Maine Half Marathon
Portland, Maine
Sunday, October 4, 2009

Rain was predicted for Sunday, October 4, 2009 in Portland, Maine during the Maine Half Marathon; however, it remained dry, cloudy, and almost windless with a temperature near 60 degrees for the entire race. That made for an excellent race on the mainly out and back flat course that was closed to traffic. There were plenty of volunteers manning the water/Gatorade stations that were located every 1.5 to 2 miles. Police and other volunteers controlled the intersections to insure the safety of the participants. Surprisingly there were many spectators cheering along the route even though the race only had approximately 3000 entries. My wife, Gerda, completed her 48th state as she finished the race. My health has improved enough that I was able to push myself to average 11 minute 46 second miles for the entire race. I enjoyed being able to race again.