One Day Hike

I think I first heard of the One Day Hike from reading other blogs.  It is a non-competitive hike that is held every year.  People start at about 3 AM in Washington DC and hike up the C&O Canal ending just past Harpers Ferry, WV.  They have until midnight to complete their hike.  There is also a 30 mile option.  I wasn’t feeling adventurous enough to try either of those yet, so I saw they needed bike patrol volunteers.  This is something I wanted to try for a long time.  I often see cyclists at races, biking the course with runners.  Honestly, half the time that I am doing a race I am wishing for my bike anyway – so this seems like a pretty good compromise!  I contacted Frank, the coordinator, and requested a shift.

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Cherry Blossom 10 Miler

Getting into the Cherry Blossom 10 miler in DC isn’t easy – you have to put your name into a lottery because there are so many people that want to do the run and then names are randomly selected.  I tried to get in last year, but wasn’t picked so I was very excited when I got the email a few months ago that I would be running this year.  The cherry blossoms were supposed to be in peak bloom for the run – something that I don’t think has happened the last few years, and the weather was supposed to be chilly but sunny.  So why did I drop down to the 5k?

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Philly Love Run Half Marathon

After the Phillies 5k, Kevin dropped me off at the Philly Convention Center so I could get my packet for the Philly Love Run – another race that I was supposed to do last year, but couldn’t because of my heel injury.  I never realized how large the convention center was and had to wander around until I figured out where I was supposed to go.  There was not a lot of people so I was able to get my packet fairly quickly – you also get a really nice tech shirt (which if you are ordering the women’s size – keep in mind they run very small) and a mug.  I wandered around the rest of the expo, but there is never anything I need/want so I headed to my hotel for the night.

I really wanted to find the famous LOVE statue and noticed that my walk should take me right by it.  I did have some trouble spotting it at first, but finally found it in a far corner of Love Park.  I was really surprised at how small the statue was.  For some reason I thought it was taller than the average person standing next to it…and while it was TALLER, it was raised up on a pedestal so people could stand under it and a lot smaller than I imagined.  There was also a huge line that I didn’t feel like waiting in so I just strategically took photos which cropped the people out.

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Phillies Charities 5K

I was FINALLY able to complete the Phillies Charities 5K this year (after not being able to do it last year due to my heel issues).  I was so excited to be around thousands of other Phillies fans and MOST excited to be able to walk a lap around the warning track and  look up into the stands…

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Track Rock Gap Petroglyph Site

Last summer on a road trip with my Dad we visited a little known place called Track Rock Gap Petroglyph Site in Blairsville, Georgia.  These petrolgyphs, or rock carvings, were done over a thousand years ago and it is one of the most significant rock art sites in the southeastern United States.

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runDisney Marathon Weekend FULL MARATHON – Florida part 8

The FINAL day of the Dopey Challenge was the Disney marathon – and it started off with a BANG! No really – each wave is sent off by fireworks and they were especially awesome for the marathon.  I was running a little late, but managed to give myself a pep-talk on the way to my coral.  I had no idea how this day was going to turn out – was I going to get swept?  Was I going to make it?

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runDisney Marathon Weekend HALF MARATHON – Florida Part 7

The 3rd day of the Dopey Challenge during marathon weekend at Disney World was the HALF MARATHON!  I have run 13 miles, but never in a race – and this run was ESPECIALLY exciting because I would get to run through the castle in the Magic Kingdom!  I had been dreaming about running through the castle since I first heard of the runDisney races.  After looking at numerous beautiful pictures and videos of happy  people running out the front of the castle I was so ready to have one of those amazing photos to call my own…unfortunately my castle moment wasn’t quite how I thought it would be…

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runDisney Marathon Weekend 10K – Florida: Part 6

Dark and early (I can’t really say bright and early because I was up well before the sun) Kevin dropped me off at Epcot and I made my way with the other runners to the starting corrals.  I felt a little more confident because I knew where I was going since I was just through it all the day before for the Marathon Weekend 5k.  I made my way through the crowd admiring the awesome costumes.  I kept the mylar blanket they gave me the day before for extra warmth while waiting to start.  The lines for the characters were outrageously long so I knew there was no point waiting because I wouldn’t have time to get a picture before the race started.  Little did I know that later in the run I would have a very comical “character stop”….

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