Running Goals for 2007 in Flux

So, as my immediate running future is decided by registering for the Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run, I’m starting to ponder my next marathon. While I definitely want to do Chicago at some point, I’m thinking of actually holding off on that thought. I’m thinking that perhaps it might be wiser to do something a little closer to home. I speak, of course, of the Marine Corps Marathon.

I still haven’t completely decided, but a large part of me wants to save money and just ride the Metro to the start line rather than getting on a train or plane in order to run. I feel like I should plan any out-of-state marathon carefully (except for Detroit—that’d be easy and cheap to plan), and that includes saving money for hotels. Hotels for Chicago, by the way, are already selling out, and registration for the marathon hasn’t even started. In DC, I don’t have to find a hotel; I just have to hop on the Metro and run the city.

As exciting as it is to travel to run, it is very expensive. In the past two years, I’ve done San Francisco and New York. San Francisco I handled pretty well considering I was still employed by Dyn-o-mite! at a paltry salary; New York was facilitated by my move to a better job. They were also challenges, in a sense; San Francisco to prove I could do something out of the ordinary, New York to prove that I could do the world’s biggest marathon, no problem! But for 2007, I’m thinking that staying close to home might be the ticket since I’ve proven myself and now need to find my marathon comfort zone. I would love to run Chicago and have my family join me, but I think it’s going to take a lot more than last-minute planning. As someone who plans for a living, on-the-fly organization is stressful and costly. It might be better to run the nation’s capital for 2007, and then choose another marathon for 2008 and set plans immediately into play. New York would be fabulous for 2008, but that’s also up in the air with my tenative change of plans. At some point, I want to run the Rim Rock Run, which is 22.5 miles, but a hell of a lot more difficult than the comparatively flat terrain of New York and Washington, DC. It might be worth sticking to the mid-Atlantic for now—while you won’t see me in Richmond, VA, anytime soon, there are a few others in this area that might be a little less expensive and involve less planning and travel.

Of course, Michigan holds promise. There’s the Martian Marathon, as well as the Trail Marathon. There’s Detroit, as mentioned above. I could do all of these, though Martian and Trail are spring marathons—I’ve always run strongest in the fall since I train pretty well through summer thanks to an early sunrise. I’m less successful in the winter; I have no idea how I would get regular runs in what with work and other obligations (as it stands, I’m crosstraining mostly these days).

We shall see. Don’t be surprised, though, if you see me staying put in DC this coming year when marathon time rolls around.

So, I think Chicago might be out the window in 2007. With hotels already selling out and the need to organize to get more people than myself there, it’s better to put off a travel marathon for another year. It’s looking like Marine Corps might be a better idea if I can register in May.