Country Music Marathon (Read 1322 times)

If you wear an iPod in the Country Music Marathon won't you miss out on all the...country music?

This has always confused me, as it seems that the majority of the live bands play anything BUT country music. In fact, in 07 during my first ever marathon, I got to mile 12 (right where the convent of nuns always stand - to which I raised my hands and made the entire group of nuns scream...who can say that?) and the band was playing "You're no good, you're no good, you're no good, baby you're no good..." My encouragement factor went from about a 9.5 to a -3.2. But then, the nuns came so...

hahahaha - oh nuns... i often run with an ipod either for music or audiobooks during my daily runs, but when i ran my first half marathon, i didn't bring it, and didn't miss it at all. It's far more fun listening to the cheering people on the sidelines, especially when total strangers read your name off your bib number and scream, "Go Sam Go Sam!!" of course, I was also expecting my silly sister to run with me, but she dropped me like a hot potato after the first mile.

Nevermind. I am not in the swamp.

Some of the stops will have country, some won't. And some of the country bands will play crossover songs (like "You're No Good", which is a terrible choice, yikes). And alas, as is normal at an Elite event, some of the stages will be no shows, especially if the weather is poor. And you won't get to hear them for very long. My favorite race with music stops is not an rnr event at all... it's the good ol' Portland (OR) Marathon. Not quite as many stages, but lots. And lots of diversity. You get rock, bluegrass, a little tejano, marching bands w/ drums, JESUS! JESUS!, and... at least until 2008... a big band that was my absolute favorite. And, once you've done the race a few times, you get used to what will be where. The performers seem to return year after year. I know that the drum line will always be in downtown during the first couple miles. JESUS! JESUS! and tejano or salsa are always in the out-and-back about M8 and M10. Etc. Even though I only hear them for a little bit (actually, it's more like 1-2 minutes as you approach and pull away... twice in the out-and-back section) it's fun and kind of comforting. It's one of the things I really like about that race . And I'm not running 1/3 mile loops! (although that prison race sounds pretty cool and the constant music would be fun)

The best song I remember was "Workingman's Blues." I heard it around mile 18 and kept its rhythm rollin' through the finish. Hey hey I'm a workin' man.

It is really cool. And you run WITH prisoners. And there is fluid every 1/9 mile. And Gu every 1/3 mile. And you have a prisoner assigned to YOU making sure your needs are met every 1/3 mile, logging your 1/3 mile splits and keeping track of how far you have gone. Very cool.

That sounds pretty interesting/fun. Sounds like an exciting run.

That prison race does sound cool. Where is it?

In prison. It is a Nashville Striders-organized run. On May 20 (a weekday) they will do the 5k only in the evening. Info is on their race calendar.

I hate taper.