Hatfield-McCoy Marathon~ Post Race Thoughts

Hatfield-McCoy Marathon ~ SFMC's Best small Marathon of 2009!!!

On Satuday I completed the Hatfield-McCoy Marathon with an estimated time of 4:07 (my garmin died in the first few miles and they haven't put out the official results yet so I'll update later). I've officially proclaimed this "SFMC's Best Small Marathon of 2009!" -- at least at this point in the year. This marathon was very well organized, had an interesting volunteer group putting the race on, and had a little bit of everything on the course~ Your big Hill (mile 6-8), your flat, your rolling, a little on the road, a little off the road... anything you could imagine.

The course was very scenic starting with a climb in the fog enclosed mountains for the first 7.5 miles. Followed closely by a winding DROP for the next mile. Then we made our way through (what appeared to be) somebody's backyard with a sign that said "YES, this way -->" written on the road, to a what appeared to be an ATV track running along a river that looked like it came out of a huck finn book. As we crossed into West Virginia there were large signs welcoming the runners and spectators cheering! The marathoners ran through where the half marathon finish was and (reluctantly) we continued the run for another 13.1~ with or without hostile feelings towards the half marathoners lounging, drinking, and FINISHED running for the day (nothing personal half-marathoners, you made a smarter choice!). The half-marathon finished looked like an old western film set (but it was real!)... ok maybe it wasn't THAT bad, but I've sure never seen anything like it in real life!

The course wasn't dont yet! We crossed over a long wooden bridge that undulated as we ran over. To top it off there was a little drop as you came off the bridge and right as you make your "oh crap! big drop, sore legs!" face there is a photographer at the bottom- Thank you Mr. Photographer, I'm sure that'll be a pretty pic! (I'll update later this week with pictures!) We continued onto a trail~ Yes a trail! Nobody told me about this so of course I wore my new WHITE (not so white anymore) shoes. All in all great course with constantly banking turns so you 1) Never got bored and 2) didn't see the hills as you came up to them.

As you finished you received ... 1) Iced towels... YAY!, 2) SEATS to sit on... and with so few participants you actually got to sit!!! 3) A pretty medal and ... (This is my favorite)... 4) A mason jar with a piece of wood and a placard with your overall place (51)!!! This definitely went with the theme of the race and was much appreciated!!! (Pictured below)

I didn't make great time (for me) but I thought it was pretty decent for having run 3 marathons in 4 weeks! Also, I made my marathon maniac goals for the race- I'm now at the "gold" level with 3 spinning stars next to my name!!! Yayaya...

My next marathon won't be until July 26, 2009- San Francisco Marathon! I'm already getting itchy about taking that much time off but I have to keep telling myself it will be good for me for 2 reasons... 1) I can get back to training and prevent injury and 2) I can get my time back down to Boston Qualifying (BQ) pace! Over the next 5 weeks I'll get back to my workout of... 1 Maintenance workout (7+ miles), 1 speed workout, 1 hill workout, and 1 Long Run. I'm hoping to also add in swimming to my routine and see how that goes! More on that to come soon... keep an eye out over the next few weeks. As soon as results are posted I'll submit my official marathon rating... as you can tell from the first line of this post it will be a good one :)

-Happy Running ;)