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Wednesday, April 14, 2010

I want to do this marathon!

I stumbled upon the Freedom's Run marathon and I really want to run it! The race centers on historic Civil War sites in the panhandle of West Virginia and into Maryland.

Not only is it a scenic run packed with history...it's packed with MY history. I lived in West Virginia for about 4 years and we frequented these areas at least once a week. Actually we generally went to the Potomac Tow-path/C&O canal once a week for walks that my dad helpfully termed "death marches" and explored Antietam probably once a week as well. Harper's Ferry was a more rare treat. In historic Harper's Ferry there was a shop that sold hard candy in a stick for ten cents, and choosing which flavor to buy is a stand-out childhood memory. I'd love to revisit some of these places!
A few problems: The course is a lot of dirt roads (Trust me. I know this from multiple "death marches"), which are hard to run on, and very hilly (it's the Mountain State, after all!). Plus the race is early October, which puts training smack in the middle of a New Orleans summer.
What do you think - should I go for it?
Check it out here!

3 comments:

  1. run on a treadmill and run around Audubon park on the trail at night when it cools down....kidding. Don't run around Audubon at night.

    where there is a will there is a way... I run in the freezing cold here. Although there, there is only so much clothing you can take off to make yourself any cooler. But as much as treadmills suck it would definitely be helpful to do hills. Maybe do long runs on the levy or by the lake where there might be a bit of a breeze....although not many trees.

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  2. That looks like an awesome race! What a cool area to run through. I totally understand the hesitation with the time of year... training in during the hot, muggy summer in NOLA would be tough...

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  3. Next week I'm going to see if there are vacation days available - that's the most obvious barrier to this plan - then we'll see. I'm mostly concerned that hills are truly nonexistent here in NOLA and this is a hilly race. I do have access to a treadmill with incline and I suppose I could suck it up and run indoors!

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