Marathon 2 - Electric Boogaloo

Finally got off my electronic rear-end and clicked the register button, so now it’s official. I’d circle it on my calendar if I weren’t such a computer-dependent tool and had some sort of physical representation of time that lived outside my laptop.


Sunday, November 14th – Kitty Hawk, NC – The Outer Banks Marathon

I’m working through injuries now, and have no doubt that my body will entertain me with new and exciting ailments between now and then, but I needed to make this official so I have a singular point on the horizon to aim for.

‘Why the Outer Banks Marathon?’ you didn’t ask, but no doubt we wondering. Nags Head and the Outer Banks hold a special place in my heart and many of my best memories. My family first went to Nags Head for a summer vacation in 1980 and we loved it there. It was a lot different back in those days, but underneath all the changes and growth, the basic charm of the area is still there.

We kept going back every summer for several more years, and after about the 5th summer my parents started talking about retiring there. My sister and I had heard that before, so we didn’t give it much consideration, but in the mid 90s, after having gone every summer since 1980, my folks bought some land in Kitty Hawk and started working on house plans. In 1998 they both retired from the working world, and moved into their Kitty Hawk house. We still go every summer to visit, and now my kids have the Outer Banks as part of their summer memories. This summer when we go visit for the 4th of July will mark the 30th straight summer I’ve visited the beaches of OBX.

The starting line for the marathon is about 1.5 miles from their house, and their little street even shows up on the race map, which I think is really cool. What makes this even better is when I told my folks I was going to do this, my dad signed up to walk the half, which starts at the same time as the full, but goes from the midway point so that the half and full end in the same place. I’ve helped him look up a training plan online, and he’s already building up his walking base, so we’ll be trading training war stories throughout the Summer. I consider my dad one of my best friends, and to my wife’s dismay we are INCREDIBLY similar, and if all goes well we should be crossing the finish line around the same time.

Now that they’ve got my money, it’s time to get serious about planning and training. Looking forward to sharing my trials and tribulations for my second run at 26.2.

Giveaway updates:

Erin at ‘eri-thon: from 0 to 26.2 in 30’ is giving away 3 copies of ‘The Ultimate Runner’, which looks like a great book and I’m not-so-secretly hoping I win. Check it out and enter soon – only open for 2 more days: http://eri-thon.blogspot.com/2010/05/ultimate-giveaway.html

Chris at ‘Suck It Up … Rantings of a Runner on the Edge’ is giving away a headlamp and/or Family Guy DVD prior to crushing 100 miles. Final few days for this one too, so visit soon: http://chrismcpeake.blogspot.com/