As Fall Arrives, Marathons are Abound

Hot weather will soon begin to wane in favor of a chill in the morning air. Reflective gear will soon be the norm on training runs. And polypropylene and layers of attire will soon replace singlets.

What it all means for long-distance runners is the summer training will transition into fall and the marathon calendar will soon unfold nearly at critical mass.

As such, beyond the usual challenges of cardiovascular training, the pressing but appealing competition decision will be which marathon to enter?

Road races to trail events, big city venues to to country hamlet gatherings, long-distance runners, cyclists and triathletes there are myriad choices.

"October is marathon month for several reasons," says Ryan Lamppa of USA Track and Field's Road Running Information Center in Santa Barbara. "There's usually near perfect marathoning weather in October. It's not too hot or too cold and the humidity is reduced."

October marathons are also exceedingly popular for at least two additions reasons.

Runners preparing for a marathon have several months of good training weather in preceding months. Likewise, with prominent holidays approaching in November and December, long-distance athletes can also prepare for the potential weight gain and pending stressful times of winter season by running a marathon in the fall.

The country's two most well-known fall endurance events, which yearly have good corps of Bay Area entrants, are the Hawaiian Ironman World Championship in Kailua, Kona, and the New York City Marathon. Both events are so popular, entry is secured via either qualifying race and a lottery (the Ironman) of via lottery with a entry deposit. (Both events' field area closed for 2007.)

The Hawaiian Ironman was once the country's only long-distance triathlon bearing the Ironman name and featuring a 2.4-mile ocean swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-marathon. But the event has grown exponentially popular; there are now 22 Ironman-distance events around the globe, but the Hawaiian event, this year scheduled Oct. 13, is still the world championship and the sport's most prestigious event.

The New York City Marathon - the world's largest 26.2-mile run - will be held Nov. 4. The event is held through all of New York's boroughs and a finish at Central Park in Manhattan. It had more than 38,000 finishers last year.

The popularity of the New York City Marathon and the Hawaiian Ironman provide two keen examples of long-distance running's domination of the fall endurance sports calendar.

Open-water swims, triathlons, century bike rides and marathons are available on every weekend, with detailed calendar listings available on web sites like www.marathonguide.com, www.active.com and www.runnersworld.com

But it's marathons that rule. Of the approximately 400 marathons scheduled this year around the country, more than 70 are slated for October. More than two-dozen international marathons are also schedule in October And another 30 marathons will be held throughout the U.S. in November.

"October has become a popular month for marathons for people who live in colder climates and can best train in the summer," said Les Wright, race director of the Lake Tahoe Marathon, which after many years with an October date will be held Sept. 29 this year.

"Many of our participants are from the northwest and colder areas, like Minnesota and Canada. We have beautiful changing colors in September and October and typical Indian summer conditions."

Traveling to marathons around the country is known as destination running. Runners book airplane flights, hotel rooms and then train with their vacation competition in mind.

But marathon runners have plenty of regional choices, too. Nearly a dozen marathons (many with accompanying shorter events) are scheduled in October throughout Northern California. as an example.

And there are other more unique choices. If an out-of-the-ordinary event is appealing at the last minute, how about Crazy Horse Marathon (Oct. 7) in Rapid City, S.D., the Dunkin' Donuts Cape Cod Marathon (Oct. 28) in Falmouth. Mass., or the Bone-Dri Iron Lung Hallow's Eve Marathon (Oct. 28) in North Vancouver, B.C.