New Hampshire Marathon at Newfound Lake
Bristol, New Hampshire
Saturday, October 4, 2008

The course was overwhelmed by the brilliance of fall colors as I raced walked the New Hampshire Marathon at Newfound Lake in Bristol, New Hampshire on Saturday, October 4, 2008. The temperature was somewhat cold as it varied from 36 to 52 degrees. It was a mixture of sun and clouds with wind in the exposed places along the challenging course which featured numerous hills along the way. Water/Gatorade stations were spaced every two miles and manned by plenty of enthusiastic volunteers. Police controlled traffic at the few major intersections; however, the road was open to traffic and there was quite a bit of that. There were several people that were sitting in front of houses along the rural course actively encouraging the runners. Around mile 12 I was greeted by 5 wild turkeys who came out to the road a gobbled encouragement as they ran in front of me for about 50 yards. It was hard to concentrate on the race when the course had such beauty from the fall colors of the leaves changing. I enjoyed the event tremendously.