Social Media is Destroying Humanity

 I haven't blogged in a LONG time, but need a place to put my thoughts.  This morning, I was listening to The Bible Project podcast about the Family of God.  Dr. Tim Macke and Jon Collins are in the middle of exploring the Family of God when they focus in on Genesis 10-11.  Genesis 10 is probably an often skipped over chapter, as it lists a sort of genealogy listing all the nations that came out of Noah's sons.  Genesis 11 then talks about the tower of Babel and how the different people were scattered and different languages were created.

This story, as Tim and Jon point out, closely reflects the earlier story in Genesis of when Adam and Eve ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  Adam and Eve are one.  They came from the same flesh.  Eve is one half of Adam, taken from him.  They are unified as one.  Adam and Eve are also the image of God.  Unified, they are the image of God.  They get their identity from God.

In the story of the first sin, Adam and Eve looked at the fruit and decided that they wanted to be like God and have their own knowledge of good and evil.  Until that moment, their identity was in God alone.  After that moment their identity was in themselves.  They realized they were different from each other, and were ashamed enough to hide.  There was a brokenness in the oneness they had previously experienced.  That was in addition to the brokenness between them and God.  While they were still made in the image of God, something had changed...

Fast forward to the tower of Babel story.  The people are multiplying and filling the earth, but they all speak the same language.  They are still one with each other.  However, they decide to try to build their own image rather than relying on themselves as an image of God for their power and strength.  They decide to build a tower with it's "head" in the sky.  They wanted to build their own image.  Genesis 11:4 says, "Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves..."  Their focus is not on God, but rather on themselves.

Social media is doing the same to us today, particularly to our children who don't know a life without it.  They find their identity in how many Likes they get or how many Followers they have or how many Views of a video or photo they have.  My daughter had someone follow her on Instagram, and she screenshotted the person and texted it to her friend saying, "look how many followers he has, and he followed ME" like that was some great accomplishment on her part.

Social media is causing us to focus more on building a name for ourselves.  In essence, social media platforms are like us building a modern day tower of Babel.  Our focus is not on God and being His image, but rather our focus is on building an image for ourselves.

What happened in the Tower of Babel story?  God saw what the people were doing and said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.  Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other." and he scattered them all over the earth, confusing their language, so they would stop building the city and tower.

How much longer will God allow us to make a name for ourselves before he scatters us and confuses our language.  We all need to become unified as one image of God for His glory rather than trying to make a name for ourselves.

State #34 - Ohio

The Flying Pig marathon has been on my race bucket list for years.  Everything I hear about the race is that is has great crowd support and is very well organized.  When I found out that it was on the Sunday directly after the Kentucky Derby race, I was ready to go.  Ohio would be state #34 in my quest to complete a marathon in all 50 states.

The Race:  Flying Pig Marathon, Cincinnati, OH, May 1, 2016

My training plan:   Since this was the second in a back-to-back series, the training plan was discussed at in the first blog about the Kentucky Derby.

The weather:  The weather started out drizzly, actually not bad at all for the warm temperatures. The rain cleared up by around mile two or three.  The temperatures were warm, and got into the upper 60s by the end of the race.  It was probably close to 70 by the time I was finished.

Running attire:  Since I wore my typical race attire the day before, I settled on a pair of Nike running shorts, a Liz shirt, some CEP calf sleeves, my Delaware marathon hat, and my Fitletic running belt.

Who I ran with:  I started off between the 2-hour half marathon pace group and the 4-hour marathon pace group.  I was going to actually run with the group, but got stuck in between them during the start with all the people.  I didn't run with anyone specific for any major part of the race in this one.

Course:  The course is rolling hills.  There are several significant hills in the beginning of the race, between miles 6 and 8, some steep and some long and gradual.  The remainder of the course is still rolling, but nothing significant.  It was actually great for me, as I do better on a rolling hill course.

The course started down near the Ohio river, ran into Kentucky and back into Ohio.  It went into the city and then into some neighborhood areas.  I didn't see any really bad parts of the city as we were running through.  I would say the course really shows off Cincinnati in a good light.

Organization:  The organization for this race is great!  They have a great website with all the information you need to know.  There is an app specifically for the race with race day information, spectator, expo, and other information.  Runners can be tracked via the Racejoy app.  They sent out emails with good information, including a spectator guide which gave directions to the cheer zones (with no map though, which would have been helpful for those from out of town).  Parking information couldn't be easily located on website, although there was plenty of parking available.

The Expo was big with a lot of good vendors.  There weren't a lot of giveaways at the booths that I noticed, although I may have been too late to get anything good.  Many vendors were shutting down or already gone when we arrived at 6:00pm on Saturday (the Expo closed at 7pm).  The bib numbers were organized by letter (last name), which made it very easy to find your line instead of having to remember a race number.  They gave you your bib number, but made you go through the expo to get your shirt and other Swag (smart idea!).

The support along the course is top notch!  Every half mile you were either eating or drinking.  They had everything you could image with cute names to go with it.  They had something different at just about each mile:  PIG-mints (peppermint patties), gra-HAM station (graham crackers), PIG Newtons (Fig newtons), twizzlers, bacon (yes, bacon!), Popsicles, pretzels, Swedish fish (yuck), peanuts and trail mix, oranges and bananas, granola bars, energy chews, cookies, water and Gatorade at each water stop, and a couple groups serving beer along the course.  I took four gels with me, and only had to eat one because there was so much offered to eat.  I probably ate more calories than I burned!  It definitely helped power you through those hills.  Toward the end they had both wet and dry towels.  They also had a few miles with tissues and one with wet wipes.  The medical tents had sunscreen and Vaseline, which was very helpful because I didn't expect the sun to come out and hadn't worn sunscreen in preparation.

Swag:  The shirts were gender specific (men's/women's) dri-fit shirts.  They gave you a nice duffle bag and a poster.  The posters are very well designed, and different each year.  The metal was a 3-D metal, which was a little different.  They provided a beer ticket to use at the finish line.

Starting line:   I don't think I've ever enjoyed a starting line as much as I did at the Flying Pig.  They had a band in the middle of all the corrals.  The corrals were very well manned and enforced.  They had volunteers all over the place to help you find where you needed to go.  There were plenty of porta potties (I didn't have to wait in line at all) inside each corral.  The gear check was set away from the corrals (but where most people would enter the area).

They had pace teams for both full and half but the pacer was actually just running one or the other and they didn't stay together.  It was a little confusing as to who I should be with, since both the full and half times were listed on the sign.  The first pacer that had a 4 hour sign that I saw was actually running the half in 2 hours.  The 2 hour pacer for the half and the 4 hour pacer for the full did not start together or stay together.

They started everyone in waves, as should be done in a corral situation. This, along with the enforcement of the corrals, really helped with runner congestion.  I don't remember every having to really weave around people at the start, even though there were a lot of people starting together.

My only complaint about the starting line is that one of the volunteers right near the center was smoking, and the smoke could be smelled all around because of it.  15,000 runners do not want to start a race with a lung full of second-hand smoke!

Fans:  This race is known for its crowd support, but it was even better than I expected.  There was hardly a mile where there wasn't cheering heard.  A few of the up hills could have used some cheer zones, as they were a little quiet and tough, but most of the way had smiling, cheering people.
The spectator guide probably helps with the crowd support.  It was good but should also include a map instead of just directions to the sites.  It seemed like a lot of the spectators were also volunteers, as they had the greenish-yellow Grunt shirts given to the volunteers.  If specifically having volunteer slots along the course is the way to get spectators out cheering, more races should do this!

Finish line:  The finish line food went on forever.  They had Grandma's cookies, Ding Dongs, Lance peanut butter crackers, chips, pretzels, oranges and bananas, Kellogg's cereal, granola bars, trail mix, peanuts, bottled water, and I'm sure other stuff that I missed.  Once you got through the food area, the gear was right there, along with some porta potties and a concession stand for the park.  There was also a row of tents set up with race merchandise and vendors.  The P and G tent had cake, pretzels, bottled water and other goodies that were available to all runners.  One of the other tents was giving out peanuts and another was giving out Febreeze samples that you put in your laundry to get the stink out of workout clothes.  There was also a tent with a free pink tote bag and pen.  Other vendors had pamphlets.  The finish is right on the river, and the view is very nice.   There were food trucks and other pay-food vendors (chili) as well for spectators and runners who couldn't get enough of the free foot.

Results: 3:47:51

How I felt:  My legs felt surprisingly good for having run a race the day before and not having my ice packs frozen to use for recovery.  I started out slow for the first few miles, and then kicked it up.  The hills probably helped me, as I could fly down the downhills and keep the momentum for some of the uphills.  Toward the end, I did get a little hot as the temperatures rose and the sun came out, but the wet towel helped a lot, and kept me going.  Overall, I felt great when I crossed the finish line of what is now my favorite marathon out of the 40 I have run thus far.

Travel/tourism: We stayed at the Holiday Inn just across the river in Kentucky. The hotel was okay, but not stellar.  We had to ask for our room three times before it was ready (and not until after 8:30 did we finally get in) because they had a big group of elementary school kids the night before who made housekeeping's day a nightmare.  The hotel is still being renovated, so part of the room was nice and part was falling apart (such as the ceiling in the bathroom).  We had to ask for more towels, as they didn't have enough in the room for us.  They did allow me to use the toaster downstairs in the restaurant before the restaurant was officially open and gave me a plastic knife spread my almond butter (bagel and almond butter provided by me).  They claimed to have a shuttle to the start, but the morning person at the desk knew nothing about it.  I ended up walking to the start with a few other runners who stayed there.  It wasn't a long walk (maybe 1.5 miles), but not the most ideal of situations right before you're going to run 26 miles.  The hair dryer was the loudest thing I have ever used.  I wanted to put my ear plugs in.  The beds were cozy, so that was good.

We went to IHOP for my traditional pre-race dinner, which was right next to a Kroger where I bought my breakfast (bagel, banana and almond butter).

Because we came straight from Kentucky the day before and had a long drive back, we didn't do much else in the city.  I'm sure there are plenty of things to do, but none that I can comment on.  After the race we headed back toward Atlanta and stopped in Lexington for lunch.

Overall, this is my new favorite marathon.  I honestly believe that this race is better than Boston.  The organization, crowd support, SWAG, and course make for a great race.  Great job Cincinnati!  I will be recommending this race to anyone who asks.

State #33 - Kentucky

I wasn't go no to run any states this year, because I'm saving my PTO for the adoption.  While I was running the Callaway Gardens marathon, someone in the 4-hour pace group mentioned that the Kentucky Derby and Flying Pig marathons are back-to-back days this year.  Usually they are a week apart.  I have been wanting to run Flying Pig for years, since I have heard such great things about the crowd support.  And I didn't have a race yet in Kentucky.  I had talked to my cousin about doing the Kentucky Derby race a few years ago during a family reunion, but never could get it into my race schedule.  This year was the perfect year to try.

Knowing that I couldn't drive up, run two races, and drive back by myself, I called up my favorite race crew.  Rob's grandparents talked it over and decided to come.  The stage was set.  Kentucky would be my next state.

The Race: Kentucky Derby Marathon, April, 30, 2016

My Training Plan: Training for double marathons is exhausting.  I ran every Tuesday (10 miles), most Wednesdays (3 miles), Thursday (8 miles), Saturday, and Sunday.  I did long runs on both weekend days, including a 20/20 week.  On Wednesday and Friday I did my CrossFit class, and I took Monday off.

Weather:  The weather was low 60s and rainy. It started sprinkling around 9am, and then poured around 11.  It continued to rain through the end of the race.

Running Attire:  I wore my purple and pink Nike running shorts, my Liz shirt, my Delaware Marathon hat, my pink CEP calf sleeves, and my iFitness running belt.

Who I Ran With:  For about 18 miles, I ran with a fascinating woman named Amy Lambert.  She is originally from Michigan, but now lives in a motor home and travels all over.  We had great conversations about different races in different states.  We met because we were both running with the 4:30 pace group.  Our pacers were great, and brought us to the finish line right on time.  They encouraged us to speed up on the last mile while they stayed back to ensure a 4:30 time.  They were fairly quiet, but talked to everyone and motivated them when it mattered.

The Course:  For the most part, this is a pretty flat course.  In the very middle of the race, you run into a park.  The park itself is very hilly.  There are three big hills and four smaller hills as you go through the park.  The hilly part has a lot of nice green trees along the road.  The course goes through Churchill Downs before the marathon and half ("mini") split.  The course is pretty crowded until the split, but after the split it spreads out a lot. Cliff shots (gel) was offered frequently (but not my thing, so I carried my own Carb Boom gels).  Water and Powerade stops were about every other mile.  Porta potties were pretty frequent (about every other mile or so, with two to four porta potties at each spot), but always full with lines while the half marathoners were still with us, then no lines the rest of the race.  The course shows off Louisville well.

Organization:  The communication prior to the race was great.  They sent regular emails with information.  They have a great website, that has all the information you could need about the race (except the spectator scream zones).  They have an app with the same information as on website, so you can easily acces it from a mobile device.  You can sign up for text alerts for yourself or others who want to track you.   As I mentioned before, the website was not good for spectator information, which is probably why the crowd support isn't that great.  They talked about the scream zones, but had no information as to where they were on the course or how to get there.

The race Expo was okay.  The best part about it is that it is open late.  There is no race-day packet pickup, so for those of us that we're traveling into town, it really helped that it was open until 9pm.  The Expo takes up a decent sized hall in the convention center, but there were no big giveaways.  Runners like when they can get freebies at the Expo, and I didn't see a lot of that.  Maybe I got there too late.

My biggest complaint about the organization was that the water station did not have enough volunteers at the Powerade tables.  I saw several times where they were frantically pouring from Powerade bottles because all of their filled cups were already taken.  I had to wait at one stop to get any because they were still filling them.  Perhaps the race director should consider using the big containers with the spouts that you push and the Powerade comes out the spout (like they use at construction sites).  That would be easier to use to fill cups than pouring out of bottles.

Swag:  This race had the typical SWAG:  men's/womens drifit shirts and a metal.  Both the shirt and the medal had the course map on it.  In addition to the norm, they also gave you a small poster of the course map and a dri-fit hat with the race logo.  They also gave us two boxes of coldeez in our race bags (maybe it is cold season up there?) and a 10% off coupon for Dicks Sporting Goods.

On our bib, they gave us a ticket for engraving with purchase of bourbon bottle at a local store.  The place is in 4th Street Live, which is the pedestrian only area of town (where mostly tourists go).  The place, called Urban Stillery, engraved the race logo, your name, and race finish time onto the back of a Jim Beam bottle of bourbon,  you had to buy the bottle, but the engraving was free.  Just a note to those who do this, it takes awhile.  Order the engraving and then go to lunch and come back later. 

Starting Line:  The starting line was very well organized with good signage.  The gear check was central to most of the corrals and was easy to find with all the good signage.  There were small lines for the porta potties, and a decent amount of them at most cross streets.  Being back in corral D, I couldn't hear the national anthem, if they even played it before the start.  If there were any other announcements, I couldn't hear them either.  They had volunteers who walked through the corrals to answer questions. 

My favorite part of the start was that they have pace teams.  I love when races have pace teams.  I don't often stay with them the entire race, but they are great to help me keep the right pace at the start so I don't go out too fast.  

The corrals all started together.  They were basically only there to set the pace and allow the faster runners toward the front.  Otherwise, they didn't use them to start in waves.  Once the race started, we all walked up to the start together and started running.  It's definitely better than not distributing the runners by pace, but they also didn't enforce the corrals, so really anyone could start in the front.  I was definitely still weaving around slower runners (who should have been in the later corrals) at the beginning.

Fans:  Crowd support was okay, but there were a lot of quiet spots.  Unfortunately the weather didn't cooperate, which I'm sure kept a lot of fans away. The race organized "scream zones" but didn't publicize anything about how to get there or where they are, so spectators who came from out of town with the runners had no idea how to best see their runners.

I was able to see my cousin Robb cheering at the finish line, along with my husband's grandparents.  

Finish Line:  The finish line needed more signs to guide you to gear check.  After getting through the finish line, getting my metal and Mylar blanket, and grabbing some food, we exited into a muddy mess.  Because the finish line was on a grassy area near the river, the rain and the many people walked no around made it difficult to navigate without sinking into the mud.  They had a variety of bagels, chocolate milk, Powerade, peanut butter lance crackers, and chips, but no bottled water (at least that I could find).

The finish line had tents with vendors, but it was too cold and wet to check them out.  There was a carnival with rides right on the river, but again, I was too cold and wet to stay.  They gave a beer ticket and had a beer tent set up, but I ended up giving mine away, since I can't think of drinking beer after running 26 miles (or anytime, for that matter).

Results:  4:28:58

How I felt:  When I run with pace groups, I usually feel pretty good throughout the race.  It was raining most of the race, though, so I did end up getting a little chafed by the end.  I was running about 45 minutes slower than I usually run.  Unfortunately, something I ate didn't agree with me, so I had to visit several of the porta potties along the way.  I would sprint ahead to the porta potty, and then sprint up to the pace group.  About a mile from the end, the pacers said they had banked about 45 seconds, so they were going to slow down.  I went on ahead and finished in just under 4:30.

Travel/Tourism:  We stayed at the race host hotel, the Galt House.  The hotel was nice with a great view of the river and surrounding area, but the room had not been properly cleaned (poop was stuck in the back of the toilet bowl and a Bobby pin was on the counter).  They did have a 24/7 coffee bar where I could buy a bagel, and there were toasters to toast them.  There was a bar in the walkway between buildings that had a fish tank embedded in the counter of the bar, so you could watch the fish as you sat and drank.

There is a lot to do in Louisville during the week leading up to the Derby.  The marathon sort of starts the celebration that lasts the rest of the week.  There were a lot of people in town, and downtown was very crowded.

For dinner the night before the race, we went to Rocky's Italian restaurant just across the river in Indiana.  There was a short wait, and the room was very noisy with a late-night, sports bar feel.  They had TVs with sports on them lining the walls.  The food was pretty good, and the company was even better.  My cousin Robb and my husband's grandparents were there.  Robb told us all about his job and experiences in Louisville, his family (who was out of town for the weekend), and other interesting stories.  It was great to catch up!

I mentioned 4th Street Live earlier.  We went there after the race.  The Hard Rock Cafe was there, so I stopped to get a shirt.  We ate lunch at Smashburger (delicious!).  Robb manages the tallest building in Lousiville, so after lunch, we went there and he took us up to the very top of the building.  We had a great view of the city.  He told us about the various buildings we were looking at and a little more about the city.  What a great experience!

Overall, I would recommend the Kentucky Derby Marathon as a race to run in Kentucky.

Running Georgia - Chasing Jefferson Davis Marathon

The last marathon of the spring season in Georgia is the Chasing Jefferson Davis marathon near Fitzgerald, GA.  The race was in its second year running this year, and is extremely small.  In its inaugural year there were 27 marathon finishers.  This year, there were 40.  The race organizers said that they would cap it at 100 if it ever got that big, and there are several good reasons why.  To begin with, there is hardly any parking or volunteers putting this race on.

This part of the state is extremely rural.  It is all farmland, with no industry to speak of.  According to the race organizer, they had a tourism consultant come in and try to help them boost the revenue for the area.  The consultant asked what they had to offer.  The only thing they have going for them is the history that Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States of America, was captured just outside of Irwinville, GA.  So they decided to try to capitalize on that and started the race.  They had it officially measured and certified (they said that "if I was running that far, I'd want it to count for something"). The certification, which isn't cheap, lasts for ten years, so they said they will have it at least that long.

The first year's race ran on the route that Jefferson Davis took from Abbeville to Irwinville before he was finally captured by the Union troops.  This year, they reversed the course and started in Irwinville and ran to Abbeville.  The race organizer said this was to give the EMTs and police a break, so one city wouldn't always have to stay the longest until the last finisher was done.  They plan to alternate each year.  Odd years will run north to south and even years will run south to north.

Another interesting thing to note is that the race organizers are not runners...at all.  The main organizer said he has run a 5k...once.  How they managed to put on such a good event with that lack of running experience is beyond me.

So, enough about the background.  Let's talk about the race.  The course is run on open, rural roads and is point-to-point.  This year it started at the Jefferson Davis monument, literally.  The monument is set off the road in a grassy area near a nature trail.  So the first quarter mile or so is run on a trail, then into a mowed hay field, and then finally onto the road.  The race starts at 6am, so there is no light on this trail.  I had to use the flashlight on my phone so I didn't trip over the roots which are sticking up on the trail.

Once on the road, we were almost on our own to watch for the orange arrows painted on the road.  Luckily there was a water stop near most of the turns to help guide the runners in the right direction.  At one of the turns, the arrows were on the right side of the road and the water stop was on the left.  I almost missed the turn.  The girl in front of me did miss the turn and kept on going, despite the calls of the two water stop volunteers.  I suggest having orange cones or something a little more obvious (like course marshals) to ensure the runners make every turn.  Once the girl in front of me missed the turn and I almost followed her, I was paranoid about missing turns.  There aren't a lot of them, but you get in your rhythm and tune out enough that the arrows on the pavement are easy to miss.

Between mile 17 and 18, the course goes onto a "dirt" road.  I don't know if I would call this a dirt road.  It's more like a sand road.  The sand is not packed, and my feet were slipping everywhere.  I could definitely feel my calves doing extra work as I tried to find the most packed part of the road to run on.  There wasn't a lot of traffic, but there were a few cars that passed as I ran on the road, and they kicked up enough dust to make a runner cough.

After about four or five miles, the dirt road ends onto a "paved" road.  This paved road was more like a gravel road, based on the roughness of the pavement.  I don't wear minimalist running shoes, but I could feel every bump and rut in the pavement.  But at least my feet weren't slipping, like they were in the sand.  That road lasted for one to two miles before it turned onto a much better road around mile 24.  Finally, another mile later the sign for Abbeville appeared and the farmland turned slightly more urban as the "city" appeared.  When I say city, I mean the houses were closer together and there were a few historic square type buildings at the 26 mile mark.

Overall, the course was mostly farmland with only a few trees to shade the road once the sun came up.  There were several times where we passed pastures with horses or cows, but the farms here are mostly vegetables or vineyards.  Many of the farm fields didn't look like they were being used, or they had just recently been planted and hadn't shown any growth yet.  Either way, once the sun came up the temperatures started to soar with minimal shade to cool us.

I almost missed the first water stop.  It was a card table with water cups set up on it.  This is just fine for a race as small as it is, but this is another reason they will have to cap it at 100 if it gets any bigger.  There were no volunteers at that water stop at all.  I am happy to report that there was at least one volunteer at all of the other water stops.  And I'm also happy to report that I was never without water when I came to the water stop, although I was one of the first dozen to finish the race, so I don't know how the back of the pack faired.

Speaking of the water stops, they were extremely well stocked for such a small race.  They had water, of course, as well as at least two different flavors of Powerade.  Also, many of the stops had food as well.  Several had had pretzels, there were stops with small peanut butter and jelly sandwich squares, one station had Lance cheese cracker packs and individual Pringles in their containers, and several stops had Hammer gels.  One suggestion is to use paper cups instead of plastic, as runners like to take the cups and pinch them as they continue to run on.  That wasn't possible with the plastic cups that were provided.  I had to stop to gulp my water down before continuing on.

The bathrooms were about four miles apart, which is tough when you really need to go and you just passed one a mile back.  It would be helpful to have them more frequently.  Although they did have plenty of places to hide on the side of the road (trees, bushes, etc) if the need arose between porta potties.  Not the most ideal situation, but it worked if need be.

If you're looking for crowd support, don't look here.  Pretty much the only people cheering you on are the one or two people manning the water station, and even they weren't paying that much attention to the runners.  One of the water stops had some people playing a board game to pass the time and hardly acknowledged that I was there.  There were a few more people in Abbeville, but other than that, you're on your own.

The SWAG consisted of a unisex dri-fit shirt, a canvas grocery bag, a visor with one of the sponsors on the front, a water pouch, and a couple chapsticks.  The metal looks like a coin encased in a clear case, and age group winners also received a different color ribbon to hang the metal.  The overall winners received a trophy bowl, which was pretty neat.

At the finish line they had some good food.  There was water, Powerade, and chocolate milk.  They had sub sandwiches (several different kinds) and donuts.  The finish was at a gym, so it had a normal bathroom, which was nice.  They had shuttle buses that took you back to the start line.

As far as communication, this is another area they can improve upon.  If you were on the Facebook page, they posted updated and asked for suggestions (which they took and actually implemented).  But the race website can use some major improvements, including more information about where the race starts, FAQs, types of hydration/support, turn-by-turn course map and directions, etc.  It would also be helpful if they sent an email with race day information during the week leading up to the race.

In south Georgia in May, the weather can get quite hot.  This day was no exception.  The race start temperature was 66 degrees, and the ending temperature when I crossed the finish line 3 hours and 38 minutes later was pushing into the upper 70s.  By the time the last runner ran in, the temperature was in the mid to upper 80s.  The sun was out and there was barely a cloud in sight.  With limited shade on the course, this could be a brutal race.  It is good that they start at 6am before the sun comes up to warm up the temps.

For a small race, and one put on by non-runners, I was extremely impressed overall.  They have some opportunities for improvement, but put on a good race.  I give this race 3 out of 5 stars.

Running Georgia - Skidaway Island Marathon

The Skidaway Island marathon is held in mid-March down on the coast of Georgia, not far from Savannah.  This race is one of the best kept secrets in Georgia.  The website claims that it is the race that the locals want to run.  It is small, yet very well organized.  2016 was only the second running of the race.  The website brags about a 100% refund policy if you tell them ahead of the race start.

There is no race-day packet pickup, so I headed down after lunch on Friday.  The packet pickup is at a Dicks Sporting Goods store in a nearby city.  The shirt was a unisex dri-fit shirt, that was huge on me (and ended up getting donated because of the poor fit).  Why don't races offer gender-specific shirts??

There isn't much on the actual Island, so hotels were suggested in Savannah.  The island itself is made up of neighborhoods, a research institute for Oceanography, a state park, and a small aquarium.  There isn't much else to it, and the race course shows it all.

After picking up my race packet I headed to Saint Simons Island to stay at my brother's house overnight.  The race is about an hour and a half from Saint Simons, so I had to get up early to head to the start.

Beware of the bugs!!  There are little flying gnat-looking bugs everywhere at the start, and they bite!  I'm not sure if bug spray would have helped at all, but I would definitely recommend it.  Also, it never gets really cool down on the Georgia coast, so the weather will likely be pretty warm and humid throughout the race.

This was definitely true this year.  As I was driving up to Skidaway Island, it was sprinkling, and I could see lightning in the distance.  All I could do was pray that the runners were safe and no one got struck by lightning.  At the start line, the rain stopped, and the humidity set in.  I could still see lightning in the distance.  The race starts when it is still mostly dark, but the sun comes up by about mile two.

Parking was very easy.  The parking volunteers directed you to a spot on the grass near the start line.  They have a "key check."  The race starts and ends at the same place, so you can leave your gear in your car, but they will check your key for you.  It was pretty dark, so I couldn't really tell what else was at the start, and there wasn't a lot of signage to tell you where to go.  They had music playing. And several tents set up along the parking lot, as well as about ten porta potties.

The race had pacers (for both the marathon and half), which was totally surprising for a race that small, and very much appreciated!  I started with the 4-hour pace group and stuck with them for about two miles before surging ahead.  The marathon started five minutes before the half, so as we were running, there were several lead half marathoners passing us along the side.  I'm sure that was frustrating for them, but it is always appreciated when the marathon goes first, as we don't have to run around the walkers.

Around mile three, the sky opened up and the rain poured on us.  The pouring rain lasted about a mile or two before it let up.  I could barely see a few feet in front of me while it was raining.  I'm glad I wear a hat, or I would really have been in trouble.  Once the rain stopped, you could see the water evaporating off the pavement, and it got even more humid.  The temperature started to climb, but didn't get above mid-70s.  

The water stops were fully stocked and volunteers were plenty.  I hydrated at all of the stops to keep from getting too overheated, and often poured water over my head, once the sun came out and the temperatures rose.  Two of the water stops had energy chews, but they were hard to get open with wet hands.  I couldn't dry my hands off either, because my clothes were soaked from rain and sweat.  At the first chew stop, I eventually had to just throw them on the side of the road unopened.  At the second stop, I told the volunteers to open the packets for the runners.

The course was beautiful.  We ran on bike/golf cart paths and through neighborhood, beside marshes and near the park.  The trees often grew over the road to form a canopy of shade, with Spanish moss hanging down.  There were a couple of out-and-backs, which allowed you to see the other runners.  While the temperatures were high, the course was mostly shaded, so it didn't feel as hot as it could have been.  The terrain in South Georgia near the coast is almost entirely flat.  There was one bridge that we ran over, and a few of the bike paths had some minor hills, but for the most part, the course was completely flat.  This is definitely a fast course, and it is a Boston Qualifier certified course.

There weren't a lot of fans in this race.  It was quiet most of the course.  There were a few spots with fans, but they were mostly near the water stations, and were probably extra volunteers that weren't actively giving out water.

As you get close to the finish, they have a photographer to take pictures of the runners.  The race director runs with you during the last 100 meters into the finish line.  They have plenty of food, water and Garorade.  The results are printed out and placed in the food tent shortly after you cross.  By the time I was changed (in the porta potty, since there are no other open bathrooms), my results were posted.  The age group winners received a picture of a spot along the course, a beautiful path with the tree canopy.

The best perk about this race were the free pictures.  All pictures taken along the course were offered to the runners completely free.

Overall, this was a great little race.  I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Running Georgia - Publix Georgia Marathon

The most popular race in Georgia is the Publix Georgia Marathon in Atlanta Georgia.  The race started ten years ago as an ING race, and has grown ever since.  Publix became the title sponsor a few years ago, and this year the Atlanta Track Club took over as race organizers.

The organization was great.  The expo is huge and full of great vendors.  It was held in a hall in the Georgia Convention Center.  There were some giveaways, but not enough, from the booths at the expo.  Race packet pickup was easy and quick.  I didn't stay long, because my husband was waiting in the car so we didn't have to deal with parking.  Traffic leaving the expo was horrible, as usual in Atlanta.  Plan for a long trip there and back when going to the expo.  They don't offer race day packet pickup, so plan accordingly.

The race starts in Centennial Olympic Park and shows off the city of Atlanta and surrounding suburbs very well.  The course runs through some of Atlanta's finest neighborhoods, parks, and college campuses.  It is in spring, when all the trees and flowers are blooming beautifully.  The course is very scenic.

Along with the scenery, though, comes the hills. Anyone from the Atlanta area knows that it is hard to find a running route that avoids hills.  And the hills aren't gentle, rolling hills.  They are monsters.  So if you're looking for a fast and flat course, look elsewhere.

This race was my first marathon (back in 2008).  Back then, my inexperienced self hit the wall at mile 17, and I walked up every hill after that (which is most of the last seven miles).  Coming into the race this year, all I could think about was the hills toward the end of the race.  I was actually scared that I couldn't do it, and this would be my 36th marathon.  It is definitely one of the hilliest races I've done.

The starting line is right beside Centennial Olympic Park and the CNN Center.  The race offers gear check on the opposite side of the park.  The starting line is easy to get to if riding Marta, which is what I did so I didn't have to deal with parking and traffic.  The Marta trains can get quite full, though.  After arriving at the start, a friend mentioned that you can get into the Omni Hotel to stay warm and use a decent bathroom.  I followed him into the building, and we found a short line for the bathrooms.  After the pit stop, I sat around the Omni's restaurant and looked out the window at the start line and activities.

The start was chilly, but it warmed up nicely during the race.  The temperatures held in the upper 50s to lower 60s with no rain, so it was really perfect weather.  Weather this time of year in Georgia is really hit or miss.  The first year this race was run, it was hot and humid - getting into the upper 80s.  Then the second year it was cold and rainy.  2016 looked to be the perfect running weather.

The race has pace teams, so I lined up with the 4-hour pace group.  They had plenty of pace groups for all speeds.  My plan was to run the first two miles easy, and then see what I could do for the rest of the race.  I stayed with the 4-hour group for about three miles, and then took off.

I am a downhill runner, so I essentially sprint down hills (without feeling it).  Most of the time, I can keep the momentum going on flats and about halfway up the next hill before it starts slowing me down again.  If you are like that, then this race is the race for you.  There were plenty of downhills to get me going and to make the up hills not feel as bad.

I ended up catching up to and passing the 3:50 pace group around mile 16.  I felt good and powered ahead.  If a marathon was just another mile longer, I probably would have caught the 3:45 pace group, since I came in at 3:45:16.

The support on the course was great.  They had water stops close to every mile with both water and Gatorade at all the stops.  They had cookies and oranges and bananas and pretzels scattered along the course at various water stops.  I didn't have to stop at the porta potties, so I didn't notice if they had those as well at the water stops.  I never had to wait for whatever drink I chose, as there were plenty of volunteers.  They had a competition among the water stops, so the volunteers were cheering you along like crazy.

The city of Decatur is always great about supporting the race.  They put up signs with fun little rhymes about the race and the city.  They have great fans that come out to cheer the runners.  The race is the only race in Georgia that is run on Sunday, so many of the churches along the route come out and cheer on the runners.  The crowd support is great and very motivating.

After the finish, instead of typical Mylar blankets, they had track club jackets to keep you warm.  I use the word "jacket" because I don't know what else to call them.  They are not normal jackets, but rather the same type of material as a hospital gown that surgeons might wear.  They then guided you to the food and water stations, where they had a box of food, bananas, chocolate milk, Gatorade, etc.  There was so much, that I didn't have a way to carry it all until I claimed my gear check bag and could put some of it into there.  I then went back to the Omni bathroom and changed out of my sweaty running clothes into dry warm clothes.

In typical Atlanta Track Club fashion, the shirts are unisex dri-fit shirts, which are always way too big on me.  The metals are pretty good, but nothing special.  Other than the jacket at the finish, there wasn't anything special about the SWAG.  If there's one area that can be improved, they could work on some better SWAG.

With the beauty of the course, the great organization of the race, and the crowd support, I give this race a 4.5 out of 5 stars.  Well done, Atlanta Track Club.

Running Georgia - Snickers Albany Marathon

Georgia race #3 was the Snickers Marathon in Albany, GA.  This race does not offer race-day packet pickup, and is far enough away that you have to drive down th day before and stay overnight.  Since the purpose of me running all these Georgia marathons is to save my PTO and money for the adoption, I had to wait until after lunch on Friday to leave to head down.  I was planning on leaving at 2:00, but my boss was nice enough to encourage me to leave at 1:00 to beat the Friday traffic.  I'm so glad I did!  There were still two slow spots getting onto I-75 south, but I was able to make the drive and get to the expo by just before 5pm.

The expo was held in a hotel in downtown Albany.  I believe it was a Hilton Garden Inn, but am not sure.  I think that was also the official race hotel. The expo did have booths and merchandise that you could purchase, unlike the other races I had done thus far, but it wasn't huge.  I didn't have much time to check it out, because on my drive down, my maintenance light in my car came on, and I needed to find an oil change place before the city shut down for the weekend.

After finding a place open at 5pm on a Friday (that charged an arm and a leg) and getting my oil changed, I headed to my cheap hotel.  I stayed in the Baymont Inn.  It was cheap (remember the goal is to save PTO and money and still get to race), but functional.  The hotel actually gave the runners a nice welcome packet with bottled water and some other goodies.  It was across the street from a Publix and Target, so I decided to walk across the street to buy my typical race morning breakfast in case the hotel breakfast was not acceptable.  The hotel had a refrigerator to store my cold drinks.

After buying my breakfast, it was time for my traditional pre-race dinner.  I headed to the IHOP to meet my co-worker, who was also in town to run the race.  I had my pancakes, eggs, bacon, hash browns, and toast, and it was delicious, as usual.  Afterwards, I walked across the street to Walmart to buy some sunscreen and a throw away jacket (which I got for $3!).  Then it was time to go back to my hotel, set my clothes out, and get some sleep.

The next morning, I ate breakfast in the hotel lobby and headed over to the start line.  It was very easy to get to, and they had plenty of parking.  I parked close to the start line and waited in my car until it was close to start time.

They had music blasting and plenty of porta potties at the start line.  The problem was the placement of the porta potties, though.  The line for the bathroom was basically the same place as where the runners line up to start.  You couldn't really tell where the line started and where people were just standing and waiting to start.  There were no corrals, but they did have pace groups.  I found the 4-hour pace group and hung out.  My co-worker met me at the pace group, and we started together.

The four-hour pacer was very excited and talked a lot - almost too much.  So we moved ahead of her and ended up in the 3:55 pace group.  I was pretty impressed with the number of pace groups.  They had one for every five minutes under the 4-hours.  We stayed with the 3:55 group for almost half of the race.

The first part of the race takes you into a small college in the city.  Then you go out onto a long stretch of a somewhat busy road for several miles.  After what seems like forever, it turns into a nice neighborhood area.  The houses are nice, and the road is lined with trees.  The course gets a little hillier in the neighborhoods, but the hills aren't bad.  They are gently rolling.  That is about the halfway point, so the rest of the race is making your way back into town.  Once you get close to the finish line, you run thought an old train station and downhill into the park.  The race ends in the park under a bridge close to downtown and next to the river. The walk back to the car is a short couple of blocks, and passes by the Ray Charles statue.

The water stops were well supported with volunteers and plenty of cups with water and Gatorade.  I don't remember any times when I couldn't get what I wanted.  There were pockets of fans throughout the race that cheered for all the runners.

The park at the end of the race had tents set up with beer, food, and water.  There were tables under one tent with chairs so you could sit and eat the food.  The medical tent was nearby and ready to tend to any runners needs.  There were plenty of people hanging around the finish and cheering the runners on.  

The metal was a number 10 (it was the 10th anniversary of the race) with a snickers bar as the one, and it was pretty big and heavy.  The shirt was a gender-specific dri-fit shirt that looks like a snickers bar.  They also gave you a snickers bar in the race packet, a water bottle, and a magnet to save the date for the next year's race.

This was my favorite Georgia race thus far.  I give this race 4.5 out of 5 stars.  I would definitely do this race again.