#47 New Hampshire, New Me

Ice formation with 1 mile left

Ice formation with 25 miles left

Picture, it. New Hampshire, April 2026. State number 47. Well actually it was the 9th state to join the United States, but for me it checks off #47.  I registered for one in November, but due to a stress fracture, I had to do a redo this past April. So the Cheap Marathon in Windham it was. A new stress fracture free me! 

It was in early April and winter was still hanging on a bit. Looking back as some photos of the ice on the course is really nice memory as I sit in the 96 degree heat and humidity of southwest Florida in August. The race was an out-and-back times 2 along a rail trail that went from Windham to Derry.  The out and backs always play with my head because it just makes it seem longer for some reason. Maybe it's because you keep passing the place where you see a mile marker for mile 21, but you still have to go down and back again before you get there. Also to add an additional mind-f@#$, this race counted down the miles instead of counting up. Actually, I'm not sure what a prefer. Maybe a count down is better? Either way you count, it still hurts. :) 

The course, while repetitive, was beautiful and shaded for when the sun came out. The temperature was actually perfect running weather and there was no rain during the race, so conditions were great. It didn't really help me run faster, but it made it a little less painful. 

So after running an incredibly mediocre time I was rewarded with this lovely finisher ribbon at the end. There is a reason they call it the Cheap Marathon (despite the fact that the entry fee wasn't all that cheap). I will admit it looks pretty sad on my medal-hanging ladder, but it still hangs among them, silent, with no jingle as it swings against the others. 

I stayed in Manchester, which was only a short drive from the course, but seemed to have better options for hotels and restaurants than the other towns in the area. New Hampshire is a great spot for oysters, so as usual I had to partake of these. This was after I stopped at a local brewery, Harpoon Brewery. They had good beers and a really great homemade French onion dip with potato chips. Brought me back to a lot of midwestern cookouts, but minus the Ruffles chips and the store bought dip. 

Also before I found my way to oysters, I walked around downtown Manchester and took in some of the murals around town. To be honest, I couldn't find much else to do there on the weekend and it was also a bit rainy. But was a good way to walk off some of the post-race soreness. 

Ok, finally time for oysters. I went to a place called The Foundry and for some reason their espresso martini was calling to me. Maybe it was because when I was supposed to do my original November marathon, my friend Genevieve and I went to Maine instead and at all the oysters and drank all the espresso martinis. Although we didn't enjoy these two things together. And I know you're thinking that these things don't go together. But I don't care. I wanted them and both were delicious.  So there. 

Overall, I enjoyed the course, the food and the town. For a short time. It's a beautiful state, and I'm sure the prime time to go is during the fall foliage. But appreciated its beauty in April still. Only Wyoming, New Mexico and Hawaii remain. Jackson Hole is coming up in September, followed by Albuquerque in October and then Maui in April 2027.  Then I can move on from the early 2000s blog writing into 2026/27. But it has been a good way to chronicle this journey that started in fall of 2009. Hoping to get through the rest as planned. Cross your fingers! 

#46 Couer d'Alene, Idaho - A giant lake and giant ankle pain

Ok,  so this might be the latest I've ever written and posted about a race. So much has happened and we've even got a second dog since this race. Also, I feel very archaic writing a blog but when I started this 16 years ago, blogging was a thing people! I'm not taking us back to blogging times, but let's go back to May, 2025. 

I was excited to return to Lake Couer d'Alene, Idaho after 30+ years. I was first there with my dad when I was 16 on a roadtrip to visit family in Rathdrum, Idaho and just remember the amazing view while parasailing for the first time over the lake. And as expected, nothing at all looked familiar except maybe the lake. I don't know if that is becuase things have changed so much or if my memory is just crap. Sometimes I feel like most of my memory is spent recalling 90s song lyrics. 

My husband and dog, Jerry joined me for this race. We started the weekend doing a very easy hike after packet pick up around Tubb Hill. I learned my lesson in Alaska to not go crazy with any hikes the day before, so this was a pretty tame hike around the base of the hill. 

Weather was great. As you can see from the pictures, it was sunny but it wasn't too hot. Jerry enjoyed some fresh air during our hike after a long flight in a tiny carrier the day before. We dipped a toe into Lake Couer D'Alene which felt pretty icy. There were a few crazy people in the water, maybe doing a polar plunge. 

Post-hike, we had lunch downtown Coeur D'Alene at a place called Cricket's Restaurant and Oyster Bar. Now I know I went against protocol with PRE-race oysters, but this is my self-inflicted challenge so my rules and I can change then if I want! Also, if you need a dinener recommendation, we had dinner at a place called Vine & Olive, which was set within an area with a bunch of shops. I convinced my husband to buy a new winter coat on sale which he probably hasn't done in 15 years since he's moved to Florida. So far so good in CDA. 

Now its race day. It was a chilly start but otherwise nice weather.  No one wanted to be up early including Jerry. I feel you, buddy. There isn't a race that I don't wake up that morning and really question my life's choices.  But here we are and too late to go back.  

So I have to mention that I basically didn't do much running the last few weeks leading up to this race because I began to have some high ankle pain. I couldn't get into see a doctor about it before the race, but figured it was just something that I could address later. And it also usually felt better after I warmed up a bit. So I figured I'd struggle through this one and deal with it when I got home. Typical runner I guess if you ask any physician. So I ran the race anyway.  It was really a pretty course, although some out and back which I don't always love. But it is not so bad when you get to see your two fans twice and they don't have to drive all over town to see you. Solid medal so no complaints really.... Except about my ankle. 

Post-race is when the ankle was really feeling it. But I would not be stopped from post-race oysters, so we (I) hobbled to a place called Anthony's for lunch which was on the water, but not THE lake, so a bit misleading. It was on what appeared to be a man-made pond. Still good ambiance. And it had warmed up from the morning so we could sit outside. Instead of straight oysters, we went seafood tower for this one.  I don't remember exactly what was at the top of tower, but those things were delicious.  

We stayed a couple of nights after the race to enjoy the area. We explored the area a bit as well and visited some nearby towns and got Jerry out and about to a dog park. 

We took a cruise around the lake and saw some houses that you have to basically take a boat to get to. Beautiful properties with beautifully high prices. A bit cold and windy depending what side of the boat you were on. If you are looking for dinner with a view, Beverly's at the Coeur D'Alene Resort was great. 

So to share the findings from the great ankle pain mystery, I had a stress fracture. That was the one and only race for me in 2025. I was supposed to run New Hampshire, but the stress fractures continued to plague me into the fall so I sat that race out. I got through much of the training but started feeling pain again so actually took my doctor's advice to not run. So I'm back at it in 2026, and just finished New Hampshire as I write this! Stay tuned and I'll share those highlights later in 2027. 😉

Crazy (for doing this 45 times) Horse Marathon #45

It's March 2nd, and instead of folding laundry I've decided to try and challenge myself to remember a marathon I ran back in October. Because at 47 (almost 48) I hear it's good to challenge your brain. I ran the Crazy Horse Marathon in Hill City South Dakota. The race takes place in the Black Hills which is a beautiful part of the state, and also where Mt. Rushmore is located. The last time I was there was when I was 16 during a road trip with my dad. For some reason, I remember having to walk up hill really far to see the spectacle, but this trip, I just drove up to a parking garage and walked a comparatively short distance to see the four faces. 

While Hill City is beautiful, the restaruant scene does leave a little to be desired. However, the craft beer scene as solid as the granite rock of Mt. Rushmore. The night before the race I sampled one of the beers at a local brewery, Miner Brewing Company. Unfortunately as I write this post, it looks like it's no longer open, but if you are in the area, I'm sure you can find many others just as delicious. The weather was cool and sunny....perfect for carb loading. I wanted to try more, but since I had this pesky marathon to run the next day, it was one and done. 

So now it's race day. The race started at the site of the Crazy Horse Memorial. It was clear and cold and the buses schleping us to the start line left very early. Thankfully, we were allowed to wait out the start clock in the warmth of the Crazy Horse Memorial Museum. Warmth and real bathrooms made this one of the best race starts. a real bathroom versus a port-a-potty scores lots of points. We need to talk about this memorial. The end result is supposed to be Crazy Horse riding a horse, pointing into the distance. So far, we have a profile and a finger, which has taken a remarkable amount of time. The first blast on this rock was 1948. His face was complete in 1997. I'm not sure when this thing will be done, but I can only imagine it will be amazing, and a very long time from now. 

Back to the race. A nice twist on the race start included traditional Native American drum music to kick things off. Incorporating this Native American tradition was a condition on the memorial allowing the marathon to start there. I thought it was pretty cool. 

Much of the course was run on the Mickelson Trail which covers over 100 miles. Thankfully, I wasn't running the entire trail. Not a lot of crowd support, but the scenery made up for it. 

Slow and steady, I finished #45. Two fun things awaited me at the finish line. 

1. A pretty cool medal. 

2. The largest Smoky the Bear Statue in the world. 

And hopefully his message of preventing forest fires is heard by all in close range because Smoky would go up in flames in a blink of an eye. 

I did not partake of my usual post-race oysters, since, well, it's South Dakoat. Instead, I treated myself to a soak at the Moccasin Springs in Hot Springs, South Dakota. I feel like all my races should take place in driving vacinity to cities called Hot Springs (had this pleasure as well in Arkansas). I think the funnest part of the hot springs was the drive. I went from the mountains of the black hills to the plains where the buffalo roam and antelope play. Literally, there were wild buffalo, antelope and a ton of cute prarie dogs popping their heads up in the tall grass. 

The mineral springs were also very nice and had mulitple pools of varying temperatures to choose from. It was pretty crowded in the warmest pools becuase it was chilly out, but being there solo, I was able to squeeze in pretty much wherever I wanted.                                          

I was planning on visiting the Badlands the day after the race, but ended up shortening my trip in South Dakota a day early to beat the approach of Hurricane Milton which was headed to my home. I did squeeze in one more brewery in Rapids City, the Last Mile Brewery. Again, solid showing from South Dakota in the craft beer game. Also, the patrons and the bartenders were exceptionally friendly.  

That wrapped up my races for 2024. There were a lot of things that made training challenging last year, and so far, life in 2025 hasn't made it much easier, but I will keep pushing to get these done as long as I can, albeit slow and often painful. Idaho and New Hampshire are on deck for 2025! 

Alaska - #44

I am way behind on posting, as usual, and have done another race since this one, but there are too many good photos to share that this had to be it's own post. 

Last June I took on my 44th state with the Anchorage marathon. This is one where we definitely made a vacation out of it. One, it takes a while to get there from Florida, and two, there is so much to see. I had my husband and racecation buddy Bethany and her daughter Gilly with me. And the motivated, ambitious Gilly took this on as her first marathon. Considering the 20+ year age gap, she definitely finshed well ahead of me, but we we did cross the start line together! 

But before we even got there, we made the mistake of going hiking the day before. We all thought, ok, we'll do an easy hike. So we picked a short one. While it was short, it was steep and we instantly all regretted it. At times we were pulling ourselves up the hill. We thought about turning around, but going down a steep hill is worse than going up one, at least as far as increasing your chances of injury. So we persevered. The view was worth it, although the next day, I'm not sure I agreed once I felt the fatigue in my legs the next day. Oh well, live and learn (probably not though). 

First of many scenic vistas

See dark shape in the distance: Moose

Back to race day. Weather was perfect, dry, cool but not too cool. While a fairly scenic course, it was definitely not the most scenic part of our trip. Alaska basically looks like a post card anywhere outside of Anchorage. But not to downplay Anchorage, it's a great place. And when we where there, the sun really never was down. Thank goodness for blackout curtains. But I digress. This was definitely an emotional race for me. Two days before we left for Alaska, I had to say goodbye to my best friend of nearly 19 years, my dog Dean. He truly was the best dog a girl could ask for, and was always the best running and travel buddy. Nothing like a good run cry. Well, it can be cathartic, but not ideal during a race since it does sap both physical and mental energy. Of course, those feelings come an go, and certainly helps to see things like a moose on the course to distract you. Thankfully it was a bit off the couse as I've heard those things can be mean! 

More course views

Again, the race was a hard one for me physically and mentally for many reasons, (refer to dumb hiking idea above), but Gilly and I both finished with no need for medical attention, which is a win-win. And what an accomplishment for Gilly on her first marathon! Hopefully she's been bitten by the bug and will join for another. 

More from the course

The next day after the race we headed to Seward and stayed there for a couple of days and then headed to Homer and stayed there a couple of days. There are way too many cool photos and experiences to share along the way, so I'll highlight some of my favorites.

1. Tiny plane flight over Denali where I got to sit in the copilot seat. 

Denali

2. Countless oysters, halibut cheeks (try them if you have the chance), amazing seafood and a restaurant you have to take a boat to. This was in Halibut Cove where the community is basically on stilts in the water. 

Obligatory post-race oysters

Entering Halibut Cove

Floating restaurant

3.  All the wildlife. We took a Kenai Fjords cruise and saw so many animals: puffins, an albatross, humback whales, sea lions, bald eagles, a pod of orcas, and sea otters. While not an animal, we did see a glacier, and walked paths where you could see where the glaciers used to be. Climate change is happening, that is clear. We saw salmon jumping and swimming upstream. We saw cuddly bears (in the safety of a nature preserve/zoo), and more moose! 

Giant grizzly

Glacier

Orcas

It's rough being a sea lion

4. All the scenic views. Grabbing dinner near Seward, driving to Seward, dinner in Homer on the spit, hiking to a beach. The list goes on and on. 

On the way to Seward...and then Homer

View from our Seward dinner spot

Dinner on the spit

The beach

5. And all the fun other things: Freezing cold boat ride to eat at a floating restaurant, quaint little towns, so many hikes, seaside hot tub, and fun road tripping. Alaska is a cool place. 

In memory of my favorite travel and running buddy. Miss you everyday.

Photo credit: Todd Winters