Runner Email 25 September 2007

It's FALL!! Still feels like summer, but we're getting a few leaves on the road and some pretty colors on the trees.

THANK YOU for coming out for our 20 mile (or thereabouts) training run on Saturday. We had around 120 people out running on the course. Nice job by our web-guy/start-finish line coordinator Rudy Malmquist, who took the lead on organizing the event along with the Gazelle Sports guys.

In case you're wondering, right now we have 868 people in the full and 547 in the half. We've got 20 relay teams too! And our kids marathon has about 400 kids!

Training opportunities this weekend--on Saturday, check out the half-marathon in Holland called Park2Park. Nice course, nice people. Info at http://www.neighborsplus.org/Park2Park2007.htm. And on Sunday, Dr. Rick & company will be at the YMCA at 7:15 for a 4 mile warmup run, then run the half marathon course at 8:00.

Meanwhile I'll be up by Petoskey, running the inaugural Boyne to Boyne marathon this weekend. I hear they have lots more hills than we have.

Plans are coming together well. Volunteers are coming in, stuff is being accumulated, runners are putting in their miles, and the finish line beer from New Holland is aging in the kegs.

If you're new to these emails, you might not know about marathonminute.com yet. Now you do. Check it out for your weekly motivation.

Step inside the YMCA sometime and you'll see the START / FINISH banner hanging up across the lobby. Imagine yourself running under it on race day. Picture your mom being proud of you, your friends being envious, your co-workers putting pictures of you on the bulletin board. We're just over a month out! You're getting ready for your last few long runs. You're gonna be awesome out there!

and the adventure continues....
Don