Ok party people. I only had a few responses to the "Great Marathon" debate... This is the updated list so far. Any others?? I knowwww there are more great marathons out there. Read the post below, but we're looking for marathons that have a certain something about them that make them stick out! Fast course? Great sites? Wonderful organization or crowd support?? We need your input!
1) Disney Marathon ~ Orlando, FL ~ January. The magic of the parks is inserted directly into the event. I've never experienced more excitement around a race in my life! Karen agrees and Marlene recommends trying the Goofy Challenge!
2) Flying Pig Marathon ~ Cincinnati, OH~ May. This race is MADE for new runners. The whole city gets into the race, bringing excitement throughout. BEST SWAG with T-shirt, Poster, and some sort of bag (Duffel, messenger, etc). Karen agrees!
3) Little Rock Marathon ~ Little Rock, AR ~ March. Best Medals! Giant medals every year and a ridiculous (optional) perks tents with the best Post-Race Food!
4) Bataan Memorial Death March ~ White Sands, NM ~ March. Run for the inspiration!! The view of thousands of service men and women running with heavy rucks up a mountain is crazy! You'll never experience anything like it.
5) Mayor's Marathon~ Anchorage, AK ~ Chase recommends this race for the views and landscape!
6) OBX Marathon (and half)~ Outter Banks, NC~ November. Go for the Ocean view and the flat flat course! I also recommend it for the high energy of the organizers from packet pick-up to post race party!
7) Richmond's SunTrust Marathon~ Richmond, VA ~ November. Chase recommends for the great organization handled by the local running clubs as well as major crowd support!
8) Pikes Peak! ~ Pikes Peak, CO~ August. Run for the Challenge (and for the O2 you'll need halfway up!) Jill agrees!
9) Big Sur International Marathon~ Carmel, California~ May. Jill says to run for the view and the challenge! "It's not often you get to run a 2-mile killer hill in 30mph winds and then have 13 more miles of intense hills."
10) St. George~ St. George, UT ~ October. Jill says run for the beauty and the fast PR-potential course!
11) THE Boston Marathon ~ Boston, MA~ April. Run for the history as well as the notoriety of "making Boston."
12) Dallas White Rock~ Dallas, TX~ December. Jill recommends for the ideal weather conditions, great course, and great crowd support!
13) Chicago Marathon~ Chicago, IL~ October. Morgan rec's for the major crowd support and awesome course.
14) New York City Marathon~ New York, NC ~ November. EGB says run it for the crowd support and an amazing tour of NYC!
+1 to Boston and Chicago but I have to give a shout to Grand Rapids, MI. This race is small and mostly on bike trails so not a ton of crowd support but it is SO well organized by 'Marathon Don' Kern. Michigan is cool and at the peak of fall colors for the race and no detail is unattended to. Entry is cheap, medal is gorgeous, very high BQ potential, what more could you want?
ReplyDeleteHave you done RI yet? I don't know that there are very many options (RI is a pretty small state!) but the Amica in Newport looks good. The 2009 course is pretty great- you're about 200 yards from the ocean almost the entire time, and you get a chance to run by the mansions on Bellevue where the REAL money (i.e. Rockerfeller, Carnegie, etc) used to vacation. It's on my list for the scenery alone.
ReplyDeleteMeant to include a link:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amicamarathon.com/
Eugene Marathon!! Hello it is flat and fast with numerous locations for spectators to watch and the kicker, it ends on Hayward field, TRack town USA!! In the Footsteps of Legends for sure.. And it hold my BQ so of course I love love it!! See you soon Steph
ReplyDeleteI agree with Teamarcia, Grand Rapids is a great marathon. Another Michigan suggestion would be Bayshore Marathon (May) in Traverse City, fairly small (2,000), run along Grand Traverse Bay up and back the peninsula, usually great weather. Downside is you have to register early, it fills up every year :-)
ReplyDeleteColorado Marathon. Great weather, lots of subtle downhill. Only 1500 marathoners.
ReplyDeleteDetroit: you get to run in two countries during on marathon! You enter Canada by the bridge and return to the US through a tunnel under the Detroit River.
ReplyDelete