Cowboy Hazel

Even though my marathon this weekend is only about 30 miles away from where I ran my first one, the two are about as opposite as can possibly be. It's both exciting and scary knowing that I'm going to get such a totally different race experience.

In Philly, I was one of thousands of runners in a city that had been completely transfixed by a weekend of marathon mania. In Delaware, I'll be one of less than 600 registered to run the race.

There won't be any worries about crowding this time – After a couple miles we'll all be pretty well spaced out. I looked over the registration list and there's only around 35 other runners that are planning to run under 3:10. That means that there are going to be some long stretches where I'm out on my own. I wonder if that will help or detract. Obviously, the lack of crowding at the start should help me as I won't have to be dodging people, but it could hurt that I won't be able to feed off the crowd's energy as much.

Of course, there'll be the dramatic difference in weather too. The forecast is looking better, but it's still going to be around 50 degrees warmer than it was in Philly last November. I think this will hurt more later in the race, but might help at the beginning. Also, running in shorts and a t-shirt is a going to be lighter and therefore easier than being all decked out in winter gear.

Then there's the weekend itself. Last time, I headed out on the Amtrak and stayed in one of the nicest hotels in Philadelphia. I was lured to sleep by the ridiculous luxury of my surroundings. This time around, we're taking a bus to Philly where my running partner's mom is picking us up and driving us the rest of the way and then I'm crashing on a couch at their house.

Oh, and instead of being in familiar territory, I'll be in a state where I've never visited my entire life. I'll recognize no milestones or landmarks – It's all completely uncharted territory for me.

I don't know whether these things are good or bad. I just think it's interesting, almost ironic even, how different the two races are and thought it was worth mentioning. I hope you also found it interesting. If not, I apologize. Here, I'll make amends by sharing with you the greatest video clip about Delaware ever made:





Last but not least, I'm guessing that I'll hear the Rocky soundtrack about ten times less than I did during Philly last fall. And that, I am sure, is a very big benefit of running in Delaware.