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FLRC Newsletter - Jun 2003 |
| Ontario Shore Marathon - Hamlin Beach NY, 5/2/03 | |
I decided to see what it was like to run marathons a week apart, never having done it and still feeling relatively fresh after Delaware. I'm no Jim Miner, with respect to endurance (or speed for that matter) so this was new territory for me.I did OSM last year, ran a personal best of 3:48:19 and really enjoyed the event; therefore, I decided to go back. OSM follows an excellent course through farm country near Lake Ontario west of Rochester. Registration and the start were very well managed and all the race workers I met were friendly and helpful. In the run, I started out conservatively, with the "I ran one last weekend" excuse ready as needed. I was dragging along at about 17 when a relay runner passed me and woke me out of my shuffle-along mode. I went with the guy and pushed hard (for me at that point anyway) to his 20-mile handoff. I decided to keep it up as far asI could and I drove right through to the finish in 3:53:38, which is pretty good for me. Miles 19-23 were a challenge because the road in that section is gently up hill for the whole way and there was a 10+ mph headwind. I was pretty tired of wind by the end of that stretch. I met some nice folks on the run and, like last year, the race had outstanding organization and support. The bike patrols along the course are a special touch for this race. OSM is one of my favorite marathons and I'll be back. As an added bonus, I returned to Corning in plenty of time to see Patti Witten, a great Ithaca musician in the "singer-songwriter" vein.
Overall, I had a good eight days, running two enjoyable marathons and seeing two excellent music performers,with the added bonus of a trail 5K (John Polo Run in Corning) thrown as well. Now for that yard work.
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