arigatou daisuki sensei.
Have you been able to reconnoiter any places for Tammy's Magic Mile yet?

Do you have any word on how registration is going for the half? I keep vacillating on whether or not to sign up, and I need some idea of how much longer I can continue to do so. I'm currently in North Carolina, but I was born and raised in the Eugene area, and my folks still live north of Santa Clara.

(One reason I'm still wavering is that the run occurs while my son is still in school, and we can't really justify taking him out for a visit to the grandparents. My wife has said she has no problem with me going, but if I do I have no say in where we go for vacation later. I don't know if I can afford this steep a price <g>.)

Econo,
Are we getting a real gold medal for this race? Good Golly, $95 smackers for an inagural event? Who in the heck is running this event, the UofO athletic department? Okay I've vented. I'm toying with the idea, only a couple of weeks after Boston.....

This will be my first race as a "Boomer". I'll be running the full marathon, and I really want to run a PR to show I can still run at age 40.

The course looks good - about as flat as you can get around Eugene, and the river sections are scenic for out of town runners, and nicely familier for us locals. It is an interesting finish, as you pass right by the finish line at 24.5 miles, but then you still have a significant loop left. It is good for spectators, and probably an encouragement for the runners to clearly see you are getting close to the finish. In fact, spectators can hang out near Autzen Stadium and see the runners at 6.5, 14.5, 24.5 and the finish and hardly need to move.

One area of a little concern is the 1/2 marathoners cut a chunk off in Springfield, and get a 2 mile jump on the marathon runners. For 3 miles, the marathon runners have to work through 1/2 runners going a minute or so slower per mile. The all the runners need to be careful to take the right turns at 9.5 and near the 1/2 finish. This could be a problem if the race fields are big.

I hear the entry number are solid, although not likely to hit the entry limit of 5,000 per race. Honestly portions of the course probably couldn't handle 5,000 runners, or 10,000 where the 1/2 marathon and marathon run together.

------------------
About Me[/URL" target="_blank">

Originally posted by megapronator:
. . . see the runners at 6.5, 14.5, 24.5 and the finish[/QUOTE]

thanks mega. no particular reason, but do all the loops mean there's some out-and-backs?

I'll sadly be missing this one. I have a goal race near SF the following Saturday, and I just learned how ill-prepared I am for it. So this time, no stupid Maniac games running Eugene the week before.

{sigh}