Top Five Marathons I've run (OK top four and a bucket list item)

Hi everyone I'm going to start this off with my own personal list.  A top five list of marathons I've run (or want to run). Grant it I've only run in 7 marathons but I think you'll find this list fairly fun.

1. Park City Marathon - The hardest race I have ever done. That being said it is also one of the most beautiful and scenic routes I have seen. This one is not one that you should expect a PR. The elevation starts at 6372 ft and rises to a quad popping 7250 ft and then back down. The race course is a mix of trails and paths. The medals are unique sun catchers made out of stained glass.

I stayed at a relatives house for this marathon and did my carb load dinner at Olive Garden the night before. However there are plenty of Hotels in the Park City area and plenty of things to do in the summer when the race is run. My wife and I recently stayed at the Waldorf Astoria for our anniversary and loved it. There are a ton of restaurants in the Downtown area, we enjoyed the Mole' sauces at the Blue Iguana Mexican Restaurant at the end of Park Avenue.


2. Spokane Marathon - Another scenic route that takes you along the Spokane River in Riverside State Park. Beautiful views and no distractions (no headphones allowed on this race). Just you and about 100 other participants cruising along with the rushing water. This one does have the famed Doomsday Hill on mile 23, so plan accordingly. Small, personal and fun race for anyone at any level.

On the upper end of the spectrum is the Davenport Hotel that is two blocks south of the starting line and has great rooms and amenities. In the middle of the spectrum there is the Marriott Courtyard that is about three blocks east of the starting line. Great rooms at a good price. A good restaurant for the night before dinner is Slick Rock Burrito on the South Hill (try the Thai Chicken Burrito and say hi to Jeff).

3. PF Changs Rock N Roll Marathon - Phoenix - This is a perfect winter destination. The temperatures range from 60-70 degrees. It's a flat and fast course with plenty of support along the entire route. This was my go to race since I lived in the Phoenix area from 2003 until 2010.  I ran this one in 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011. In 2007 I ran my current PR at 3:51 on a freezing winter day (25-35 degrees all day).

Obviously we didn't stay at any local hotels for this race but the Phoenix area is known for it's spa and resort hotels. The J.W. Marriott in Scottsdale is one of my favorite places to stay with massage facilities and a relaxing pool area for after the race. A tradition we had before the race day was we would book a table (well in advance 2-3 weeks) at Bucca Di Beppo's and I would order the family style spaghetti and marinara sauce (enough for 4 people) and use that as my carb load dinner.

4. San Diego Rock N Roll Marathon - This is the original race in the Rock N Roll series and my first ever marathon. This is a great summer run, the temps are cool because of the sea breezes and it's a fairly flat course.  I ran this one in 2006 when the race started at 6th and Palm and ended at the Marine Recruit Depot. The modern day version ends at Sea World. This was my bucket list marathon so I just wanted to finish. I didn't know how I would react to the stress of running that far so I took my time in the first part of the race. Sadly I clocked my worst time at this one at just over 5 hours. The last 6.2 miles I did in just 45 minutes. Also, on the bright side, this was my first race and the time I clocked was a PR  (that's the great thing about first runs everything is a PR).

I took my family and some friends of ours and we made a vacation out of it. We got there on the Thursday before the race and went to Sea World on Friday. We stayed at the Bahia Resort in Mission Bay, which had spacious rooms but needed to be renovated. All in all in was a great weekend.

5. Big Sur Marathon (Bucket List Item) - I have not run this iconic race as of this post but would like to. This race has breathtaking views as well as beautiful trails. At the halfway point there is a grand piano player inspiring runners to make it the rest of the way. I will be back with an update on this one when I get a chance to run it. It looks like it will be 2014 before that happens.




Please post and share either your favorite races or your bucket list races that you would like to run. Any distance anywhere in the world works. I'm looking forward to hearing and being inspired by your comments.