Roadrunner: Akron Marathon and Team Relays

.

Well, between the 5 of us, we were able to knock out 26 miles in about 4 1/2 hours...no problem at all. We had an absolutely picture perfect day- weather wise- and the marathon had a record number of participants, 7,000!

.

My leg started up by Fairlawn country club, and after meandering back towards Firestone High School and Stan Hywet, I began the last long stretch of Market Street from Highland Square back downtown to Canal Park. I also think that the number of folks who came out to cheer on the runners may have been a record too. This one house (mansion, actually) on Portage Path had rented 3 of those huge inflatables for the kids to play on while what looked to be around 5-6 different couples stood curbside and cheered on the runners with a ton of different signs, sound system, and free water bottles. All in all, I probably passed 2-3 different garage bands, a couple of DJ set-ups, two marching bands, and numerous "yard" parties for the 7 1/2 mile trek.

.

My Olympian caliber team-mates- Jeff, Mary Lou, Glen, and Maureen were awesome, and we all had a great time at the team dinner later last night. Can't wait till next year! Thanks again, gang, for running with me!

.

Nothing has been decided yet, but I'm trying to convince Jeff to split the Cleveland marathon in April with me. I'm pretty confident that we can do it, it's just those cold, winter evening runs in January that aren't overly appealing...we'll see.