REALLY Connecticut???? Poll: Which CT? (Right --->)

Yesterday and entire state managed to really make me mad! If you're trying for the 50 states (or if you simply look at Marathon Guide ) you would know that some states have dozens of marathons (Thank You: California, Florida, Washington, Texas, North Carolina), but there are a few states that give you very few options!!! I found out CT is one of those... not only that, but the options they do have aren't the best. They have THREE!!! No offense CT but it's a poor showing... ALASKA even has 5!!!!

(<--- hahaha funny sign, even if I AM mad at CT)

I've been putting my schedule together for the next year, slating in a few big ones that I really want to do and then looking for those uncommon states to slate in those hard to schedule ones! Well when I got to CT I saw the NipMuck Marathon  and thought "YES! a trail!!!" I'm doing so few of those and I REALLY enjoyed myself in the last trail marathon I completed. Not only that, but it was at a perfect month that I had very few other races. So I added it to my schedule and finished planning. WONDERFUL-- I managed to get at least 2 marathons in every month and it all seemed to fall in place beautifaully. Then, of course... there was a problem!!! NipMuck.. or what I'm now calling "NipYUCK"...

UGH! Well that was 2009, maybe 2010 wouldn't be so stringent!!! So I contacted the race director, explaining my goal, sending him my blog site and asking him if the rules were going to apply for 2010 or if there were ANY way I could possible get into this marathon. To that he replied simply...

That was IT! Double UGH-- Mystic Places hasn't been a marathon in 3 years!!! Soooo back to the drawing board (or excel sheet, since I'm a huge excel dork). What other CT marathons are there? The first I saw was Roxbury. A VERY small race, more designed for a running group in the town/city/whatever of Roxbury. It requires no entry fee (yay!) but they don't give out medals (boo!!!!). If I'm running 26.2 miles I'm getting a medal!

Onto the next one... and subsequently the ONLY one left: Hartford!!! This is actually a race I was planning on doing this year, but it decided to do my first double the week before and wasn't sure if I should have a race RIGHT after. It's a big race (plus), it's close to a few of my friends from college (double plus), it's cheap to fly to-- lots of airport options (plus, plus, plus)-- it's on the same weekend as Chicago (BAD!!!!). Chicago was one of those races I have got to include in my 50-states. I'm already cutting out NYC in lieu of running in my home town for my NY-- I will not give up Chicago!

So now I have 2 options:

1. Run Roxbury (this year or next since it's December) and DON'T get a medal-- albeit, Wild Willy has told me he will be asking a local shop to design and make him medals for those non-medal marathons... not a bad idea!

2. Run Hartford on Saturday then run Chicago on Sunday. I love my doubles, but i was hoping to run Chicago well...

What to do, what to do.... What do you think??? I'll be putting up a poll in the upper right corner. Help me decide!!!