Sunday, October 23, 2011

Santa Clarita Marathon

It looks like I may not be able to run the Santa Clarita Marathon next month.  I was looking forward to it since I consider this marathon to be my home course.  I've run the half marathon 6 times in the past and this would have been my first time running the full marathon on this course.  I won't be able to run it since it looks like I'll likely be in New Zealand that weekend. I've never been there but for as small a place as it is New Zealand has a strong running tradition. I remember seeing New Zealand born Rod Dixon win the NY city marathon in 1983 on TV.  He's probably the reason that I wear Saucony running shoes. If I remember correctly, Saucony used the image of him just after he crossed the finish line, on his knees, arms outstretched, just a few seconds ahead of the number two runner.  At 6' 1" tall,  Rod didn't look like the typical marathoner.
After a little looking around, I came across this video from a couple of years ago.  Rod talks about his winning run at NY back in 1983.  It's a pretty interesting account, especially his strategy to pass the leader, around mile 26, just 2/10ths of a mile from the finish!  He looks as surprised as anyone the he did it!  He attributes being able to pass the runner in front of him to the fact that he was able to run a shorter distance to the finish line by running the corners.   Running the tangents is worth thinking about especially if you're running a course that has a lot of turns in it like the Santa Clarita course does. 

Any way, if I can't run the Marathon, I look forward to getting in a nice run or two in New Zealand and I'll find another long race in December or January.

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