The Running Thread—2023

[DisneyParrothead]

Laz is gonna go full Knights Who Say Ni next year. Forget book pages: finishing will require just the right shrubbery, cut down with a herring.

Can’t wait to see the YouTube docs that come out of this year’s race!

One that looks nice.

 

[LSUlakes]

I suspect the mild temps and lack of precipitation helped there to be 4 people on the last lap and 3 finishers more than the course being less difficult. Most years you aren't just battling the course, sleep deprecation, dehydration, and undernourishment, your are battling the weather too.

It was cold enough at night to freeze the gallon water jugs left out for runners. It was cold but dry, which the dry part helped a whole bunch imo.

 

[bovie]

ATTQOTD: Honestly, I would love to run Barkley. There's something about really leaning into the intentional misery that appeals to me. Unfortunately, I'm currently far away from the fitness needed (like many, many orders of magnitude away). I could potentially run the Barkley Fall Classic one day, though I'd still have to really improve from where I am now. I've done a trail marathon, hoping for a 50k this fall.

 

[FFigawi]

ATTQOTD: no desire to run Barkley. I’d like to enter the backyard ultra though, to see if I could make it 24 hours.

 

[Grabnar]

It was cold enough at night to freeze the gallon water jugs left out for runners. It was cold but dry, which the dry part helped a whole bunch imo.

The humidity makes such a huge difference, likely more than the temps themselves. As long as you can keep hydrated and full of electrolytes, that is.

 

[dis_or_dat]

ATTQOTD: absolutely not I won't even do an ultra since I'm a big whiny baby. But I'm definitely in awe of those who push their bodies to extremes.

 

[LSUlakes]

A lot of good answers to the last QOTD! Lets give it another try with a new question.

QOTD: Other than Disney races, what running event is on your bucket list?

ATTQOTD: Marine Corps Marathon is very high on my list to do one day. The only problem is having to train for it in the Louisiana summer.

 

[SheHulk]

ATTQOTD: My gut response is NYC Marathon, but those race start logistics make WDW Marathon look convenient by comparison. I'd love to do a European marathon, Rome looked amazing in Spirit of the Marathon 2, but I do not handle jet lag well. Honolulu is another and at least the jet lag is in the right direction there, we are up at 3-4 am whenever we vacation there, anyway.

 

[flav]

A lot of good answers to the last QOTD! Lets give it another try with a new question.

QOTD: Other than Disney races, what running event is on your bucket list?

ATTQOTD: Marine Corps Marathon is very high on my list to do one day. The only problem is having to train for it in the Louisiana summer.

ATTQOTD : I am registered to my bucket list races in 2023, both reported from 2020.

Ottawa 59.2k challenge - The biggest race weekend in Canada and a nice course. The theme is no longer Lumberjack which I am ok with in the end, already having the 2020 medals series.

NYC Marathon - The biggest race in the world and a very special experience from what I read.

I would like to run Boston one day but don’t know if I will have it in me to give what it takes to get there.

I also would like to race wherever I go for vacations. Unfortunately, races in Europe in July are not that common. I need to take more vacations throughout the year

 

[nancipants]

I am so new that I haven't even thought about races other than Disney! But I'd love to do the Space Coast half marathon one year.

 

[camaker]

ATTQOTD: I find myself doing fewer and fewer races these days. I don't know that I have nearly as many races that I would consider bucket list races as I would have if we discussed this a couple of years ago. That being said, here are a couple that I'd love to run/accomplish:

• London Marathon. Only been to London once, but I loved the city and this would be a huge race for me to be able to run. If it could be paired with attending an Arsenal match on the trip, it would pretty much be a dream trip for me.
• Berlin Marathon. My wife is a German teacher and I've been to Berlin on one of her trips taking students over for spring break. I'd love to finish a marathon at the Brandenburg Gate!
• Paris Marathon. Maybe. Such a beautiful city. Can only imagine running through it.
• 100 Miler. Complete one. Any one. Most likely Blackbeard's Revenge, but I'm open to others. The Keys 100 looks great if they go back to having a supported course. The training time, though. Ugh...

 

[RuntheMouse]

ATTQOTD: The Garry Bjorkland Half Marathon which I am running this year! Also on the bucket list is the Cherry Blossom 10 miler. Hopefully I remember to enter the lottery this year.

 

[Herding_Cats]

ATTQOTD:
Probably NYC marathon (because of the generous time limit and how awesome it sounds in every recap I hear on a podcast) and then something suuuuper scenic out west that I would have enough time to finish; I have no idea what that would be, because I don't want to go down the rabbit hole on it. Avenue of the Giants? Big Sur? One of those vacation races in the national parks? The real trick would be getting DH to go along with yet another race-cation. I could probably get away with NYC if my SIL got in too, and we went together as a girls trip.

 

[jmasgat]

ATTQOTD: Given that I have fallen out of like/love with racing, I would probably say "Meh, none". This, however, does not then explain why I am signed up for Half Dramathon in Oct, NYC Marathon this Nov. and DL 10k in Jan.

The idea of using a race as an excuse to travel is the unifying theme, I guess. I plan to make NYC my last marathon, but a half is still something I can do. Just need to shift the mind set of "race" to "complete" and not feel as though I'm "failing" by choosing not to race anymore.

 

[Naomeri]

ATTQOTD: I don’t have any specific races in mind, but I think something on the west coast, where the time change works in my central-time favor would be nice.

 

[PrincessV]

ATTQOTD: I think I’m done racing outside of WDW. I don’t actually enjoy any of the elements that make something a race vs a run, so why pay money to do them, right?! But there are a lot of destinations I’d really, really love to run/walk/hike and I feel like I need to turn my attention to those before much more time passes. Moab. Grand Canyon. Kenya. Tour de Mont Blanc. Sicily. Appalachian Trail. Rural Japan. I wish I could get my adult son into the idea of doing some of these with me, because as a small female, I’m not at all comfortable doing them on my own - that plus the cost and logistics are making it hard to figure out.

On this subject, I stumbled across Jeff Pelletier’s YouTube channel the other day, and wowee is it a treasure trove of destination ultra-running gorgeousness! I started watching his multi-episode trek across Georgia (the nation, not the state) and it’s incredible. I keep finding myself thinking “I want to do this!!!” followed by “100% chance you’d be killed or kidnapped at some point.”

 

[azrivest]

ATTQOTD
I have two:
- Rotterdam: it's my favourite city in Europe and I love running there.
- Honolulu: best destination race imho

 

[MissLiss279]

ATTQOTD:
Probably NYC marathon (because of the generous time limit and how awesome it sounds in every recap I hear on a podcast) and then something suuuuper scenic out west that I would have enough time to finish; I have no idea what that would be, because I don't want to go down the rabbit hole on it. Avenue of the Giants? Big Sur? One of those vacation races in the national parks? The real trick would be getting DH to go along with yet another race-cation. I could probably get away with NYC if my SIL got in too, and we went together as a girls trip.

I think you mentioned all three that I have on my to do list right now:

ATTQOTD:
Big Sur
Avenue of the Giants
NYC

 

[dis_or_dat]

@LSUlakes so happy to see you reviving QOTD, you always ask interesting ones that get the board going.

ATTQOTD: lucky I’ve been able to cross off my bucket list races (last one will be NYC in November) but I always find new ones that are intriguing!

Would love to run Berlin, London, Tokyo and finish off the World Majors.

Honolulu sounds like it would be beautiful but humid and I always hear great things about MCM and CIM.

Realistically, Im probably done with marathons after 2024 though. Just too much time for training and obligations. Maybe once the kids are in college and I’m retired

However, one popped up on my radar if anyone has any insight: Big Sur! I hear it’s a beautiful (though difficult) course. I would do the B2BS version which is crazy but I definitely wouldn’t be running for time and it would be an amazing note to end on.

 

[gosalyn_mallard]

ATTQOTD:
I have so many! I track them on a spreadsheet.

High on my list is a half in California wine country and going on a wine tasting tour for a couple days after the race. There are a few to choose from and I haven't decided which one yet.