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.
Gysel Parajon (MM8995, DA3751, HF18751)– What can I say about CIM yesterday. It was a great, beautiful day for a marathon from Folsom to the Capitol, my 12th and last one of the year. My nutrition was en pointe, the volunteers were amazing, the spectators were fantastic, including those that offered extra nutrition other than the usual fare 😉, my new shoes were great, and I got to meet and run with some awesome people including a fellow Maniac, @c_cmoke who paced me for a few miles in the first third of the race. Towards the end I ran with a woman who I had a hard time keeping up with but she kept me going and then @yankerman found me on the course with 3 miles to go which energized me to keep on going despite some nasty blisters I had acquired. And, finally in the last push to the finish the sweepers ran with me and made sure I was ahead of them, for which I was so grateful.
I finished in my second fastest time this year and although I was one of the many runners who did not receive a medal, which is ludicrous and something I had not experienced previously, this being my 63rd marathon, btw I miscounted the last time, I had an amazing, amazing day!! Thank you to SRA, you put on a great race and I imagine the lack of medals are an oversight, to the volunteers who fuel and help runners for free, to my fellow runners because they are amazing, each and everyone of them, and my friends and my family for always being so supportive. What a day and what a year!! ❤️ I’ll definitely post something about this year in running so stay tuned. 😃😁 THANK YOU!!!
Michael Hall (HF16228, DA3242, MM14514) – Hometown race Tulsa, OK Dec 3, 2023 Half n Half Marathon. YTD#83 Lifetime#301 Congrats to all who raced this weekend.
Ed Del Favero (MM11749, DA2901, HF16046) -and Deborah Del Favero (HF18611)
Medal Monday!
Rehoboth Marathon and half
Fredricksburg Blue and Grey Half
120th marathon / ultra ytd for me and 9th half ytd
191 halfs ytd for Debbie
Karen A Flynn(HF1043, DA158,MM4024) & Dan Delino (HF1058, DA161, MM4059)
MedalMonday #MotivationMonday from my 80th lifetime marathon at the 40th anniversary running of the California International Marathon (aka CIM) 12/03/23! Glad to have finally run this world-class event with amazing vibes & spectacular fall foliage scenery!
Randell Hansen (MM8508, DA2931, HF16161) – Medal Monday: While I ran just the first portion of the Relay, this was my first time running the CIM since 2011. Maybe next year I’ll run the full course again.
Ed Cabanero (MM388) – CIM. Race #16 and last for this year. Beautiful course like always. Well-organized and well-attended.
I will get a few weeks to relax. Will probably be back chasing more races in a big way in 2024.
Happy holidays!
MM#388
Joe B. Raymond III (MM6639) – Crossed that finish line of lifetime marathon 100 this weekend!
And because math is important, it was Appropriately coordinated with my 10th consecutive St. Jude Memphis Marathon.
Maniacs and Fanatics at the Rehoboth Beach Marathon/Half Marathon
Katie Waite Sifferman- MM15017, DA3672, HF17722) – RnR San Antonio done, this was state #16 and Marathon 28. Happy Holidays everyone.
Brian Johnson (MM8807, DA707, HF7287) – Thank you all who wished me happy birthday in person or online
Sorry that I am late posting, but I was running a marathon today! (December 2)
Marathon 48 on my 49th birthday.
Rehoboth Beach Marathon.
Wonderful time, but the after party was even better.
Matt Adler (MM16055) – Marathon number 13 in the books, first as an official maniac. Rehoboth Beach Marathon.
Badhri Chakravarthy (MM11055) – At the St. Jude Memphis marathon, TN finish line today! #99 marathons in the books! Running #100 in the Go! St. Louis marathon on Apr. 27, 2024! If you are in town, please come and cheer me and join the party!
Sadie Smith (MM12709) – I ran my 100th marathon today at Saint Jude in Memphis and was lucky enough to also be the female winner ❤️
Charlotte Corriher (MM3514) – Charleston Itty Bitty 50. The “medal” is artwork from the RDs son!
Jennifer Clark (MM15623, DA3643, HF16743) – Medal Monday!!
Half 259 is in the books.
St. Jude Half Marathon, Memphis, TN, December 2.
This past Saturday I had the privilege of running in the St. Jude Half. I cannot say enough good things about this race and everything connected with it. I learned that it is the single largest one-day fundraiser for St. Jude, bringing in over $15 million for the children’s research hospital. Many people love this race and fundraise for it every year and I can see why. From the time I signed up, through check-in at the expo, and follow-up I received great communication from the organization.
Each runner is required to pick up their own packet at the Expo, which was open Thursday and Friday before the Saturday race. There are other distances also, and around 20,000 participants. The Expo was held at the Convention Center and was a typical large Expo with everything for sell from energy gels and shoes to massage guns and curling irons.
The 5k and 10k start 45 minutes before the half and full and there’s a challenge medal for doing two races. They encourage you to be parked long before the first races start and we were able to find a convenient parking garage.
The race course went up and down several streets in downtown Memphis, then along the Mississippi River. We turned to go through a warehouse area before a run through the St. Jude campus and a neighborhood before finishing near the Red Birds baseball stadium, where the finish festival was held. There were many spectators along the course and that made it even more fun. I understand the course has changed over the last few years and some of the favorite neighborhoods are no longer included. Memphis is hilly and there were definitely a few on the course.
Immediately after finishing we received water, fruit, and a bag of snacks. Inside the stadium we were able to get pizza and beer, always welcomed after a race!
This was my first time to run a St. Jude race and it won’t be my last. Great organization, great spectators, and running for a great cause!
Maniacs & Fanatics at the St. Jude Marathon/Half Marathon
Gregg LeBlanc (HF4564, DA2537, MM13039) – blingandbrew
Reindeer Run in St Helens, OR
Oakshire Brewing Gingerbread Latte Imperial Stout
Pamela Truelove-Walker (HF14860) – State #38 (Delaware) is complete. The Rehoboth Seashore Marathon hosts an amazing after-party! I highly recommend this event for the party vibe😉
Khasmir Price-Aye (HF5145) – It’s Medal Monday!
Nestor Raul Anzola (HF1932) – Medal Monday – Bishop Nestorium the X with Team Dramatik-4 knocked out the St. Jude Half Marathon last Saturday.
Gregory Rouson (HF8068, DA2354, MM12723) – Wilmington Historic Half Marathon #2 and lifetime half marathon #209…DONE!!! It wasn’t until mile 5 that the realization of maybe running the 5K right before the half was a bad idea. 🥵 Other than the humidity and hills, Wilmington is quite a nice little city. #HF8068 #MM12723 #DA2354 #100halfmarathonsclub #Roustance
Amy Seagroves (HF18410, DA3652, MM15648) – This weekend I completed a double in state #43 Tennessee
Saturday I completed Half #106 St Jude Memphis Half. This is an amazing race for such an amazing cause raising money for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. It is a really large, fun race with tons of cheer stations and aid stations. The best part is running past the hospital. The difficulty of the course is pretty average. A few rolling hills but nothing crazy. Great production and very back of the pack friendly with a 4+ hour time limit and tons of people in the back. It’s a party in the back kind of race. Really nice medal at the end. Would definitely recommend this race
Sunday I completed Half # 107 the Santa Hustle Half Marathon in Nashville. I am staying in the South all week and was planning to travel to Nashville after the race on Saturday and couldn’t resist a double. Overall thought this race was okay. The swag was really fun and it’s a fun theme but the race was mostly okay. It was an out and back in a park. It was very hilly. There wasn’t as much Christmas cookies and treats and other stuff as I was expecting on the course. Overall this was fine. Not a race I’d go out of my way for but if you have a local Sant Hustle worth doing it for the swag
Ronita Bland (HF8514, DA2131, MM12368) – Fun in the sun….literally!!! 81 degrees at the start with all the humidity possible😯 I got it done though🏃♀️🏃♀️
Corinne Balmerchick Milligan (HF11336) – Rehoboth half yesterday!
State #15 since March… currently resting my questionable feet.
Amanda Gibson (HF17907) – St Jude Half Marathon, Memphis TN
Angela Thornburgh (HF16661) – Rehoboth Beach Half! Great to meet you for a brief minute at the group pic, Brian. Hope your birthday was awesome!!
Gavin Anderson (HF14007) – medalmonday St. Jude Memphis Half Marathon — my 42nd half marathon, running the same race as my 1st half marathon
Natalie Uyeno (HF17314, DA3505, MM15186) -No races for me this weekend, but I earned this beautiful trophy for 3rd place female in the Grand Masters Division (age 50-59) in the Central Valley Runner of the Year Series. 😊🥉🏆
Tiffany Kehoe (HF18768) -Rehoboth Seashore Half Marathon:
Did I like this race? Yes.
Did I really like this race? Yes.
Would I recommend this race? Yes.
Is it worth the hype? Kinda…. Read on.
Rehoboth Beach is a really nice town. It has a lot of fun places to eat, it’s pretty and there are a lot of options for places to stay that are convenient for runners. My hotel was right on the start/finish and was extremely nice. (The Avenue Inn- pricey but highly recommend) Packet Pickup was easy, fast and convenient. They even offer to drop the bibs at your hotel for a price. This race has it all as far as catering to runners and making the experience enjoyable.
There were 10 water stops and they offer both water/Gatorade, one offered Gu. The volunteers were extremely friendly, supportive and kind. This race is extremely back of the pack friendly. There is a marathon attached, so there is no pressure and you are mixed in with marathon runners. There was even a 91 year old woman walking this year! Many folks walked the half. Since it was so flat, it’s a great beginner/rehab/gentle race. The course was managed well and felt very safe.
The course is a bit boring, I’m not even going to sugar coat it. There is a stretch that is on the boardwalk, which was very pretty. The back end of this race was trail, which is also pretty, but it had been raining so it was very muddy. It slowed me down and bit and there were a lot of complaints about it. It’s an easy course, but with all the hype, I expected something a bit more. If you go into it with a lot of expectations, you may feel a bit let down. This race is worth the entire experience but course alone, kinda meh.
The after-party was a lot of fun! They feed you, provide you with plenty of booze, a dj, a party tent, etc… it’s definitely worth the cost of the race. There was some kind of Santacon going on so the town will probably be a bit hungover tomorrow. 😁
Overall, it’s a fun time. The course is probably not the highlight, but the overall ease of it and the awesome race vibe make this a great choice for Delaware.
Photo and Post Credit Marathon Maniacs/Half Fanatics Facebook Pages
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