Bob the runner

This trip was another first for us (Julie and me) since we've never been to New Hampshire before. My only real expectations for the trip were to experience a new part of the country and hopefully complete the half marathon in about 2 hours.  Not only were both accomplished but now I can also pinpoint New Hampshire on a map of the USA!  The trip was really fun and I can now officially claim to having completed at least a half marathon in 17 states. We flew into Boston on Friday and drove about 90 minutes to Rye New Hampshire. Once we were outta the city (Boston) and the tunnels, the views were fantastic in spite of the rain. Rye is right on the Atlantic coast and there were great views of the ocean and New England style houses. In Rye we stayed at the Rosewood inn. It was an adequate hotel with terrific customer service.  Saturday morning we went to packet pickup at a running store in Portsmouth NH. The race packet was really basic and only included the race bib (per

Gazing at Neptune statue on the beach. Rain, cold, wind, and more rain.  These are descriptions of the weather for the most part in Virginia Beach, Virginia during our visit.  The best news is I survived the rain, sleet, low 40 degree temps, and 20 mile an hour winds to finish the half marathon and earn my medal. This makes 16 states I have completed a half or full marathon in.  Virginia Beach was another fun adventure for us in spite of the weather.  Kids races were a hoot to watch! This race is part of the Shamrock events weekend.  They have kids races, an 8K race, half and full marathons.  The kids races were a hoot to watch.  They raced 1 year old kids, followed by 2 year old and all the way through 5 years old.  The 1 and 2 year old kids were really fun to watch as some could barely walk but they were out there running their race.  The 8K was held on Saturday and included the top age group athletes in the country.  On the flight out I ran into several folks

My honey and me enjoying the beach. Gulf Shores Alabama!  Ha, never heard of it, no idea where it is other than somewhere in Alabama.  Why would anyone want to visit Alabama?  Big Beach Half Marathon!  Wait, now this sounds interesting.  You mean I can add Alabama to my goal of running a half marathon in every state and also be on a beach.  Heck, I didn't realize Alabama was even on a coast.   I love visiting the beach and the water. That's how my January visit to Gulf Shores Alabama came about where state number 15 was checked off after I completed the Big Beach Half Marathon. This race was my slowest so far.  Every aspect of this race was extremely well organized.  Here are my race highlights: The Hangout.   Packet pickup, race start and finish, and the post race party were held here.  The Hangout is a restaurant and bar on the beach with a cool party area out back..  Here are a couple fun pictures from the hangout.   Julie won a hat playing bingo!!