Medal Monday brings many stories of achievement for our members. Here are recent stories from the Marathon Maniacs and Half Fanatics, as told by you, as posted on the Marathon Maniacs/Half Fanatics Facebook pages.
Sameer Khurana (MM13642, DA2835, HF15807) –– Sioux Falls Marathon, SD ~ 41st Lifetime Marathon and 15th State! It was nice to meet few 50 state runners and few Marathon Maniacs on the course. The course is well marked and enjoyed running in Sioux Falls Park which is the main highlight of the city. The temperature started rising in the second half of the race with few water stops. Total water stops in the full marathon were 12 and there were big gaps especially after 18th Mile. Once the runner hits 18th Mile then next one was at 21st and final one at 24th where the course was on bike trail path with no shade and in this hot weather it made very challenging. Got fully dehydrated due to very few aid stations and hot weather in the 80’s.
Scott Hepburn (MM15946)– It was my most grueling race so far, and now state #13 is in the books. Moonlight in the Falls Marathon in West Virginia did not disappoint.
Congrats to my buddy Josh Schmidt who ran the half, and to the world’s best support crew captain David Zimmerman.
Dana Fellows-(MM15804) On Saturday I ran the North Country 50 mile Trail Run in Manistee Michigan. It was well organized. Beautiful country. The best part, I placed 2nd 🥈 in my age group!
Derrick Hassell (MM3659) – My son and I at Crim Festival of races # 3659 MM, 10 mile road race in Flint Michigan.
Sandee Landon (MM7745) – Twins!! One day apart.🤣😆😂
Amy Michele Lambert – (MM12758) – Marathon #175
North Country trail marathon in Michigan. Such a beautiful course with lots of hills. They offer 13.1, 26.2, 50k and 50 miles. The races are held Saturday and Sunday with a lot of combination for those of us who like two days of fun. I run the marathon Saturday, then come back out and hike the 13.1 with my husband on Sunday.
Khder Hernando (MM15808) – My 5th marathon of the year. 2023
Sioux Falls Marathon
Stefanie McKinney-Holliday (MM 14386, HF 17442, DA 3313)
Millenium Meadows Marathon
Grand Rapids, Michigan
26.2 Miles
5:03:54
3rd Place in Age Group 🏃🏻♀️
Best thing ever to find other Maniacs along the course as well as those working the race!!
Millennium Meadows Marathon had such a beautiful course in Grand Rapids, Michigan this morning!!
For a Lower Coastal Alabama chick that has been training in 95° and 95-100% humidity, this marathon was HEAVEN!! 60-70° and beautiful trails with LOTS of shade made this another top favorite marathon!
I didn’t intend to do well, I was just finding the race last minute while in Chicago traveling over to get some miles in for Revel Big Cottonwood in 13 days, BUT as awesome as this race was, I enjoyed every moment running-and I did better than planned! We Maniacs (I know there were more of you on the course Rogue like me) did well both placing in our Age Groups!! 🏃🏻♀️🏃🏻♂️
Definitely recommend this course!
Marathon Maniacs and Half Fanatics at Moonlight On the Falls.
+ a bonus photo with number 1 and 3 on the Half Fanatic Leader Board.
Mary Miller (MM14657) – Tour de LaPorte, Indiana 🥇 1st place age group Half Marathon beautiful course along Stone Lake with rolling back roads, fields and wooded areas.
Runner Mike Hk (MM3337) -284th marathon Hokkaido japan
Badhri Chakravarthy (MM11055) –Millennium Meadows Marathon, Grand Rapids, MI.
Jun Ulama (MM12617) – Double Marathon Weekend:
Nebraska State Fair Marathon on Saturday, Aug 26th and Sioux Falls Marathon on Sunday, Aug 27th. What a blast!🏃♂️
The Marathon Maniacs/Half Fanatics Hood to Coast Relay Team
Mark Sanders (MM15983) – Prepd Adelaide Marathon – new state, new country, new continent, new city! Fantastic race. Had so much fun! Still haven’t figured out the currency 😅.
Merry Mullins (MM15936) – Nebraska State Fair Marathon. Let me tell you the Marathon Maniacs, Half Fanatics and Double Agents showed out on this course. Way to represent!! Sorry I didn’t snag more people for pictures. Thank you to the ones who I said yes as I was trying frantically to grab a few. It was awesome to see so much representation of or geoup two weeks in a row. Last week in Alaska and now in Nebraska. Who wants to run in Tupelo, Mississippi with me on Sept 3rd. 😊😊❤️
Great weather, Easy and flat course! Race coordinators and crowd participation on point.
Thanks Nebraska! Run Run Run
Tina Torun- (HF16109, MM15672, DA3665) – Anchorage RunFest was this past weekend. It is always held on the 3rd weekend of August. This is my favorite Alaska race to see Marathon Maniacs and Half Fanatics. I maybe biased because I am on the race committee and help them with their social media. But with that being said, I also recommend to the RD to give MM/HF a discount code for registration. As the new Alaska MM/HF/DA ambassador, I did my best to welcome all club members that I saw. I didn’t meet everyone, but I hope you all enjoyed your time in Alaska. This year, we truly had the best race weather and with the sunshine, I felt a little bit hot by the end of the race. The race starts in downtown Anchorage, goes along the Coastal Trail and uses the bike trails/multi-use path to tour the city. The Marathon and Ultra 49k go further west on the Coastal trail before turning back and merging with the half marathon to go on the Chester Creek trail and turn around before the university trails to head back to downtown. There is a hill to go up in the end at 0.5 miles nefore the finish line. All of our local races that go to downtown end on a hill! One of my friends gave me some of these photos when she was doing the marathon relay.
runwildak #anchoragerunfest #HF16109 #MM15672 #DA3665
Scott Pearson (HF18577) – Half Marathon number 40 at my hometown race of Sioux Falls. It was almost perfect weather for the race. It travels through some cool parts of downtown and along the river. I think the half is tough as there are a fair amount of hills especially towards the end as you climb from the river. But the river views in the middle are just beautiful. The route changed a bit this year from its traditional path due to construction. This race is a bit on the smaller side with only about 800 doing the half. The expo is very small. Crowd support is pretty light compared to some races. But still a fun day with great conditions.
Greg Schake (HF18680) – Sioux Falls, SD Half Marathon and 5k
Amy Seagroves (MM15648, DA3652, HF18410) – Half marathon #92 repeat state Blueberry Cove Half in Maine. I thought this race was only okay. I’ll start with the positives. The race was very scenic going past the light house from Forrest Gump. The RD and race staff were also very nice and the race was back of the pack friendly. However production was extremely bare bones and the race was pretty expensive. It was manually timed with reusable cloth bibs, no closed roads, only water at aid stations and limited course signs just some volunteers telling you where to go. This would be fine for a cheap race but I thought the race was too expensive for what we got. I’ve heard a lot of people love this race but personally I preferred the Maine Half in Portland and it is cheaper
Ronita Bland (MM12368, DA2131, HF8514)– I earned this beer on the hills of the Asheville HM!!!
Jen Merkel (HF18545)- Ashland Half, Ashland, VA. Nicknamed “the hottest half” – it could have been much worse. The nice man I was talking to before the race said when he ran it in 2016 it was 90° at 6:30 am (race start time). This time it was around 78°. It was quiet – mostly on country roads – but not boring. The post-race food though… they handed me a peach and a tomato and a shopping bag with a few packaged snacks. I was really glad I packed a cooler with a protein shake for the drive home.
Heidi Hammond (HF18098) – Boy Scout half in BG, Ohio with 2 other half fanatics…Randy Riley (MM14470, DA3218, HF16432)– pictured. Jessica Evers not pictured.
Gina Forestieri (HF18136)– State 43! Blueberry Cove Half in Tenants Harbor Maine
Dani Shown – (MM8045, DA565, HF4557) – Portland to Coast (Hood to Coast for race walkers). Our team took first place in our division. Good times with a great team! 12 people, 130 miles, no sleep, but good fun.
Photo and Post Credit Marathon Maniacs/Half Fanatics Facebook Pages