On April 14, 2025, Paula and I ran the Mainly Marathon Riverboat Series race in Winnsboro, Louisiana. We flew into Jackson, Mississippi, and drove about 2 hours to Winnsboro. Packet pickup was easy at the race venue. As with other Mainly Marathon races, we received a shirt, medal, and bib. The medal represents the series and at the finish of each race, participants receive another medal that attaches to the first. This series has seven races in seven states. So, some participants will chain seven medals to the series medal for quite an impressive collection. We are just doing Louisiana and Mississippi.

We stayed at an Airbnb just a few miles away. It was wonderful. If you are looking for a place to stay, we would recommend 815 Willie Hill Road.

On race morning, we opted for the early start which was at 5:30 AM. It was still dark, so lights are recommended. In this case, it was necessary because the path was narrow and had bumps and cracks from the trees in the park. Before the start,...

Paula and I traveled to Ottawa, Kansas on Friday the day before the Prairie Spirit Trail marathon, half marathon, 100 miler, 50 miler, 50K, 100K. This was more of an ultra-race than our traditional marathon. Packet pickup was at the race start and was easy to find. Our friends Lee and Suzanne were not able to travel with us because of health issues and family issues. Unfortunately, the race director was not willing to defer their race entry to next year.

On race morning, we returned to the start for a brief meeting. Then we boarded a bus to travel a few minutes to the marathon start. Some of the other races started at the start/finish line.

Once we arrived at the marathon start, we were able to start whenever ready by crossing the first timing mat. Our course headed north for about half a mile and then turned around to head south. The Prairie Spirt Trail is a rails to trails path with crushed gravel. The course is lined by trees but at this time of the year, there were very few l...

We arrived in Des Moines, Iowa on Friday night before the marathon. Packet pickup was at the Fleet Feet store in front of the state capital where the race would start and finish. Pickup was efficient and quick. The race provided a nice green hoodie. The weather was beautiful in the 70's. But the race day feels-like temperature was supposed to be 28. The hoodie was nice to have. Many runners wore the race provided hoodie.

Our pre-race meal was at Buzzard Billy's. They had several gluten-free options. The mac-and-cheese was pretty good.

We stayed at the Embassy Suites just up the street from the capital. It was odd that we could park for free on the bridge about 100 yards away from the hotel. Paid parking was available on other streets and a parking garage was also available for a fee. We opted for the bridge.

Being close to the start/finish, we opted to walk to the start on Saturday morning. It was cool and windy. We were well dressed. We left the hotel at 7:17 and arrived at the ...

Paula and I along with our friends Lee and Suzanne participated in the 2025 Oak Island Marathon in Oak Island North Carolina.  We flew into Myrtle Beach on Friday and drove about 80 minutes to packet pickup at the St. James Community Center.  Packet pickup was friendly and efficient.  The shirts and medals were high quality.  We were in and out in about 10 minutes.

Restaurants were limited for us.  We always try to find gluten free options.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express about 10 minutes away from the race start.  It was very nice.  The staff were very accommodating.  They allowed us to get yogurt and chocolate milk from the breakfast refrigerator because we would be leaving before they started serving on race morning.  They also provided free bottles of water and packaged cookies to all (not gluten-free).  

On race morning, we left the hotel around 5:45 for a 6:45 start time.  There was parking near the start/finish, but it was filling up when we arrived.  They had other pl...

This race took place in a Las Cruces New Mexico. It’s a nice small town with lots of restaurants about an hour northwest of El Paso TX.

The race began and finished at the Field of Dreams football/track stadium. It was not large but not too small with the marathon starting first, the half 15 minutes later and the 4.7-mile event after that.

The course was very flat with just a couple of small bumps. The surface was a mix of blacktop, concrete, and dirt. About half the course was on a walkway winding along the dry Rio Grande.

Aid stations and facilities were plentiful. However, there were no gels offered on the course.

Dean ran with his friend Lee who wanted to break 4:30 for the marathon. Lee's watch didn't have a good GPS signal at the start, so his watch said he was going slower than he really was. Dean was recovering from the Across The Years marathon just a few days earlier so he was easing into the race trying to eventually catch up to Lee. It took nearly 4 miles to catch up. Th...

New Years Eve was spent in a hotel in Peoria Arizona. We traveled out west so Dean could mark off Arizona in our quest for a marathon in all 50 states. He was injured when we went to the Phoenix Marathon in 2023.

This race was the “Across the Years” event. The marathon was the shortest option. However, his watch measured 27.16 miles when he crossed the line after 19 laps. This event is for those who like to go long. There were time-based races including, 6-days, 72 hours, 48 hours, 24 hours, 12 hours, and 6 hours. Distance races included 200 miles, 100 miles, 100K, and the marathon. And then there was the “Last Man Standing”. This consisted of starting a new lap on the 1.42 mile loop every 20 minutes.

The results were impressive. But we will focus on the race.

The course this year was at the Peoria Sports Complex home to the Mariners and Padres training camps. Loops weaved around the ball parks. The surfaces included concrete, blacktop, dirt, and gravel. The website encourages weari...