Richmond Marathon

by Matt

  I had a little college reunion with my 2 roommates Andrew and Ronnie last weekend as we took a road trip out to Richmond, Virginia to run in the Richmond Marathon.  We selected this run because it's billed as "America's Friendliest Marathon" and Andrew and I are always looking to check off new states.

 

  I picked up Ronnie down in Elgin and then we drove out to Cincinnati on Thursday.  We picked up Andrew at church and had Skyline Chili for dinner.  It is the best in the world and a fitting last meal before we hit the road the next morning for the 9+ hour drive to Richmond.

In Richmond and resting up before the big run.  The hotel room had 2 full beds :)

  At the start.  Ronnie participated in the half and started 30 minutes before us.  Andrew and I were nervous for him because it was his first long run and he'd had injury problems during his training.  He's a gamer so we knew he'd finish and do well.  The weather was perfect with the majority of the morning sunny and in the 50's.

  22nd marathon!  I finished right at a 9 minute pace with a 3:57.  I was very happy with that time on a hilly course and especially after following my PR 3:30 just a month ago.

  Andrew qualified for Boston!  3:05!!!  He finished in the top 200 out of over 6,000 runners.  This was his 15th state and I hope we can do many more trips like this in the future.

Ronnie did his race in 2:04 - An awesome time for a first half marathon (and following 2 long days in the car).  I think we may be able to talk him into doing another race next year.

  After the run, we showered at the Y and then stopped to cheer on some of the slower marathoners at the 24 mile mark.  We then hit the road for the 9+ hour ride back to Andrew's in Cincinnati.  The ride back went pretty quick because we watched all 3 Karate Kid movies on DVD.  There's something about watching 3 karate movies in a row that makes you want to get in a fight.  At one point, we stopped at a gas station and I was hoping that there would be a robbery or something where I could use karate to save people.  No such luck :(

 We made it back to Cincinnati around 11:30pm and we went straight to Skyline.  Here's a Chili 4-way with onions and a chili cheese coney dog.  Man alive that was good!  Sunday morning, the 3 of us went out to breakfast before Ronnie and I did the remainder of the trip back to Elgin and then home to Wisconsin. 4 long days of travel with a marathon in the middle - just how I like it :)

  Richmond is a beautiful city with a beautiful riverfront and they should be proud of their marathon.  What a great experience.  Thanks Ronnie and Andrew for an awesome weekend!