Northern Central Trail Marathon RR -

Peggy (MM 275) and I needed MD and scheduled this Fall rails-to-trails marathon early in the year.  Arrived into Baltimore Friday Noon (she from Jacksonville, me from Tampa) and headed over to Great Falls Park VA for hiking along the Potomac under cold, blustery skies.  The falls were very cool and impressive.  Left late afternoon to pick up race packets before checking into hotel in Cockeysville, MD.  Enjoyed a great MD seafood meal at Michael's - oysters, crab cakes, & scallops with a nice pinot - before readying our gear and retiring.

Saturday AM arrived, had light breakfast, and headed over to shuttle pickup under breezy clear skies and low 40s.  Shuttle took us to Sparks Elementary School where we waited mostly inside with the other 448 marathoners plus a lesser number of relayers until 9:00 AM race start.  Chatted with a few Maniacs, Rich Holmes (MM 1776 - Bib 226 - 4:26:40 finish) among them.

Wished Peggy luck and moved to starting position.  Start of the race was on roads for about two miles - mostly downhill rollers - before dumping us onto the trail for the out and back trek.  A brief history, the Northern Central Railway was constructed in 1838 and operated between Baltimore and Sunbury PA before running into financial problems and finally ceasing operations in 1972.  The tracks were converted to a hike/bike trail in 1984.

The scenery, cool weather, and packed dirt/rock trail made for easy running.  Eventually hooked up with a small pack of runners around mile 8 including Dan Marvin (MM 270 - Bib 317 - 3:47:22 finish).  Aid stations came and went and before long we hit single digits (mile 17).  Picked up the pace around mile 18 and for the next six miles ran solo again and began chunking away time in attempt to reach race goal of 8:15 per mile.  Almost right on target by mile 24 but then left trail for final 2+ miles of uphill rollers.  Found my goal slipping away but still finished a satisfying 8:19 per mile (3:37:46).

Hot soup and other foods afterwards and then met Peggy at her 4:42:42 finish.  Another state behind us...21 for her, 16 for me.  Afternoon of the race we wine tasted and found a good winery - Fiore - up near the PA line and purchased a nice cab to finish off the evening. 

Church early Sunday morning then a car tour of Gettysburg National Military Park - very impressive and sobering.  Drove the guided route through the battlegrounds, experiencing the history.  Found Florida's memorial among the many impressive sights.  Highly recommend Gettysburg as well as other NMPs such as Shiloh in TN.  Left for Hershey PA early afternoon and a tour of Hershey's Chocolate World.  Learned the inner workings of chocolate manufacturing and tasted various chocolates, etc.  Fun stuff.  Returned to Michael's for another great MD seafood meal to end the evening.

Monday AM arrived and we hopped into the car for the trek back to Baltimore.  Lots of traffic even at 6 AM.  Dropped Peggy off and returned rental car before rejoining for breakfast.  Said goodbye as Peggy boarded her flight for JAX and then waited a couple of hours for my flight home to Tampa and Bradenton.  Greeted by 80 degree weather.  Another great marathon weekend.

- Paul (MM 711)

Congratulations on another state and a fine marathon.  Good luck as you continue your quest for all of the states.

TomS

Congratulations on a good day of racing!  You really managed to fit in some of the fun non-running activities too -   !!

I've been wondering about this race -- thanks for the report.

Touring wineries by cab – what an awesome recovery plan!  I must remember that...

What a great weekend – not just a speedy race (very nice, btw), but lots of fun activities and a friend to share them with.  You can’t get much better than that.