Running With Jack

Today after work I headed to the pool for some laps. As today was the first day of school vacation (and it was rainy outside) the pool was full of nerve-breaking teenies. There were also more adults than normal, probably trying to get a last workout in before they spend the next 2-3 weeks on vacation with the kids.

In any case I managed to get in 1100 meters of laps. I was in no hurry – my legs were still tired from the speed workouts this week, so I just took my time and tried to enjoy it the best I could (despite the masses).

A Forest Marathon?

A couple people asked me what's a “forest" marathon? The marathon that I am running in September is called the Pfalzwerwald (Pfalz Forest) Marathon. According to the advertising for the race the route “Quickly leaves the city and enters into the soft ground and fresh air of the forest, eventually circling around the forest back to the starting point.”

So basically the first and last kilometer (+/-) are asphalt, the rest should be “soft” forest paths. If the paths are like most forests in Germany they are improved logging or farm trails usually consisting of dirt, gravel or some kind of mixture like this. It is rare to find any single-path or rough trails like you find in many parts of North America. There are several hill climbs during the race, but again I can’t imagine the “trail” will be in too bad of shape.

You should also realize that this is not a small marathon, they are expecting up to 3000 participants for either the marathon or half-marathon. So the trails have to be pretty accessible to handle this crowd.

I anticipate that the “trails” will be very similar to what I run on regularly, developed dirt and gravel paths through the shady forest. Sounds good to me anyway, I’m really looking forward to it! Anything but asphalt!!