Athletics: Marathons Aplenty Set For October

By JAMES RAIA

With fall's arrival, unique marathons abound. Roads to trails, big cities to quaint villages, long-distance runners have diverse events from which to choose.

More than 30 marathons, for example, will be held in North America this month. But October is traditionally the busiest marathon month of the year, with the 26.2-mile distance reaching critical mass.

Of the nearly 400 marathons scheduled in the United States this year, more than 50 will be held next month, including nine in California. More than 60 international marathons -- Lausanne, Switzerland, to Beijing, China, and Venice, Italy to Kosice, Slovakia -- are also scheduled in October.

"October has become a popular month for marathons for people who live in colder climates and can best train in the summer," said Les Wright, race director of the Lake Tahoe Marathon, scheduled Oct. 9. "Many of our participants are from the northwest and colder areas, like Minnesota and Canada. We have beautiful changing colors in October and typical Indian summer conditions."

It's the same ideal weather that provides the greatest appeal for race directors and runner in many parts of the country, East Lyme, Conn., to Weott, Calif.

"October is marathon month for several reasons," said Ryan Lamppa of USA Track and Field's Road Running Information Center in Santa Barbara. "There's usually near perfect marathoning weather in October. It's not too hot or too cold and the humidity is reduced."

October marathons are also exceedingly popular for at least two additions reasons, according to Lamppa.

Runners preparing for a marathon have several months of good training weather in preceding months. Likewise, with promiment holidays approaching in November and December, long-distance athletes can also prepare for the potential weight gain and pending stressful times of winter season by running a marathon in the fall.

Four of the country's 10 most popular marathons -- Chicago (32,362 finishers in 2003), Marine Corps in Washington, D.C. (15,973 finishers), Twin Cities in Minnesota (7,085 finishers) and Portland (7,016 finishers) are held in October.

Likewise, some of the country's more uniquely named and novel events are held during the month.

Consider the Just Around "the" Bend Marathon (Oct. 10) in Bend, Ore., the Mt. Rushmore Marathon (Oct. 10) in Rapid City, S.D., and Mystic Places Marathon (Oct. 24) in East Lyme, Conn.

In Calfornia, the nine marathons (some with acccompanying shorter events) scheduled in October are diverse.

The Sacramento Marathon (Oct. 3) is in its 28th year. Its heyday has come and gone a few times with the fluctuation of marathon popularity and via various race managment woes. But the William Land Park course offers runners an often shaded, flat route, a reasonably priced event and easy accessibilty.

The Humboldt Redwoods Marathon (Oct. 17) in Weott is two years younger than the Saramento Marathon. It was once among the country's most popular events and reached its capacity quickly.

As other marathons in more centrally located areas debuted, the Humboldt Redwoods Marathon and its complementary Avenue of the Giants Marathon (it began in 1972) have also lost entrants. Still both events, held in Redwood State Park and organized by the Six Rivers Running Club, remain popular destination marathons.

New this year is the Nike 26.2 Marathon in San Francisco. Numerous shorter-distance women's events flourish around the country, but gender-geared marathons are rare. The Oct. 24 race has attracted Joan Benoit-Samuelson as an ambassador and the event will celebrate the 20th annniversay since her inaugural Olympic women's marathon victory in Los Angeles.

The Nike 26.2 Marathon will begin and end in Golden Gate Park and will encompass some of the city's most well-known areas - Chinatown, Fisherman's Wharf, Nob Hill and Little Italy.

And while the event has been promoted as a celebration of women's running, men are welcome to participate.

Fall months are also popular for trail marathons and California has its share, most organized by companies that promote, hilly, niche races with small fields.

The Napa Wine Country Classic Marathon (Oct. 30) in Bothe-Napa Valley State Park offers a scenic course. World famous wineries, renowned restaurants and great spas are all within a few miles. But the course also features more than 4,000 feet of elevation change and rocky terrain. It's a tough go, and that's likely one reason the race had 39 finishers last year.

© Copyright 2004, James Raia

Posted with the permission of James Raia.

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