Exeter Marathon

So no Boston this year for Amber and I. Like thousands of others holding off to register until after the holidays, we missed out. By waiting too long, the 26,000+ other runners filled Boston to its capacity. We some friends running it this year so we'll be watching our computer screens as their times are updated.

I decided not to take the weekend off though. After reading about similar runners having been unable to get in, I decided to join them in the inaugural Exeter Marathon to be held tomorrow at 8am in Exeter RI. As of today, there were only 39 males running it. But as the website says, it is the only marathon in the US, besides the Olympic Trials, that the only means of entry is by qualification. It is also one of the only US marathons that I am guaranteed a top 50 spot(as of today). The qualifying time for everyone registered is posted on the website and it looks like the top 5 will be competitive.

My goal for this race is to pass more people than pass me. I plan to run it easy until mile 16(the last steep hill) then see what I can put together for the last 10 miles.

The thing about the marathon is that it is long enough that so many things can go wrong that I hope to just pace myself and keep things together so that I come out with a nice long run under my belt(money in the bank for Leadville) without tearing myself up too much.

Running the Numbers(as brought to you by Runner's World)

EXETER
Entry Fee: $40
Field Size Cap: 1,000
Starting Time: 8:00 a.m.
Charity Runners: 0
Volunteers: 40

BOSTON
Entry Fee: $130
Field Size Cap: 26,400
Starting Time: 10:00 a.m.
Charity Runners: 4,000
Volunteers: 8,500

I'll keep you posted on how it goes!

Oh yeah, Muddy Moose on Sunday!