Shamrock Marathon
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Sunday, March 22, 2009

The Shamrock Marathon which was held on Sunday, March 22, 2009 in Virginia Beach, Virginia is one of the few marathons that have a race walk division and I managed to come in third this year after finishing first last year. I was beaten by two of my race walking friends, Alexis Davidson from Brooklyn, New York and Larry Liszewski from Saint Louis, Missouri. Another of my friends, Larry Macon from San Antonio, Texas, who finished a McGuiness world record, 105 sanctioned marathons in 2008, finished this marathon which was his 24th marathon in 2009 and puts him ahead of his 2008 pace. The day was cold with the temperature ranging from 30 degrees to 55 degrees: however, since the skies were sunny and there was only a little breeze, the coldness did not seem as bad as it could have. The course, which was completely closed to traffic and controlled very well by the police, is extremely flat and goes along the boardwalk, on Atlantic Boulevard, and through two military installations. Water/Gatorade stations were located every two miles and were manned by plenty of enthusiastic volunteers. As always the race was extremely well organized and very enjoyable. I would recommend this event to anyone.