deTourist.org every city tells a story……..

Race Reviews
A is for After: B is for Boston (& Beijing)
 A is for After: B is for Boston (& Beijing)

I am wearing my jacket from THE boston marathon, you know, the blue and yellow one from 2013, the year of the bombing.  It is a sunny day, bright and clear.   The bright yellow blossoms of the forsythia are brilliant against the intense blue of the sky.   My jacket matches the spring and my […]

SLO inaugural
SLO inaugural

I have to admit, this half was not one of my favorites.     Rolling meant hilly and for this, I wasn’t quite prepared.  I had a cold with a bad cough and there was a surprisingly long list of life’s little paper cuts that happened to me in the week preceding which soured my disposition.  […]

Goofy Challenge: Been there, done that!
Goofy Challenge: Been there, done that!

When the wake up alarm startled me out of bed. my body screamed, Excuse me!?   Yes, body,  it IS 3:40AM, and no, not the 12:40 AM it would be if you were still at home, cuddled up in your cozy bed in California.  No-no, so sorry.   I am afraid that there is no more […]

The 10K….
The 10K....

What I learned at my 10K today~ Don’t run as fast as you can because it is only six miles, because it is still six miles and if you run too fast at the start, the coffee you had on the way over won’t feel like it should.  OK duh.  But hey…..  it happens. Thinking […]

Half Moon Bay Half: road race for trail runners
Half Moon Bay Half: road race for trail runners

I had originally envisioned my Half Moon Bay Half as graduation day of Phase 1 of the Donna Schumacher Goofy Challenge Training Plan, testing out the train less-but-fast philosophy which I did and I was.  ~ So there!   It was such a “pretty” race, what with a route along the cliffs above the Pacific […]

Take 2: Double Disney
Take 2: Double Disney

Once upon a time, I eagerly showed up at my running club for the Disney raffle, hoping for a pink T-shirt with the word “princess” written in rhinestones across the front. Instead,  I came home with an entry ticket to the Goofy Challenge, a half marathon followed by a marathon, back to back with only […]

Moving to Montana soon…….
Moving to Montana soon.......

Will I be a dental floss tycoon???? Mmmmm Montana: My Missoula Marathon seemed to have it all, making it a first to remember.   big blue sky gentle green grass hills sunlight sparkling on the rushing river waters honey colored horses back lit by the sun waiting as we crested the hill a zig zag […]

Sheltered Cove
Sheltered Cove

In a state of acute post Avenue-of-the-Giant-Half afterglow,  I went in search of an ocean in which to stick my feet, an ocean for walking in the freezing cold water, with waves up to my knees, maybe higher to make up for my PR sins.  (My chiropractor had warned me in no uncertain terms~ no […]

Avenue of the Giants (some very big trees)
Avenue of the Giants (some very big trees)

Everything is bigger in America, right?:  bigger cars, bigger bellies and bigger pocket books!   Well, no not really but the Avenue of the Giants truly IS one of the validations to the myth: one of the American Icons of Big~ only this time we mean it.    If you wanted to, you could sit […]

Medal Slut
Medal Slut

I have a confession.  I like my races to have cute medals.  A lame medal is just plain sad. By “cute” I naturally mean well designed, meaningful and with graphic appeal.  Right here and now, I would like to initiate a campaign to require all race web sites to post photos of their medals for […]

Goofy to run the Goofy
Goofy to run the Goofy

What do you do when you win the grand prize of your running club raffle, even when the grand prize is the entry fee for a race you don’t really want to run?   When you signed up for the New York Marathon, and actually got in, but decided not to go because you just […]

MainE Marathon (OK, the half)
MainE Marathon (OK, the half)

The morning of the Maine Marathon was delicious cool (boysenberry ice cream in July): 45C at the start, bright, blue sky with autumn color splashes, dark cobalt sea blinking in and out of view reminding me of my former life in Boston.  I ran my pace like a clock: thanks to the relatively flat course, cool […]