Carolyn and Jack Quarterman
Whistlestop Marathon, Ashland, WI
October 11, 2008

At the Whistlestop Marathon in northern Wisconsin , we had a great time without having great (running) times. We were both disappointed with our races. But it was a fun time. We’d recommend it to anyone. It’s a good area to visit this time of year. Just be careful with the race.

The trip’s a little pricey. You have to fly into Duluth , Minn. , (a tiny airport) and rent a car to take you to Ashland, Wis. That drive is about 75 miles. We found a cool little motel in Ashland – the River Rock Inn and Bait Shop. It’s a new place (2007) with a hunting/fishing lodge motif with some nice folks to help you in the bait shop/motel office.  Some of the bait fish were surprisingly large, but then we saw all the photos on the bulletin board—fisherfolk proudly hanging onto or displaying gargantuan fish of various types. The whole area is geared to hunting and fishing. There are a lot of older, small, basic motels. And it seems like there’s a little bar every few blocks. That area has about as many bars as Myrtle Beach has pancake restaurants. Ashland also has some murals on its downtown buildings showing some of the local history and people from its past. [More]

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Terry Jones, Another Lost Dutchman
Chicago Marathon
October 12, 2008
"Lightning Strikes Twice"

I signed up to run the Chicago marathon this year despite the disaster they had last year with the heat and lack of preparation. I'd been meaning to run this marathon for quite some time since my older brother runs it every year (for 18 years). So I said, what the hell, lightning doesn't strike the same place twice, right?

I signed up through a charity (Opportunity Enterprises), which is based in Valparaiso, Indiana. My older brother lives in Valpo and my younger brother, who has Down's Syndrome, is a client at OE. Mike, my older brother, has run Chicago 10 consecutive years through OE and was given some special recognition at the pasta dinner Saturday night. [More]

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Susan Morrison: Rock and Roll Half Marathon
August 31, 2008

My very first half marathon began with an early rise at 5:15 am (to be truthful, that is like getting up for a regular Galloway summer run!). As I dressed, my head filled with questions. Would I finish the race? Would I finish within the 3 hour goal I set for myself? Would I have fun? I was to soon find out the answers to all of these questions.

We headed to the starting line and our race corrals. It was amazing to see how many runners were there - over 16,500 people all ready to race 13.1 miles. Luckily, I had run into 2 Raleigh Galloway runners at the expo the afternoon before the race, so I knew the fun would be in corral 21. I found the group, which by that time contained 6 Raleigh Galloway women, and we headed to the front of our corral. [More]

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Darryl Banks: Grandfather Mountain Marathon
July 12, 2008

Well, you might think I was bright enough to pull some important tidbit to help fuel my training for the Grandfather Mountain Marathon (tagline “One of America’s  Toughest Marathons”), but no such luck.  GMM was my fourth race this year and the three before it went quite well – so I was just going to phone it in… 

My previous marathon was in the beginning of May and in the eight weeks before GMM my longest run before taper was 16 miles.  OK, that’s not exactly ideal, but I figured that I maintain a pretty consistent level of fitness so I’d be fine to just push through when it got tough.  And sure, there would be some hills but I regularly hit the trails in Umstead, so some hills wouldn’t be a problem.  As a mid-season race, this one was only meant to be “fun” anyway – so I wasn’t out to PR.  Heck, I felt ready for this – and I was totally wrong. [More]

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Rob Hall: Hatfield & McCoy Marathon - No Feudin’, Just Runnin’
June 14, 2008

There is now peace in the mountains of West Virginia and Kentucky, because for the 9th year the feud between the Hatfields and McCoys was decided by a marathon. The race takes place during the Hatfield and McCoy reunion festival in June. It follows a route that goes near many of the historic feud sites. Each runner that is not a true Hatfield or real McCoy is assigned to a family and the combined times decide who wins the feud for that year. I was assigned to the Hatfield family.

It was less than 6 hours to drive up to Pikeville, KY where we (wife and I) stayed for the night.  The Hampton Inn was the best I have ever been at and the staff was up before 5 with breakfast.  After some biscuits and gravy, we headed out to Goody, KY.  The registration, packet-pickup, and start took place in the parking lot of the Food City Food Stores.  We got my picture taken with a historic looking Hatfield and McCoy, who gave an account of the feud during the pasta dinner.  We soon had our shotgun start and I was the last across the line. [More]

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Rob Hall: Cincinnati Flying Pig “Ultra” Marathon 2008
May 3, 2008

If the definition of an “Ultra” marathon is a race over 26.22 miles, then the Pig qualified for 2008. If Ron Wahula would have been race director he would have said, “We gave you a little extra for free.” The course was re-routed that mourning because of a fire between mile 22 and 23. They told us about the reroute, but they did not know the distance.

My goal for the race was a new PR (personal record) and to break 4 hours. I did the Pig back in 2004, so I knew it was hilly and not the fastest course. It was still an easy choice to do because the hills are front loaded, I was going to train hard with the Furman FIRST program, and my running buddy Gary Fulton was doing it. [More]

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Eric Johnson : Deadwood-Mickelson Trail Marathon
June 8, 2008

I ran this marathon with former Gallowayer Bob Parker. The Deadwood Marathon is run in an historic region of American History.  It is a small marathon with very few spectators but I’ve grown to appreciate the smaller, no-frills events.  There were less than 400 full marathoners but we still got a technical shirt and a medal. The race is put on by Lean-Horse Productions, which is operated by Jerry Dunn (Marathon Man). The course is run entirely (almost) on packed, crushed gravel that was converted from an old railroad bed.  All but 1.5 miles of this course is on the trail.  The first 14 miles is a gradual uphill.  Miles 14-26.2 was a gradual downhill with the exception of two small hills between miles 18 and 19.  There was a steep downhill that lasted about a quarter of a mile and it was located between miles 20 and 21. [More]

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Andrea Bailey: Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon
April 26, 2008

The idea for a spring marathon was hatched Christmas night when my 23 year old daughter asked me to run a marathon with her.  Having just run one the previous month, I wasn’t eager to get back into full training again, but I figured it was just the eggnog talking, so I agreed.  Turns out she really meant it.  Kaitlyn had been a cheerleader in high school and college, so she ran mainly for fitness.  She had a lot of training to do to get ready for a marathon, or so I thought.  The farthest she had run was two half marathons, the most recent being PF Chang two years ago when she had to wrap her pants around her head.  But that’s another story…. [More]

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Kathie Baggott: Marathon to Athens, Greece
November, 2007
The Race

This was no ordinary race! The event started in the city of Marathon, Greece, and retraced the ancient route to Athens. The course was connected to the Battle of Marathon, where Athenians and Persians clashed in 490 BC. Despite the fact that they were grossly outnumbered, the Athenians won the battle. This prompted the messenger, Phidippides, to run from Marathon to Athens with the surprising report that, against all odds, the Athenians prevailed. His run took on particular urgency since citizens in Athens had decided to burn the city rather than turn it over to the Persians. Phidippedes arrived announcing, "Nike!" "Nike!" meaning, "Victory!" "Victory!" which
briefly and pointedly said it all. [More]

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