Marathon to Athens, Greece.

'Cuz I thought it might be my One and Only, so why not make it a grand one and then sail the southern coast of Turkey?

(Anyone care to join me to do it again in 2011?)

Good luck, Tammy -- whatever location you decide.

Portland,because I got to meet all those terrific boomers.

My DW's boss told me to try Portland first as he enjoyed it so much...

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Gordon
My Profile[/URL" target="_blank">

My first was in the city in which I reside currently, the Omaha Marathon.
It was my first, and so far, my only. I finished in 3:22:40, and I also
finished as the Overall Woman (not expected, but it happened)!

So anyway, I would suggest doing a local marathon, simply because

1. You don't have to get adjust to the elevation, if different, nor do
you have jetlag.

2. There are less participants than in the bigger marathons (Chicago,
Portland, etc), therefore, less competition. Not that competition is
bad, because the more the better, in my opinion. I don't know,
because I've only done one marathon, but I figure it might get
kind of crowded and "herd-like" in those bigger marathons.

3. You might possibly win! (If you are well-trained and very
self-motivated, which, I was)

And have fun!!!

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tonya[/URL" target="_blank">
My Log[/URL" target="_blank">

Omaha Marathon 09/23/07 -- OA Female Winner/BQ/PR (First Marathon)
Boston Marathon 04/2008 -- New York Marathon 11/2008

Hi Tammy

Don't know if I'll make it out to Eugene next spring, but even if I do I'm not sure I'll have earned my "license" to run the full marathon by then. That's about the time frame I'm looking at for my "license" attempt - i.e. doing a half in less than two hours so my wife will agree to my training for another full.

Anyway, the only full marathon I've done was Miami in '06. It wasn't so much my choice as it was that of the charity (PanCAN - Pancreatic Cancer Action Network) that I was running for (I had a co-worker with the disease). They chose it because they usually have a lot of first-timers and they thought this would be a good first-time course. It was. Big enough to be an event, but not a monster event like Chicago or New York. Also, it's a very flat course and a "destination" city. The first couple of miles goes by Cruise Ship Row, and we had two ships coming in to port during the early stages of the race. Some northerners complained about it being too hot (end of January), but I thought it was ideal (mid 70's).

I did have to fly to Miami, but no jet lag since I'm already EST. The only problem I had was flying back that evening. The walk from the check-in to the gate at the airport was a worse marathon than the one I'd run that morning <g>.

Marine Corps Marathon, 1982, with the propitious time of 4:17. I was on active duty in the Marines and stationed in DC. I did it on a dare, and finished despite not having run over three miles during my regular noon-time jaunts around Arlington National Cemetery. I think there were a whopping 6,500 starters that year--it's grown a bit over the years.

Lynn

local one for me, 86 honolulu marathon. my training wasn't anything spectacular, just ran it for fun. <reminisce> young kids can do that and still run 3:16... ahh, those were the days. </reminisce>

the race was huge, 15,000 i think. and i passed about 6,000 people in the first 8 miles... dumb dumb dumb, started too far back. knew nothing about marathoning (still don't) but just had a blast and enjoyed it.

there are so many things to keep track of during a marathon and the training process that you probably don't want the added pressure of traveling and running on unknown roads during your first one. stay local, learn the course, relax and have fun.

I probably don't deserve to post here since I haven't run a full marathon yet, but I did sign up with a girlfriend to run the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon June 1st. I choose it because it's supposed to have a lot of entertainment along the route, it's a fairly flat course, I was told it's a good first timer's marathon and San Diego is only 1 1/2 hour drive from my house. So although I will have to get up early to drive to the start, it's close enough where I don't have to rent a hotel, book a flight or rent a car but far enough away to make it feel like I traveled for something really special.

Good luck on your training for your 1st full marathon, I hope we both make it!!

Sherie