One Week Until Route 66

 7 days until Route 66

Our last run on Saturday November 8^th was great! We did a 10 miler. We were all frozen when we started at 6:30 am. It was 43-degrees, the wind was 11mph, and it was cold, cold, cold as we stood next to the water on 31^st and Riverside! We quickly warmed up and the M3’s finished our run in about 1:37:00. A number of us took off on the last 2 miles, averaging around a 7:40/mile!

As our last week before the Route 66 Marathon, it’s bitter sweet. We are all so excited to run this marathon, (which by the way has more than seven thousand racers) but we are also sad that it is almost over. Fleet Feet won’t start it’s training program again until January, so a number of us will continue to meet on Saturday mornings to catch up, hang out, and reminisce; I’m really happy about this and am looking forward to seeing everyone.

There are a number of us who are still trying to decide if we want to finish the race in 4:30:00 or 4:45:00. It might not seem like that much of a difference, but it is about 30 seconds faster for each mile than a 4:45:00 pace. As of today, I will be running with Kathryn White a.k.a., “Captain Insane-O” who is pacing the faster of the two groups. I also figure if Governor Sarah Palin can run her first marathon in 3:59:36, and Oprah can finish in 4:29:20, and Lisa Ling from The View can run a 4:34:18, then we can at least run a 4:30:00 marathon!

Coach Paul will not be pacing the Hawt AsSphalts in the Route 66 Marathon; he will be running in the San Antonio Marathon that same day trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon! Good luck Coach Paul! You can do it!

Coach Brian will not be running the Route 66 Marathon either, but he will be at a water stop around mile 22 (the start of the HILLS!) Brian we will miss you, and we hope you start feeling better soon!

So, the big question is, what now after Route 66? I know I, along with others, will continue to run marathons. Here is a short list of some of the upcoming races!

-St. Jude Memphis Marathon on December 6^th

-Dallas White Rock Marathon on December 14^th

-Walt Disney World Marathon, January 11^th

-P.F. Chang’s Rock-N-Roll Arizona Marathon, January 18^th

-Austin Marathon, February 15^th

-Fort Worth, Texas, Cowtown Marathon, February 28^th

-Red Rock Canyon Marathon in Las Vegas, March 7^th

-Big Island International Marathon in Hilo, Hawaii, March 22^nd

-Boston Marathon, April 20^th

-Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon, April 26^th

-Colorado Marathon, Fort Collins, Colorado, May 3^rd

-Flying Pig Marathon, Cincinnati, Ohio, May 3^rd

-Bear Lake Marathon, Garden City, Utah, June 13^th

-Kona Marathon, Keauhou-Kona, Hawaii, June 28^th

-Foot Traffic Flat Marathon, Portland, Oregon, July 4^th

-Leadville Trail Marathon, Leadville, Colorado, July 11

-E.T. Full Moon Midnight Marathon, Rachel, Nevada, August 8^th

-Park City Marathon, Park City, Utah, August 22^nd

-Heart Of America Marathon, Columbia, Missouri, September 7^th (Monday)

-Flagstaff Marathon, Flagstaff, Arizona, September 26^th

-Nike Women’s Marathon, San Francisco, California, October ??

When we were talking about all of the marathons, we also started talking about the best medals and shirts at some of these marathons. For the most part we all agreed the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco was the best because the medal is a necklace from Tiffany! There are some other really neat medals, too. This year, the medal from NY and Chicago were pretty nice. And if you haven’t seen the Route 66 medals, they are beautiful. As for marathon shirts, at some you have to pay, but not at Route 66! Bonus! J

Thanks to everyone! Fleet Feet, Route 66, the coaches, and all of you athletes.

Happy running everyone! See you at the start line!

~Chera