2010 - A Maniacal Year

13 Marathons

1 50K

1 Half Marathon

9 states

Iridium (4 stars) Maniac status

I also ran a handful of 5K's and I think one 10K

January

Mississippi Blues Marathon - Jackson Mississippi. This was my first marathon as a Maniac and the experience fueled our Marathon fever!

It was 9 degrees at the start and a very hilly course but all the maniac love made it bearable and almost enjoyable!! Especially the time spent running with Carol and Larry.

Jeff, Livia and Kylie came back from Brazil after a 5 week Christmas Vacation.

February

Surf City Marathon - Huntington Beach Calif

This was my second year to do Surf City and I was excited to have Arland as my travel/race partner. I was also very excited to meetup with friends Cathy S. and Lynda. We also had the pleasure of meeting Ken and Wendy an awesome couple who are coming to Arkansas in March to run the Little Rock Marathon we are very excited!
Met lot's of Maniacs during the race and were really pumped to meet the President of the Marathon Maniacs Steven Yee at the finish line.
We stayed a couple of extra days and spent one of those days with my dad in Oceanside.

March

Little Rock Marathon - Little Rock Arkansas

I had run the half marathon 3 times but this was to be the first time for the Full. We had spent the fall/winter training with running friends in Cabot. Two of them were doing their first Marathon and it was very exciting to be a part of maiden marathon voyage.

I had a great first half and was feeling strong but just past the halfway point I ran into one of our first timers and she was having a bad day, felt sick and was just ready to quit. I decided to stay with her and help her get to the finish. It wasn't pretty and by the time we finished the finish line area was pretty bare but all our Cruiser friends were still there waiting for us!!

April

Hogeye Marathon- Fayetteville Arkansas

Awful! It was hot I started feeling sick about mile 6 which is way too early to start feeling bad in a Marathon. My friend Judy from Conway was my partner and would not leave me although I begged her to. There were of course positives, we got to celebrate Marla's first marathon and had lot's of friends cheering us on.

Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

This was a very emotional race, the course was lined with banners with the names of the victims from the Oklahoma City bombing.
This was also Missie's first half marathon. She was supposed to do St. Jude's but a tendon issue caused her to miss too much training. Micah and I ran with Missie and Kristi until the half split off. I managed to hang onto Micah until about mile 16 and he left me in his dust. Of course port a potty visits don't help!!! and maybe Mexican food the day before didn't help either???? LOL

May

Fargo Marathon - Fargo North Dakota

We signed up for the "Go Far Challenge" and ran a 5K the evening before the Marathon.Fun..Fun...Fun!!!

An old friend from my Maryland days lives in Bismarck ND and she and her husband made the two hour drive to Fargo to see me. I hadn't seen Twila since 1994 but I swear from the first moment we laid eyes on each other it was as if no time at all had passed!

We had several Arkansas friends who also went to Fargo. Most of us were on the same flight which gave us time to hang out.

Cathy S. was also in Fargo for the half marathon. I didn't get to spend as much time with her as I would have liked but we did have a few minutes at the Expo and then again in the Fargo Dome before the race.
Loved this race!! definitely a great course, ton's of crowd support and I got to run a bit with one of my Maniac heroes Larry Macon. We first met Larry in Mississippi and such a nice guy! He had the Guinness World Record for the most marathons in one year 105... he went on to break his own record this year by running 106 marathons in 2010.
To top off a GREAT race experience our friend Leah Thorvilson not only won the women's marathon she also qualified for the 2012 Olympic Marathon Trials.

June - July

No Marathons ... We had several we wanted to do but this Marathon stuff gets expensive!!
It was Hot Hot Hot summer but we adapted to the heat by running at 5:00am and using a 4-1 run/walk ratio during our long runs.

July

Ding Dong Daddy 5K- Dumas Ark.

Who wouldn't want to run a race with the words Ding Dong Daddy in it. We first found out about the Ding Daddy Days run last year. My friend Missie is from Dumas and she talked a group of girls to go down for the weekend to run the race and just have a girls weekend.

We have decided that we want to make this an annual trip as long as we possibly can. Missie's mom treats us like rock stars and we feel like we are at a 5 start resort!!

August

Leading Ladies Marathon - Spearfish, SD

This was a women's only Marathon. Vic and Joan had this on their schedule for several months and I was able to share a room with them and found a decent priced ticket so Arland couldn't say no! Plus he had just done a 50K in July and was still on that Ultra high when I approached him about going to SD.

This year the race was held during the last weekend of the Sturgis Bike Rally so we got to experience one of the biggest most famous bike rallys in the United States. I have never seen so much leather, boobs and bare bottoms in my whole life!! LOL
Traveling with Vic and Joan was So much fun!! never a dull moment and then when Toni joined us.. well what can I say, we never stopped laughing!!

I met Dana Casanave at this race and got to run the first 9 -10 miles with Carol. The miles I spent with her flew by, and I really think I could have had an awesome race if I could have stayed with her the whole race, but my stomach rebelled and I had to stop 5 times for bathroom breaks, including one trip to the woods!!

Brett came home from Iraq for 15 days. Livia and Kylie came home from Brazil.

September

Tupelo Marathon - Tupelo Mississippi

This race is a cult favorite for many of our Arkansas running friends. We already had it on our calendar because it is close enough to drive, and we needed a September Marathon. The thought of running a marathon in Mississippi the first weekend of September was terrifying but knowing we would be suffering alongside 30-40 running friends made it a little more bearable. It was a great weekend. We participated in the "3-3-3" three races, in three states in three days. We even have t-shirts! LOL

I dreaded this race all summer but it turned out to be one of my best Marathons of the year and then the chick-fil-a 5k the next day in Memphis was one big party! GREAT weekend! And Arland had a big PR!!

Bartlett Parks Trail Ultra - 50K - Memphis TN

This race was the weekend after Tupelo and had been on our radar but we wanted to wait to see how we felt after Tupelo. Well.. we felt great!!

So let me just begin with this warning. It really is not a good idea to make a 50K race your very first trail run!! I had No trail experience and did not realize what I had in store for me!

We started off great, it was HOT but we were in the woods and I was happy, until the first time I fell. It was a shock, I never had that sensation of falling. One second I was running the next I was on the ground. I fell 7 times... yes 7! The first 6 falls were in the first 15 miles. Actually 3 of them were in the first 7 miles! After the 6th fall I decided I was done, I just could not figure out my problem, yes the trail was covered in tree roots and stumps but I swear my eyes were glued to the ground and I could have sworn I was picking my feet up! I told Arland to go on and that the next time we passed the start I was going to turn in my bib. I was upset and when I got to the car I was trying to compose myself enough to take my bib to the race director without being a blubbering mess. I was a Mess, covered in dirt and blood from head to toe, my face had hit the ground during 3 of my falls. I really didn't want to quit but I had told Arland to go on and I didn't feel comfortable in the woods by myself, and then I met Lisa, we had been passing each other back and forth the whole race, she was having problems with her asthma so she was also struggling. She suggested we run the rest of the race together and so I put my gear back on and away we went. Things were going along great, we walked the entire 3rd loop but at a very fast pace which caused some painful blisters, but I was just so happy not to fall. The third loop I was feeling good and getting impatient with the walking so we ran when we could and walked over the worst sections of roots. It was going well and I was feeling confident and then ... yes of course I fell again! It was ugly, dirty, sweaty, bloody but boy did it feel great when I crossed the finish line and could call myself an ultra marathoner!

October

10-10-10

Mother Road Marathon - Joplin, MO

This race starts in Commerce OK, runs through Kansas and ends up in Joplin MO. You never really know what the weather will be like on race day but we thought Missouri in October might be cooler. Well. We were wrong! It was HOT it was miserable... I fell at mile 14, twisted my ankle, banged up my knee and hand.. yeah this was not a great day!!! BUT I did finish and although it took me forever because running was too painful so I mostly had to walk which added blisters to my list of injuries, I did end up helping someone else make it to the finish line so it wasn't a total loss!!

The best part was seeing some friends I had not expected to see at the finish line!!!!

Noah's Ark 10K - Dumas Ark

Last year Missie and I took Kylie and Eliza to Dumas for the weekend, but this year she invited Arland to go along too.

I love this race, it is very flat and well organized! Last year Missie and I ran together and I felt like I was running with a celebrity, everyone was cheering for her! Missie and I won money last year and joined the ranks of "elite" runners ;) the fact that there were only 3 people who ran the race had nothing to do with it!!!

This year I didn't know if we would go since Missie had not been running all summer due to back pain.

It was a much bigger crowd this year, not sure exactly but probably about 15 runners. Most were doing the 5k so Missie and I decided we would sign up under the relay category. I ran the first half by myself and then ran the second half with Missie and we won!!! woo hoo!! Oh, did I mention we were the only relay team?? oh well that's not really important!

Poor Arland.... we just knew he was going to win the men's 10k especially since last year there were no men, but this year a guy who happened to be in Dumas to visit family decided to run the race and he was fast!!!

But we had a great weekend!!!!

November

MidSouth Marathon - Wynne, Arkansas

I swore last year, my second year to run this marathon that I would NEVER do it again!!! but it is just too close to pass up. I was really glad I changed my mind, this year was MUCH better than last!! Last year we had 40mph winds the whole second half, and it was also HOT, just an overall miserable experience!

This year was much better!!! It was COLD at the start and no extreme winds!!!

Route 66 Marathon - Tulsa Oklahoma

When we found out that the Marathon Maniacs and 50 States Club was going to have a perks tent we knew we had to go! Route 66 had been Arlands first Marathon in 2007, I did the half that year and swore I would NEVER go back... yeah I have got to stop saying Never!!!!

This year was awesome. Maniac friend Greg Goebel had organized a pasta dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse and we got to meet a bunch of new Cruisers! This race was Greg's 30th race in his 30th state in 365 days, which translates to Titanium status/10 spinny stars in the Maniacs.

Arland decided he wanted to run with Greg and I agreed to run with Mary from Sarasota. The race started off fine, very hilly but we were having lot's of fun and ran into tons of Maniac friends. During the race you could decided to take a little detour to The Center of The Universe and receive a special medallion, well I'm all about the bling so we decided to take the .3 detour.

Definitely a great race and a great experience!

Brett's deployment from Iraq ended and he returned to Fort Bliss in El Paso Texas. He got a weekend pass and was able to come home for Thanksgiving.

December

Dallas White Rock - Dallas Texas

This was the first year since I started running that I didn't not participate in the St. Jude's Marathon/Half Marathon. I ran the half 3 times and the Full one. A big group of Cabot Cruisers had chosen Dallas White Rock as their first marathon, it was also Joan and Vic's first marathon in a couple of years so we had to go!

It was a blast to coach, run with and support the group of new marathoners!! I spent several Sunday mornings driving all over Cabot acting as a travelling aid station! I loved every minute I got to spend with them and was so excited to run with a couple of
them for their first marathon. Crossing the Marathon finish line with Toni was very special and I wouldn't trade the experience for anything!!!

Run For The Ranch - Springfield Missouri

Start time 1:00pm. The course was 8 loops around and through Southern Missouri University. I was excited for this race, Carol was going to be there and I hadn't seen her in a while, we were also going to get to meet Patrick a fellow Maniac. There were actually a bunch of Maniacs we knew and a bunch of our Little Rock and Cabot running friends.

It was a tough race, 8 loops are hard, there was a lot of concrete, uneven surfaces etc. and the final insult no medals left when I finished!! They ran out somewhere around the 4:40 finish time. The race director said he would mail us one but we haven't received them yet.

Christmas was great. Brett came home for 30 days and Kylie, Livia and Jeff stayed home.

I feel like I have been typing forever and that this will be too long but so much is left out...it was a great year!!