June 01, 2014 and the Windermere Marathon, Spokane Washington

Is the: Glass half full:

Ran my second fastest marathon.

or

Glass half empty: Missed my goal by going out to fast.

PRE RACE: My daughter and son-in-law had our second grandchild in Feb, Alaina Michele. My wife (Michele) and I could not wait to visit. When deciding when to venture out to Washington State we wanted to visit when our little Alaina was settled. Likewise, we wanted to visit when the weather would be favorable to play outside with Aiden, our four going on five year old grandson. AND I wanted to fit in another marathon to add another state to my “Raced-In” collection of states. The Memorial day weekend was perfect timing. During our visit we got to take the kids to a Bounce House, visit a Big Cat Zoo, attend an Air Show, ride a train around the Spokane’s River Square Park and run/walk the Windermere Marathon. I ran the 26.2 miles and Michele fast walked the half. It was a great trip.

EXPO: The expo was small (30 vendors) yet well presented and organized. Other then a mishap where I got the shirt for the half marathon I enjoyed the expo. I was able to meet author and runner Dane Rauschenberg. Dane has run over 100 marathons, a 200 mile relay as a team of one and countless other adventures run. I picked up a copy of his book and can’t wait to read it.

WEATHER: The week leading up to the marathon was cool, windy and brisk. Coming from VA Beach, VA. Michele and I were down right cold. The local temperatures had me questioning the running gear I brought along on the trip. Luckily the weekend brought warm temperatures. Race morning we were greeted with bright sunshine and a starting temp. around 50f. During the running of the marathon the sun came out with a vengeance with a finishing temperature of 78f.

To read about this race my full race report can be found here: http://briansrunningadventures.com/windermere-marathon-sub-four-goal-and-visiting-the-grandkids/