathon, NC (October)

If you know of other fast trail marathons, let me know!

Not sure which one I'll try first. I currently have my eye on the Towpath Martahon this October in Ohio. I've run it before and it did not go well. That was a LONG time ago. I need to redeem myself. The two Washington marathons are close to my brother's house. Those would be a fun trip.

It's time to train for Howl at the Moon 8-Hour race (August) and Barkley Fall Classic 50K (Sept). Along the way, I'll figure out a marathon plan.

7 comments:

Chris Ⓥ said...

Rob suggested the Frisco Raiload Run in MO. Rails to trails certified course. http://www.friscorailroadrun.com/

Unknown said...

Frisco was what I almost ran, but decided not to race last weekend. Lots of state age group records get set every year at Frisco.

Chris Ⓥ said...

Thanks David. Sounds like it might be a race to put on my list.

Flying Marathoner said...

North Central Trail in/near Sparks, MD (late NOV/early DEC)- mix of "trail" ( I think it was more of a "rails to trails" environment) and road... Website is not currently operational - don't know if it is certified for BQ.

Chris Ⓥ said...

I'll check into that MD race. Thanks.

Chris Ⓥ said...

Erin suggested the Western Pacific marathon in CA. http://brazenracing.com/westernpacific.html

Chris Ⓥ said...

Dave suggested the Rails to Trails marathon in WI. http://www.railstotrailsraces.com/