Mayor’s Midnight Sun Marathon
Anchorage, Alaska
Saturday, June 21, 2008

The race started at 8:00 AM and the sun had been up almost 4 hours already. The temperature was around 50 degrees and did not get above 55 during the race. There was little wind; however, it drizzled for the first 2 hours of the race. The course was very difficult as there were 7 miles of loose gravel road and 3 miles of dirt trails. There was around 6 miles using the paved roads and the rest of the course was on paved bicycle paths. There was plenty of continuous up and down with the altitude varying from 50 feet above sea level to 550 feet above sea level throughout the race. Water - Ultima stations were approximately every two miles and there were plenty of volunteers. There were police controlling traffic at the few intersections along the way. The few roads we traversed were open to traffic on one side and open to the runners on the other side. There were about 1500 participants in the marathon and except for the loose gravel I enjoyed the challenge.

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Hatfield – McCoy Marathon
Williamson, West Virginia
Saturday, June 14, 2008

I race walked the Hatfield – McCoy Marathon on Saturday, June 14, 2008 in Williamson, West Virginia. The race started with the firing of a shotgun in Goody, Kentucky at 7:00 AM. The course was very challenging as it was almost all hills with a three mile climb over Black Berry Mountain near mile 7.5. The course passed most of the sites from the famous Hatfield – McCoy feud and crossed back and forth several times across the Tug River, making entries and departures between Kentucky and West Virginia. In fact the event is held in conjunction with both the Hatfield and the McCoy family reunions. Everybody in the field is assigned to be a family member. I was a Hatfield. I am not sure which family won the feud this year. There were only 411 participants in the marathon and the associated half marathon
This event is well organized with a free pre-race pasta dinner that featured a costumed member from each family tracing the history and events of the feud. There were water stations every mile that had water and sports drink. There was no traffic control except during the first two miles and there was no shoulder to most of the roads. Traffic was minimal and the cars drove slow and respected the runners. The people were extremely friendly and most porches had rocking chairs, many of which were occupied by people watching and saying howdy.
The first half of the course had the mountain and finished in Matewan, West Virginia; however, the second half had very steep short hills on a gravel road with poor footing. Since it rained for about half the race with the temperature in the 70’s, some of the course was muddy and slippery. We also crossed as wet wooden swinging bridge. The last five miles were on a paved road and contained two challenging hills.
The finish line was in Williamson, West Virginia with a shotgun holding Hatfield and a shotgun holding McCoy, one on each side of the line. The rain put a damper on the finish celebration. Overall, I enjoyed the race. It was a unique experience.