March Marathon for Me: Yes or No?

I am not sure that I will be ready to run a full-fledged marathon by March 28, when the Knoxville Marathon will take place. Maybe I will, maybe I won't. But although I did manage to get Saturday the 27th off from work, this trip would still be pretty rushed, as well as costing me a wad of money. Since I am working on my upcoming vacation in April, I may need to reexamine my priorities on this matter.

Looking at this marathon and my possible participation in it is really a fun exercise in event planning and contingencies. Here I am on March 2, looking ahead to March 27-28, a little less than four weeks away. The event is something that I at present am not physically prepared for, although at that same event I am already prepared to do something else (run a half-marathon). There is a deadline, but it is pretty late (March 24) for online registration. So I don't have to worry about financially committing myself for either the marathon or half-marathon until very near the event itself. That's a plus. Travel-wise, Knoxville is about 450 miles from Gainesville on the road map, so driving there and back would save money over flying. But then that crunches my already limited time, as I have to be in Knoxville before 8 PM Saturday evening when race packet pickup closes. So I would have to set out on my trip early Saturday morning. The event itself begins early Sunday morning, giving me little or no chance to scout out my running route beforehand. After the event (race) is over, I should have more free time available for sightseeing and the like, but I still would have to get back to Gainesville. And then what about the added expense of the venture, as we're also talking about a hotel stay. And that would demand some advance reservation.

So with all of this to consider, I have to ask myself whether it's such a wise idea to do this, considering as I have already said that I will be taking a vacation trip just the following month with my family. And then there is one added element to this: the alternative race.

On March 27, right here in my good old home town of Gainesville, will be an opportunity for me to run in a 15K (9.3 miles) race to benefit an organization fighting cancer. Sure, it's not a marathon or even a half-marathon, but it isn't one of those little 5K runs, either. Ironically, last year I had registered and paid for this same annual event, even going down and picking up my race packet, complete with timing chip and tee shirt. And then skipped the race, not feeling good at the time and concerned about covering such a "long" distance. Now, though, it seems relatively short! And I have also discovered that the race course may not be three laps like it was last year, but rather a much more interesting "tour" layout. The cops wouldn't be stopping traffic for us like in a "grand" marathon event, but that's all right with me. I may just opt for this run and more carefully plan out and train for another marathon race elsewhere and later in the year (and there are many to choose from, especially in November and December, with some being in Florida).

Logistically, I could manage to run in the Knoxville Marathon later this month, although it would probably involve some major hassles. But is it the optimal decision for me? I haven't yet ruled it out, and am still training AS IF I will run in it. One of my reasons for wanting to run in it is that it is one of the last marathons to be held relatively close to Florida before the hot and humid spring and summer climate patterns begin to set in around this region of the country. Once they do, running these lengthy races around here becomes very problematic. I am already planning to drastically increase my nighttime running once the temperatures inevitably skyrocket. But that's a topic for another article!