Journeys of The Key West Southernmost Walker: November 2007

Cocoa Beach, Florida #8

Cocoa Beach, Florida #7

Cocoa Beach, Florida #6

Cocoa Beach, Florida #5

Cocoa Beach, Florida #4

Cocoa Beach, Florida #3

Cocoa Beach, Florida #2

Cocoa Beach, Florida #1

Cocoa, Florida #2

Cocoa, Florida #1

Space Coast Marathon, Mike McCulley and Gerda Kalb

Space Coast Marathon, Joan Benoit Samuelson and Gerda Kalb

Key West participants at Space Coast Marathon

Space Coast Marathon
Cocoa, Florida
Sunday, November 25, 2007

On Sunday, November 25, 2007 I race walked the Space Coast Marathon in Cocoa, Florida. The day was sunny and hot with little wind; however, the course followed the shore of the Indian River and offered some shade along the way. The event was well organized with plenty of water/Gatorade stations manned by enthusiastic volunteers, mainly cross country teams from area high schools. In the past the event has been relatively small, only a few hundred in the marathon and half marathon combined. With a new race director and rigorous promoting the event has grown to around 1500. I still enjoyed the event tremendously. This made the fifth year in a row that I have done the event.
As in the past the pre-race pasta banquet was included in the price of the entry. This year’s dinner featured two wonderful speakers – Michael McCulley, who is a former astronaut and space-shuttle commander, and Joan Benoit Samuelson, who won the gold medal in the first Olympic woman’s Marathon held in 1984 in Los Angeles. Both did the half marathon on Sunday and handed out the awards after the race.

Pictures from the event can be seen in later postings.

Tulsa, Oklahoma #28

Tulsa, Oklahoma #27

Tulsa, Oklahoma #26

Tulsa, Oklahoma #25

Tulsa, Oklahoma #24

Tulsa, Oklahoma #23

Tulsa, Oklahoma #22

Tulsa, Oklahoma #21

Tulsa, Oklahoma #20

Tulsa, Oklahoma #19

Tulsa, Oklahoma #18

Tulsa, Oklahoma #17

Tulsa, Oklahoma #16

Tulsa, Oklahoma #15

Tulsa, Oklahoma #14

Tulsa, Oklahoma #13

Tulsa, Oklahoma #12

Tulsa, Oklahoma #11

Tulsa, Oklahoma #10

Tulsa, Oklahoma #9

Tulsa, Oklahoma #8

Tulsa, Oklahoma #7

Tulsa, Oklahoma #6

Tulsa, Oklahoma #5

Tulsa, Oklahoma #4

Tulsa, Oklahoma #3

Tulsa, Oklahoma #2

Tulsa, Oklahoma #1

Tulsa World Route 66 Marathon
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Sunday, November 18, 2007

I race walked the Tulsa World Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Sunday, November 18, 2007. It was a good day for a marathon as the temperature was between 45 and 60 degrees for the entire race with little wind. The course was almost flat along the Arkansas River for the first 21 miles, finishing with 5 miles of hills. There were plenty of volunteers and water stops with energy drinks and the police kept the traffic away from the 1200 competitors in the marathon. Several bands played music along the way. The organization of the second year event was outstanding. I had a wonderful time doing my 72nd marathon since 2002 and have raised my state total to 31 plus DC.