Executive Office in Washington, DC.

Statue in Washington, DC.

Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC.

More fall colors in Washington, DC.

Washington Monument in Washington, DC.

More fall colors in Washington, DC.

Squirrel in Washington, DC.

Vietnam Statue in Washington, DC.

Vietnam Memorial in Washington, DC.

Vietnam Statue in Washington, DC.

Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.

Washington Monument in Washington, DC.

Canadian Geese in Washington, DC.

Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.

Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.

Statue in Washington, DC.

Arlington Cemetery in Washington, DC.

Skyline in Washington, DC.

Iwo Jima in Washington, DC.

SeaBee Statue in Washington, DC.

More fall colors in Washington, DC.

Marine Corps Marathon
Sunday, October 29, 2006

I race walked the Marine Corps Marathon. It was a beautiful, sunny, but windy day. The temperature varied from 41 to 60 degrees. There were 34000 entrants which made the course very crowded. It also made it difficult around the water stations. The first 2.5 miles were generally up and the next 1.5 were down. After that the course was almost flat as it wound its was around Washington, DC. The trees were turning color and it was most enjoyable to see the different sights along the way.

Dean Karnazes, who is running 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days, was in the event and finished. This means that he has run 43 marathons in 43 states in 43 days. He will be finished next Sunday with his run in the New York Marathon.

The Marine Corps Marathon experienced a 10 minute delay for the first of two waves. A person had a heart attack about 300 yards out which caused a 22 minute delay in the start of the second wave. Another man died of a heart attack near miles 17. He was being attended to as I passed. It made me very sad at that point.

Overall I enjoyed myself and intend to do the Marine Corps marathon again next year. Because of the large number of entries, there was never much of the course were I did not have to watch out for other competitors; however, it was quite an ego boost to pass thousands of runners after mile 13 who could no longer keep up the pace. I had my slowest marathon ever, but placed 17018 out of the 34000.

I took a lot of pictures and will post them separately.

I am off to Washington, DC.

Tomorrow I leave for Washington, DC to race walk the Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday, October 29, 2006.

Fort Ben Harrison Redevelopment

Additional Indiana Fall Colors

Fort Ben Harrison State Park

More Indiana Fall Colors

Indiana Whitetail Deer

Saturday, October 21, 2006 I race walked the Indianapolis Marathon. It was a lovely day; however, I almost did not get to do the race. I was called and emailed by Delta Airlines with messages that my flight had changed. When I arrived at the airport, they were boarding the airplane as they had made a sceond change to an earlier time without informing me. I was able to make the flight. My flight out of Atlanta was also delayed and I arrive in Indianapolis around 8:00 PM. My luggage did not arrive with me. By the time the paperwork for the lost luggage was registered. Stores were no longer open, so I could not buy shoes or clothes needed for the race. Delta said the would bring the luggage to my motel when they found it.

Luckily for me, it arrive at 6:00 AM on Saturday morning. This gave me 30 minutes to get dressed, hop in the rental car, and drive to the race. Needless to say I was not as mentally prepared as I would have liked to be. I made it to the race on time and finished in over 5 hours, which was a reasonable time.

The temperature at the start of the race was 45 and it rose to almost 60 by the end of the race. This is a good temperature for a marathon.

The leaves were changing on the trees along the course and the sun was shining brightly. This made the course beautiful. I have included a picture of some of the trees along the route and will separately post other pictures taken in Indianapolis that day.

Tomorrow I leave to racewalk the Indianapolis, Indiana Marathon.

Wild Turkeys in Custer State Park, South Dakota.

Grouse in Custer State Park, South Dakota.

Mule Deer at Custer State Park, South Dakota.

Prairie Dogs at Custer State Park, South Dakota.

Pronghorn Antelope in Custer State Park, South Dakota.

Big Horn Sheep in Custer State Park, South Dakota.

Wild Borros in Custer State Park, South Dakota.

Bison in Custer State Park, South Dakota.

Mountain Goats at Mount Rushmore.

Mount Rushmore, South Dakota

Rapid City, South Dakota has many statues along the streets. I have inserted photographs of some of the statues.