Made it to the Center of the Universe for State #22 in Tulsa, OK!

And what a great way to end my 2015 marathon running for the American Stroke Association/American Heart Association!

The Route 66 marathon was my 10th marathon (9th additional state) for 2015!  It was one of the biggest marathons I have run this year, and it was incredible!  I made my way to Tulsa, OK on Saturday morning and arrived to the expo in the afternoon to pick up my bib and running packet.  Upon stepping outside, I noticed how much cooler it was than in Atlanta, but I had watched the weather and was prepared for a cool race.  I made it to my hotel and had a nice dinner, and soon it was race morning!

It was a chilly morning, with the first frost I had seen of the year as we (a running friend and I) walked the two miles from the hotel to the start.  I think it was about 29 degrees, which is a temperature I hadn't quite adjusted to yet, but the walk warmed me up a little bit.  We arrived with perfect timing, with about 5 minutes to go as we approached the starting corrals (I hate standing in the cold waiting to start!).  I found my way to my corral and soon the national anthem was playing and we were getting ready to make our way to the start!  Because it was such a big race and I am not a fast runner, it took a little while to make it to the start, and I took that time to think about each and every one of my stroke and heart heroes that I run for.  Sadly I have added two family friends that I run in honor of in 2015, which has motivated me even more to try to make a difference with my 50 States Challenge.  As I approached the starting line, I couldn't believe that this was my 10th marathon of the year.  I am so proud to run for this cause!

The Start!

 I was happy to be running again so that I could warm up, and was looking forward to getting warm enough to take off the garbage bag I was wearing for a jacket so that I could show my Tedy's Team singlet and raise awareness for my cause.  Once the sun started coming out, it warmed up and was perfect running weather!  I knew I wanted to take a picture of "Route 66", and so I kept my eye out for it, and was excited to finally officially see the road I had been singing about (Get Your Kicks on Route 66) for a few weeks while looking forward to race day!

Route 66!

Having never been to Tulsa before, the marathon was really my true tour of the city.  We winded through residential areas and little streets with coffee shops and stores, and it was a fun way to see Tulsa.  As we ran out of the downtown area, I was able to catch a nice photo of the city!

Downtown Tulsa

Soon we came into the University of Tulsa, which was a very nice campus.  The miles just went along and I was enjoying my 26.2 mile tour!

One very cool aspect of this marathon, is there was an optional 0.3 mile detour to the Center of the Universe at about mile 25.5, making it the shortest ulta-marathon in the world.  I had decided from the start of the race that of course I would take this detour and get my Center of the Universe coin.  It was a fun addition to the marathon that I was glad I decided to take the extra time to complete!

The Center of the Universe! (and my coin)

From there it was less than a mile to the finish, and I was super excited to have reached my 10th marathon finish line of 2015, and my 22nd state for Tedy's Team and the American Stroke Association!  My stroke and heart heroes have carried me to every finish line, and I can't wait to continue my challenge in 2016!

I'm still working on the 2016 schedule, but right now, State #23 will be the Garmin Marathon in the Land of Oz (Olathe, KS) in April, followed by my first TRIPLE in Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming at the Bear Lake Endurance weekend in June.

Race Highlights
Awesome volunteers and race support
Nice swag (I love my 10th anniversary jacket!)
Awesome marathon for Marathon Maniacs
A really great marathon all around

#1 Song that Got me Through a Tough Spot
Well, it was a toss up between:
Route 66 (Bobby Troup)
Oklahoma! (from Broadway)  

 

A Spooky State #21 is Done in South Carolina!

Yesterday I ran my very first Halloween marathon for State #21 at the Spinx Runfest Carolina Marathon in Greenville, SC!  It couldn't have been a more perfect day for a marathon, and it was especially fun to see the runners and crowd dressed up for Halloween!

It was another early morning for me, as I had to get up at 3:00 in the morning so that I could leave by 4:00am to arrive by 6:30am.  But I was surprisingly awake (although my furry children were not), largely due to my excitement for the day.  During the past few weeks, knowing that I would be running on Halloween, I tried to put together a heart-themed costume (to support the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association), and I was excited to be able to run in hearts for the day.  I was especially excited to wear my new heart antennas for the marathon :).  You can see the costume in the finish pictures.

It was a nice drive, although part of Interstate 85 (the highway from Atlanta to Greenville) was completely shut down, which sent me into a little panic, because the last time I attempted SC, I drove home without running a marathon due to several unfortunate circumstances, and I was afraid it might happen again.  But I was able to still get there on time - phew!  I easily found parking and hopped on a marathon trolley (how cool) to get to Fluor Field for the start.  It was my first stadium marathon experience, which was really nice!  I picked up my packet, put on my bib, and dropped off my bag in no time.  Since it was a little bit chilly waiting to start, many of the runners gathered around the tiki heaters that were scattered around.  It was fun to see the runners start to arrive in festive outfits for the day.

Fluor Field

Warming up at the Tiki Heaters at the start.

 We soon made our way out to the starting line, were given some course instructions, and then we were on our way!

Starting line of Spinx Runfest.

 Once we were started, the weather was perfect for running.  I had never been to Greenville before, and hadn't done much research on the course or the area, and so it was all new to me.  We spent quite a bit of time on the Swamp Rabbit Trail, which was quiet and there was even a little bit of foliage to see (which I've missed since moving south).  I was feeling really good right from the start, and the heart costume seemed to be a hit, and so the compliments about the costume (especially the antennas) and my cause helped me along too!

The Swamp Rabbit Trail.

We eventually entered into the Furman University campus, which I had never heard of before, but it was one of the prettiest campuses I have seen.  Just as we were entering, we ran around a body of water that had a giant clock tower in the middle, which was very cool.  Then we came into the campus itself, which just had incredible buildings and landscaping, and I thought it would be a beautiful campus for a student to live on.  The students were out cheering for us and directing us along the paths as well.  The campus was quite large and so we were able to see quite a bit of it across a few miles.

Clock tower as we entered Furman University campus.

The miles just went along - I love it when marathons just go along and you feel like it's just a good running day.  We entered back into the Swamp Rabbit Trail, and I continued to receive compliments on both my 21st State for the cause, my heart antennas, and my heart costume.  I thought about my stroke and heart heroes, and soon I had reached mile 25!  The last mile brought us back out into the streets, and then we ran into the stadium and circled the outfield to finally come around and cross the finish line.  Of course, as I'm not one of the fast runners, there weren't a ton of people in the stands, but I did get to see a few fellow Marathon Maniacs cheering, which was awesome.  And it's always fun to hear your name announced in a stadium as you near the finish line!

This was a really great day and a great marathon, and it made me consider continuing to wear my heart antennas (and maybe the entire costume) in the future!  You can see entire costume below :).

State #22 is only 3 weeks away at the Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and I'm very excited!

Marathon Highlights
Very organized - the shuttle trolleys made getting to the start very easy
The start at the stadium was great - Very easy to pick up the packet, drop the bag, and there were real restrooms and tiki heaters!
Great volunteer support
The trail had running turf at some points (especially awesome for the last few miles!)
Stadium finish
Very good swag (and at a low registration cost) - medal, nice long sleeve tech shirt, pint glass, and coffee cup

#1 Song That Got Me Through a Tough Patch
Listen to the Music - The Doobie Brothers