Results and Schedule

Jake's post provides a good segue into what I typed up in my email today about planning for 2009. Now that the "season" is over for most of us, it's time to take a little break mentally and physically. Due to the nature of our sport, however, it's important to not forget that planning ahead is a necessity, especially when travel is involved, and races fill up.

So, if you've already sent me an email, cool, otherwise feel free to send me an email or comment below if you are planning on any of these events:

ING Miami Half Marathon - January 25th. Registration is open, but the cost goes up on 12/10. I would like to have numbers so I can plan appropriately for hotels, and also so you can all get on top of flights. Go to http://www.southwest.com/ to look them up. After doing some research, Southwest flights are more expensive than I thought they would be and fly into Fort Lauderdale. You can also fly on AirTran to either Miami or Fort Lauderdale (FLL being less expensive). Right now I'm leaning towards the 7am Friday 1/23 nonstop on AirTran, return 5:46pm Sunday 1/25 nonstop for $299. Hotels aren't terrible, especially if we're splitting a few rooms. South Beach would probably be more entertaining but is a little farther from the start; Downtown is closer to the start but farther from the beach.

Boston Marathon - April 20. Registration is open, so start getting on that as only 25,000 people are let in. I would expect this to be close to closing by Jan 1. If you plan on running this year, or even just attending, let me know so I can plan ahead for hotels. Most likely stay Saturday and Sunday, possibly Monday.

Celtic Solstice - December 20. Always a fun winter race to do whether you race it or just run it, but don't get shut out, particularly if you want the race premium! Stop in the store or go on the store website for details.

Awards Night - December 16. The fun that we had last year will be even more fun this year. We are considering either doing it at Panera on Boston Street or maybe I'll see if Jim will let us use the store to be a little more central for our non-Baltimore friends.

Also based on the votes in the poll it appears as if Saturdays are more the more popular weekend long run day by a margin of 2:1. However, there are still 7 people that prefer Sundays, so I would like to try and accommodate everyone. The best way to do this is to stick to a schedule. I'm not a huge fan of the "eh maybe I'll show up if I feel like it that morning" because we are all accountable and responsible runners. A suggestion could be a Saturday morning long run and a Sunday morning long run, maybe in different locations, which would allow us the option to choose one or the other. It would be nice to have a run leader each week that will definitely be there and will be in charge.

For instance, there are some Saturdays that I will more than likely be riding my bike, so I may opt for a Sunday long run. The Saturdays I can make I will certainly make it there. If we want to road trip to do our long run, that's cool too. The idea is to have as many people on these long runs as possible - it will help with motivation and being in terrific shape by the winter!

And finally, this longwinded post which was necessary will come to an end with the results from this weekend. Chrissie was the first American and 6th woman overall at the highly competitive White Rose 5 miler in York PA. Dave Berardi ran a great race down in DC yesterday at the Veteran's Day 10k, hitting 35:32. But the Purple Drink Athlete of the Week goes to Collin Anderson, who set a PR in the 50 mile distance, traversing mud and trails and going on to claim 18th out of about 140 people. Congratulations man, you deserve it.

Don't forget this weekend is the cross country preview meet down in Montgomery County. Races start at 8am with the masters women, 9am masters men, 10am open women, 11am open men. I'll be leaving my house at 8:30 if you want a ride, race day registration, $10. 8k race. KYLE is also going to be running the Richmond Marathon so let's send him a shoutout!