My Fall 2012 marathon is ...

I had been "harassing" Muddy of late about deciding which fall marathon he was running, while hypocritically having no plans of my own.  So here it goes:

... the NipMuck Trail Marathon.

What?  A trail marathon?  What are you thinking?  Aren't you the guy whose only running venture onto trails every year was the Li'l Rhody, and there were no other trail runs never mind trail races?  The same one that's afraid of snow on the trails or running more than 8 miles on trails?  Guilty as charged, but then I ran into these local lunatics trail runners like Jonny and Muddy that showed me more of the dark side.  Ever skeptical at first, over the past 9 months I bought my first pair of trail shoes, ran every one of Westerly Land Trust trail systems, ran up to 17 mile trail runs, ran with huge elevation gains on trails at over 11,000', ran at least 6 other trail races, and even sought out trail runs and trail races on my own.

So why a trail marathon selection, and why NipMuck?

• I've run 13 road marathons and want to try something different.
• I just killed my marathon PR by going sub-3 at Cox Providence Marathon, so I have no speed goals or time targets I'm looking to meet this time.
• I've been traveling a fair amount recently, and looking for a race I can easily drive to.
• I couldn't resist paying a 1/2 price RD entry fee of just one Andrew Jackson!
• Two local runners I know are signed up:  Mike C and Rhody Seth.
• I ran the first half yesterday (see blog entry below) and had fun!

Am I done with road marathons?  Not by any stretch.  I'll most likely be signing up for one of the largest and most historic when registration opens two weeks from today:  2013 Boston Marathon.  In the meantime, this will be something very different and interesting for me.  I don't know whether I'll love it or hate it.  Last year's winner, Ben Nephew, finished in 3:17.  The website indicates you should add at least one hour to your road marathon finishing time, which is looking like 4+ hours for me. 

Life is short, my friends.  Try something new once in a while:  a new race, a new run, a new workout, etc.  Live life to the fullest.