Trail of Seasons...

It's always nice to see an old friend again, how you've been, you've changed your place
It's always nice to see an old friend again, staying on the trail of seasons... Kevn Kinney

The marathon is an old friend. Fall begins the marathon season which for me lasts the next 9 months. Except for Baltimore my friend usually changes its place. This year, my friend (the marathon) and I met in the Adirondacks in New York. On one of the most beautiful and perfect days for marathoning in a spectacular, lakeside setting, I ran a pretty awful race. No matter, I enjoyed my time on the road, the views of the lake, and running through tunnels of trees. I even enjoyed the many hills in the first half of the marathon. The beauty of the marathon is that you never know what you are going to get on any given day - thus the challenge. Like a friend whose mood differs, so does the marathon. On this day, the facade of the marathon was beautiful, happy and appeared to be perfect but the reality was inner turmoil and struggle. Just like with friends, we find our way through to the finish and look forward to the next meeting. The Baltimore marathon truly is an old friend having run it 6 times and although it presents its own challenges, it embraces.

I highly recommend the Adirondack Marathon in Schroon Lake. It is tiny (192 marathoners) but it is well-supported, beautiful, well-organized and brings the community together. It is an event in this sleepy, little, lakeside town - more of an event than in most of the big city marathons. If you haven't run a small-town marathon, you are missing a true community-spirited event. In Schroon Lake, the community knew there was a marathon going on and they were excited about it but in the cities, they just know that there are traffic delays for some reason and they are irritated.

I'm walking to the graveyard, I'm punching in at midnight, I'm waiting for the morning sun to warm up the cobblestones...