What a weekend. The Country Music Marathon and Half Marathon attracted almost 30,000 people. Amazing.
When I lived outside of Nashville I ran the old "Music City Marathon and Half Marathon" I ran the half a couple of different times. In those days, in the mid 1990's there was about 700 people in the whole and may 1,000 or so in the half. When Tim Murphy of Elite Racing talked to me about bringing a big "Rock 'n' Roll" style event to Nashville I told him he was crazy.
And in the first few years it looked like I was right. They started with ONLY a full marathon and after a strong first year saw the numbers dwindle down to less than 4,000 participants. Then they added the half marathon and the numbers soared. Two years ago there were a total of 17,000 participants in both races. This year that number was nearly doubled.
What's going on?
Hard to say, but I have a guess. People have figured out that Nashville - the city - is a FANTASTIC destination. If you stay downtown you just have to fall out of your hotel and you'll hear LIVE music played VERY well. It's fun, there's plenty of good food, and the atmosphere is "pure" country. What's not to like?
I did manage to run 3 times while I was there which is good. I took today off to recover from the drive but I'm looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow.
John
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4 comments:
I just completed my first half-marathon, in Nashville. You and Jenny deserve at least half (probably more!) the credit. Without your "Marathoning for Mortals" I never would have had the confidence to even begin training. It was my training bible. I used Runner's World's SmartCoach to design my training program – very similar to the one in the book – and only missed six training days in 16 weeks.
I can't tell you how grateful I am for finding the book, or how happy I still feel today, three days post-race. This is supposed to be the "letdown" day!
I hope I never forget how I felt crossing that finish line. I ended up 61st out of 403 in my age group (55-59) – not too shabby for an old fat lady's first attempt!
Here's my wrap-up:
http://shrinkingknitter.blogspot.com/2007/04/great-great-weekend.html
I am doing my first 1/2 this weekend in Indianapolis. I wish I had gotten a chance to read your book because I am in full mini meltdown. I am sure I will see your book at the expo and will buy it to help with my next one. For some reason I am having trouble wrapping my head around it is okay to run/walk. Thanks for the inspiration!
The largest race I've run in was the Bolder Boulder 10K and it was amazing to see that many people out on the streets.
By the way, I love your articles in RW.
Thanks for the encouragment and all you do for the running community. We spoke about my journey from 380 pounds to the Nashville 1/2 at 235 pounds. You told me I had an obligation to share my story with others. I just wanted to give you the link to my blog www.fitshump.blogspot.com
I have chronicled my story from the start and hope it may be used to motivate someone.
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