If I Had 10 Wishes

6:20AM

Snow!! No School!! Actually wait - there's no snow. It's 6:20AM and I just got the call that there's no school today. I'm looking outside and there ain't squat on the ground. Not that I'm complaining. Hey, teachers love the snow days just as much (actually more) as the students do. We have no school because they say the snow is coming. Supposed to hit this morning which would make the afternoon pickup a slippery situation. I hope the snow does come. Our sleds are drastically unused. They look so lonely and new over there in the corner of the garage. I'd like to put a few scratches on them today. We'll see.

So as I'm wishing for some snow this morning, I started thinking about wishing for other things, related to running. If I had 10 wishes, obviously I wouldn't wish them all on running. I'd probably do the old "wish for more wishes thing". I know - so cliche. Maybe I'd wish for world peace. Naaaah - boring. I don't know what I'd wish for if I had 10 wishes. I'd have to put a lot of thought into that. BUT - if I had to use my 10 wishes on running, I know what I'd wish for. Here are my 10 dream races. In other words - these are the top 10 marathons I would LOVE to run. I hope to do some of them in the future. Not sure if I'll get to them all, but if I had those wishes....

MY MARATHON WISH LIST (Click on each for the race website and more info.)

1. Goofy (Half and Full at Disney) - This has been my dream for a long time and if you read this blog, I know you're probably sick of me talking about it, but I can't deny my dream. This is one of the few on this list that I'm 90% sure is gonna happen. Next year!

2. Boston - Come on. The marathon of marathons!! I would love to run Boston. Problem - you have to qualify and the qualifying time for my age is 3:10 (3:15 when I turn 35 this year). I think that's a stretch for me. If I'm still running like I am now when I'm 50 years old (3:35 qualifying time), maybe. But this would be the ultimate dream race for me.

3. Chicago - I've also wanted to run this marathon for a while. I've heard so many great things about it and I love the city of Chicago. This one also has a pretty good chance of happening in the next few years. Maybe this year.

4. Marine Corps (D.C.) - I think it would be awesome to run a race around the national monuments in Washington. I've enjoyed the couple of time I've gotten to go there and I would love to run this race. I have also heard some great things.

5. New York - Another classic. I really enjoyed watching this one on TV a few weeks ago. I also love going to NY and would love to run through it with the many thousands.

6. Big Sur - This one takes place in Carmel, California along the Pacific Coast. I don't know a lot about it, but I've heard great reviews and seen some amazing pictures. The scenery is amazing and I think it would be a fun one to run. Plus it would be fun to do a race out west as all my other wish races are in the eastern U.S.

7. Rocket City (Huntsville) - I almost did this one for my fall 2009 race, but I chose Memphis instead. I've heard this course is great. Flat. It's close. I may tackle this one some day.

8. Flying Pig (Cincinnati) - Another one I've heard a lot about but don't know much. Have some friends at church that have done it and liked it. This one seems to have a lot of neat traditions and the name alone makes me want to run it. And Cincy's not too far away.

9. Chicamauga Battlefield - This one takes place in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. It's a 2 loop course which I don't like but I've heard it's a great course, one that's very historic, scenic, and exciting. I've also hard this is a very family friendly race. It would only be a couple of hours away so I would enjoy giving it a shot.

10. TIE - Little Rock or St. Louis - I would like to do both of these. Again, they aren't too far away and I enjoy big city races. I love the city of St. Louis and would enjoy running through it. I've only been to Little Rock once, but I've read good reviews of this race.

So there's the list. My top 10 (well OK - 11) dream marathons. I may add this list to my sidebar over there and keep track as I hopefully accomplish some of these. If anyone reading has run these or has other recommendations, let me know.

By the way - I unexpectedly was a part of the Runners Roundtable podcast again last night. I just logged in to listen and ended up making a couple of comments. My mic wasn't working well so it was hard to hear me but it was fun to again be a part. I enjoyed the show which was a call in "Resolutions" episode.

Ok, I think I just saw a spare flake out the window so I'm going to get the sled. Have a great weekend!

Keep runnin',
Albert