Sabershooter's Memento Mori

Blue Ridge Half Marathon 2012

30 April 2012 Herschel W. Mickles

If all goes well I hope to complete the Delaware Marathon in May which would make the 12th state in which I have completed a 26.2-mile race. I like to complete a warm-up race in the weeks leading up to a full marathon. Perfect timing and location made the Blue Ridge Half Marathon the logical choice as a training race. As the name implies, the event is held in the Blue Ridge Mountains, specifically in and around Roanoke, Virginia.

They offer a full marathon that goes out onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, but for now I like to save 26.2-mile events for states that I have not yet completed. Besides that, with two mountain ascents this particular race is also known as the toughest road race in the United States. The half marathon course takes you up Mill Mountain, while the full marathon also throws Roanoke Mountain into the mix and rounds it out with plenty of rolling hills.

I have gotten in some decent miles this season with a few solid long runs. I had an 18-mile training run the weekend before the Blue Ridge Half Marathon, so I felt prepared for a good day on the 13.1-mile course. The race starts in downtown Roanoke then quickly moves to the climb up Mill Mountain. By the 2nd mile I was unexpectedly running out of air. It is a rare occurrence for me to do any heavy breathing during a marathon, but this climb really had me huffing it.

Mardi Gras Full Marathon 2011 – Hey Big Man, Let Me Hold a Dollar!

22 February 2011 Herschel W. Mickles

I recently completed the Mardi Gras Marathon; making Louisiana the 10th state where I have ran a full 26.2 mile race. I traveled to New Orleans for the sole purpose of enjoying the marathon and marking Louisiana off my list. It was an unavoidable journey. I had a great time, but frankly I have no plans of returning any time soon.

Over the years I have read many stories about New Orleans that made the thought of going there of my own free will seem highly unlikely. In fact, if I assembled a list of all the places that I never want to go, NOLA would fall somewhere between a cholera-infested town on the Horn of Africa and Hell in the middle of an ice cream shortage. After my trip, I’m not sure there is a discernible difference between the three.

Rock-N-Roll Half Marathon 2009

09 September 2009 Herschel W. Mickles

Since I happened to be at Virginia Beach at the right time, I decided to complete the Rock-N-Roll Half Marathon. It was the second time I have participated in this event, but the course has changed from when I ran it in 2005. The old course took advantage of the entire boardwalk, but now runners only get to see a small portion of the beach just before crossing the finish line. I prefer the old course. Even though the long straightaway was brutal because the finish could be seen from over a mile a way, you still had the unique experience of running alongside the ocean.

It is difficult to believe that I have been running races for four years now. Eight full marathons, twelve half-marathons, and thousands of training miles in between have greatly enhanced my inner-strength, and I like to pretend that I am only slightly more eccentric than when I started.

Roanoke Canal Half Marathon 2010 - Inaugural

05 May 2010 Herschel W. Mickles

This race was promoted as being a trail race without the trail. A mixture of gravel and paved paths was to give the runners a smooth, road-like experience unlike the rigorous terrain of traditional trail races. I had never run a trail race; unless you count the all-night 40km land navigation challenge I did as a young cavalryman, but that involved a lot of high-crawling. I have no idea how this race stacked up compared to other trail runs, but I do have experience with road races, and this most certainly was not comparable to one of those by any means.

Hatfield & McCoy Marathon for Maniacs

22 June 2009 Herschel W. Mickles

This was my second trip out to Williamson, WV for the Hatfield & McCoy event. The first was in 2005 for the half marathon. At that time, I had no intention of attempting a full marathon, and I certainly never thought I would return to Blackberry Mountain for the full 26.2-mile treatment. This race made my third marathon in 78 days, which qualifies me as a Marathon Maniac. I am Maniac #1625. I am only an entry level maniac mind you, but I will accept any kind of crazy I can get.

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