North Carolina (OBX Marathon) 11/14/10

After last week in WV it was a quick recovery week and we headed back out this time to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. Wendy and I decided to make it a long weekend for her birthday. We flew into Norfolk, VA on Friday and drove down to NC. After checking into the hotel we went to the expo to get that out of the way and leave us all day Saturday to check out the sites. Our plan was to drive the Outer Banks down to Cape Hatteras to see several of the light houses but that didn't work out for us. There was a low pressure sitting off shore that was creating issues with the tides and during high tide the water and sand covered the roadway which made it impossible to pass. They actually had heavy equipment to remove the sand once the tides went down. We were able to drive some of it but just couldn't make it as far as we wanted. Even though we couldn't make it down the banks we were still able to check out the other surrounding towns which was really nice.

Sunday morning arrived and it was a nice cool morning. It was a point to point race with about 1800 marathoners. The half marathon started at the half way point and had about 4000 runners. The course had alot to offer including several different surfaces including a 3 mile stretch through a nature preserve that was a trail run with lots of rolling hills. We also got to run around the monument that was built for the Wright Brothers dedicating the place where they first flew. The 1st half of the race had alot of shade from the sun which was really nice. Shortly after the half way point we had no shade and the sun was starting to beat down on us and the temps were getting higher. At mile 22 we had a big bridge that we had to climb that was a real challenge. Once we made the bridge it was about 3 miles to the finish. The finish area was nothing but a party and there was even an older couple serving margaritas to the runners...I couldn't pass it up. This race was alot of fun and for only being in there 5th year running they did a great job. There was plenty of aid stations that were very well stocked and the people of the communities we ran in were very supportive. I would highly recommend this race for many reasons.

I now have 31 States completed and my next 2 marathons will be repeat states. One in LA and another here in TX on New Years day. After that I go to Nevada to run out by the Hoover Dam and Lake Mead. This will be a very challenging run with lots of hills and long climbs but should be very scenic. Until my next race hope everyone is doing well and getting ready for the holiday season.