Looking for a Beautiful and Challenging 2010 Marathon?

If you're not registered and currently in training for one of the many upcoming fall marathons, then it's probably too late. But, if you're starting to ponder running a spring 2010 marathon, you may want to consider the Blue Ridge Marathon On The Parkway in Roanoke, VA (April 24, 2010). If you're looking for a challenging course, this is the race for you. The course begins and ends in downtown Roanoke. In between, runners will enter the Blue Ridge Parkway, where they'll make three significant climbs and descents.

The course begins easy enough with about a mile of rolling hills before it begins the 2-mile climb up Mill Mountain where at the top the race enters the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is here where runners will encounter several lengthy and challenging hills over the next 2-3 miles. Then comes the most challenging (and most beautiful) part of the run—climbing Roanoke Mountain.

During the 780 feet up Roanoke Mountain (over 2 miles), runners will see beautiful views of the region's mountains and valleys. The run down Roanoke Mountain is just as beautiful and just at challenging.

I don't want to give all the race's secrets away, so check out the website for more details on the course, travel info, registration info, and post race events.

Proceeds from the Blue Ridge Marathon will benefit the FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway. FRIENDS is a non-profit, volunteer organization that is dedicated to preserving and protecting the Blue Ridge Parkway, a national treasure. FRIENDS programs focus on preservation, protection and education.

So, you've got plenty of time to build that mileage base and get in shape for this challenging race! If you've run a challenging marathon or one in a beautiful location, I'd love to hear about it. Email the name of the race and link (if possible) to RunnerDude at runnerdudeblog@yahoo.com. Be sure to put "Challenge/Beauty" in the subject line.

Happy Running!

RunnerDude

Runners Around the World: Amazing Locations and Accomplishments

It never ceases to amaze me the number of visitors that come to the blog from all over the world. This morning I checked and there were readers from Morocco, United Kingdom, Sweden, Czech Republic, Canada, and Australia. At other times, there have been readers from China, India, Kenya, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico, Singapore, Ireland, France, Italy, Spain, etc.

It really is an awesome thing to have something in common (running) with someone halfway around the world. Through the blog, I've met awesome people such as Jeff in Canada who is an awesome wheelchair athlete and the founder of the Boiling Point Wheelchair Track Classic and Nathan who I first communicated with while he was stationed in Afghanistan. Nathan has since returned to the states and is running triathlons. And then there's Phil in Northern Ireland, Otto in Mexico, Christine in Canada and the list goes on and on. I may never meet these people in person, but they are treasured friends none the less.

All of this worldliness got me to thinking. Wouldn't it be cool to run around the world? I've heard of people running across the United States. Charlie Engle lives just down the road from me. He's the amazing endurance runner that ran across the Sahara Desert. But, what would it take to run around the world—in miles that is? I Googled this question and I discovered that RunThePlanet.com is actually sponsors such a challenge. The total mileage is 24,881 miles (40,043 kilometers). If you ran 10 miles a day, it would take you 6.8 years to complete the task! If you're interested in taking RunThePlanet up on their challenge, check it out at their website. Over 30 runners are currently enrolled and one person has actually completed it—Dave Kunst. His journey with his brothers is quite an amazing story.

Some other great places to connect with runners across the U.S. and from around the world include social running sites like Athlinks.com, SeriousRunning.com, DailyMile.com , and RunnersLounge.com.

Where are some unique locations you've run? What's the longest run you've done to date? What's your total cumulative miles? Have you accomplished an awesome challenge such as running across your state? Running the Appalachian Trail? Running Badwater?

RunnerDude would love to hear about your worldly running stories and unique accomplishments. Email your story and a picture (jpeg format) of yourself to runnerdudeblog@yahoo.com by midnight on August 31st. Be sure to enter "Around the World Contest" in the email's subject line. Your email will be entered into a prize drawing. The great people at RunningWarehouse.com have graciously offered a $50 gift certificate to the winner which will be announced on September 1st. The winner's story will be featured on the blog first, but eventually all the stories will be a featured post.