Tag: Bonefield Express

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Disney Marathon Weekend 2011 Is Almost Here

 

Only two more days till I leave for Florida for the Disney Marathon weekend. I am both excited and sad at the same time because I always have a great time at that event, but none of my family is running with me this year. I will be posting throughout the weekend like I did at last years event, this being the one year anniversary of starting my blog.

I will have various technology with my like I always do and I am going to try a few tracking solutions so those who are interested can track my progress or if you are not up at 5:30am on January 8th, you can at least view my path when I have finished.

One of the technologies I will be trying is from InstaMapper.com . Instamapper lets me post my location in near real time for others to see. My location is posted every 60 seconds so you need to refresh your browser if you are following along as I run, or you can just click around the map if you are viewing post race. Instamapper is made more for tracking me while driving but I want to see how it works while running.

 

The other technology is from RunKeeper which is made for tracking workouts including running. I tried this during the Bonefield Express on Thanksgiving but I don’t think I gave it enough time to lock onto the GPS as my chip time and the Runkeeper time were way off.

Regardless of what tech I use, or no tech at all, I will still be posting what Matt and I experience this weekend. Good luck to all the participants in this years , Half Marathon, Full Marathon and Goofy (running both the half and the full).

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Bonefield Express 2010

Just like we do every year, we participated in the Bonefield Express Thanksgiving morning 5K this year. I either run with my son or my daughter but strangely enough never both of them at the same time. I ran with Jenna this year as she had a few friends who were scheduled to run it as well so she thought she would see them while she was there. But that was easier said than done, as there were over 4100 participants this year, up more than 900 from last years race.

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The race starts on main street in Downers Grove just south of the Metra rail tracks at around 8:00am (8:30 this year), and winds through the business district and a few residential areas as well as Denburm Woods, which can be really beautiful if it has snowed recently. One year we had an ice storm the night before so all the trees were covered with shimmering icicles. The road was a bit trecherous that year but a wonderful sight.

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This year the weather was pretty cooperative for an end of November day in the Midwest. The sun was trying to peak out with just a bit of drizzle and a high of around 40 degrees. I had a good day and set a PR for the 5K but Jenna had a bit of trouble as she had not run regularly since Volleyball season ended more than a month ago, and her asthma was acting up a bit. We broke off from running together at about the 1.5 mile mark and I met her at the end in the large paring garage where they have coffee, water, snacks and massages. This race has really become a community event with more than $120,000 give out in scholarships to local high school students since the race started in 2002.

If you have never done a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning, I highly recommend it. It is a great way to start your day and in most cases a great way to say thanks by supporting others.