Inland Trail Marathon
Elyria, Ohio
Sunday, November 2, 2008

It was 33 degrees, mostly sunny, and windless when the Inland Trail Marathon in Elyria, Ohio started on Sunday, November 2, 2008. The temperature rose to around 52 degrees by the time I finished the race. The course was an out and back course which was as flat as any I have ever done. It started at Murray Ridge School following a slightly down hill road for about half a mile. After which it proceeded for nearly 12 miles on the Inland Trail which is a paved bike path that replaced an old railroad track. The trail did not seem to change in elevation the entire distance. The remainder of the out portion of the course was on a country road that had a small dip of about 12 feet in it. Water/Gatorade stations were spaced every 2 to 3 miles and were manned by plenty of volunteers; however, 5 of the stations were out of Gatorade on my way back and this affected me greatly. The trail crossed several country roads which had police or volunteers to stop the very sparse traffic. It was a very friendly small event that I enjoyed. In fact, even though there was not a race walk division, which is normal for most of the marathons that I do, I still managed to get third place in my running age group by walking.