After completely wasting my 20’s I finally discovered running at the age of 32, and it might have saved my life. At the end of that year I ran my first race, a 10k, and was hooked for good. A year later, in December of 1978, I ran the Fiesta Bowl Marathon, my first at that distance, in 2:48:23. To this day it ranks as one of my greatest thrills ever, running or otherwise.

1986 Los Angeles Marathon and the 1987 LA Marathon was my second one.

I did my first marathon on a dare from a friend. The plan was to run the first LA Marathon together. He was a no show.

I felt that I did poorly with a 4:38, so I decided to do one more to break 4:30. The LA Marathon in 1987 was even worst, then the 1987 Long Beach Marathon was a 5:02.

Then moving to Nebraska the Summer of 1987 and running the 1987 Omaha Marathon with a 4:17. But after running 4 marathons, I wanted to do 10 marathons. On and on, I was hooked.

If I had broke 4:30 in my first marathon, I may have never run another one.

I kept doing local marathons until my 6th, which was the Longest Day Marathon in Brookings, SD.


TomD

[http://This message has been edited by TomD (edited Oct-26-2007).|http://This message has been edited by TomD (edited Oct-26-2007).]

You already know, Tamster, that I picked local as well, for both of mine.  I wanted to sleep in my own bed the night before, and not knowing what shape I'd be in when I was done, and thinking DH might not be there to drive me home, I wanted to be able to drive myself home afterward.

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Holly[/URL" target="_blank">

This is an interesting thread.

With my record for injury, I chose our local city marathon (Frederick MD) for my first so that I wouldn't have to bail on non-refundable travel arrangements. It was comforting to run along some routes that I had trained on for years.

CNYRunner - your posting about your father was touching. The nurses at my dear-old-dad's nursing home told me last weekend that he was telling everyone there about my BQ. She said that he got a little teary each time he recounted the story. Given that he can just barely speak at all, I know he must be very proud. He's a tough guy, but his life is at mile 26 about now and the going is rough. He inspires me.

We're excited for you Tammy! Let us know what you decide.

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Predawnrunner[/URL" target="_blank">, aka mrs W.R.F. Beer

I did Detroit in 1999, at the end of my first year of distance running. The finish was in Tiger Stadium, just a month after the last-ever baseball game was played there, and the first year that they used the bridge to cross into Canada.

This was before the days of half-marathons, or at least before they became a standard part of marathon events, but some friends convinced me to enter and "just run half of it" to get an idea of what it was like. My long run in training was 12 miles, which was also the longest run of my life.

So on race morning I got caught up in the excitement and got the wild idea to just run it all. Increasing my mileage from 12 to 26.2 miles in one day was a really stupid idea, but I did manage to finish in 5:15 at the cost of a couple of toenails and several months of nagging injuries. Believe me, I was much better trained for every marathon and other run that I've done since then!

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- Runnin' in Rochester

Rochrunner[/URL" target="_blank">

1995 Marine Corps Marathon - caters to first timers, I lived in Arlington VA so it was local with a bunch of races leading up to it, and I was poor so not travelling was a good thing!

My dad's first was a massive mistake - a little tiny 80 person race in the middle of nowhere. He was pretty much by himself within a mile or two! I think the first one should be at least a medium sized race (2-3,000 or more) - you'll get lots of energy from the other runners and spectators and the whole atmosphere will make it enjoyable. PLUS - you can pick up a few hundred tips from other runners during the race.

Whether or not to travel - if you have the luxury of a local race that's good for first timers, decent sized and well supported, I think it's a great way to go. You can connect with local running groups all training for the same goal, train on the course to get comfortable with it, and sleep in your own bed before the race. The key is to take as much stress out of it as you can.

I've heard great things about Eugene so that's probably a great option for you.

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Pacer Dude[/URL" target="_blank">

quote:

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Originally posted by PacerChris:

1995 Marine Corps Marathon - caters to first timers, I lived in Arlington VA so it was local with a bunch of races leading up to it, and I was poor so not travelling was a good thing!

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HEY!
PacerChris!
The 1995 Marine Corps Marathon was my first marathon TOO!

I had resurrected my running career (ha!) in 1993. I spent a few years having babies, the last one was born Feb. 1993)

In the summer of 1993, a friend/neighbor told me, "Rose, I bet you run a marathon within the next 2 years."

I laughed in his face and said, "No way!"

How prophetic that guy was!

Okay, back to to the discussion...

I think there is merit in both local and destination marathons.  Whatever you choose, embrace the experience and it will be the right choice.