What do I pack?

I like these group participation posts. Keep posting your favorite tips below. Here is a new topic. What do I pack for my marathon? There are some obvious things, but some that you might not think of. So please share what you will pack for your race. You may give someone else an idea they had not considered.

Post YOUR Marathon Tip!

Lets use this post to burn up nervous energy and give tips to each other for the race. Don't make them overly complex or really long. We have done that for the last month. Just give little bits of advice that work for you. They don't have to be perfect. Let us know what works for you. I have tons of them, so I will get it started. Keep checking back for more information. EVERYONE please contribute. I am sure our City of Oaks group learned some things this weekend that they can share.

Dealing with the Cold

Richmond is now only four days away (admit it, you just got a little butterfly in your stomach reading that). As you can tell, it will be a cold start to the race. This may cause concern for some of you, but I hope to put your minds at ease and give you some of my tips for a cold race.

#1 - Wear Layers - You can always take extra clothing off as you warm up. If you however start with just a tank top and a heavy jacket, you have no middle ground. You are likely too hot or too cold. If you have layers, you can peal them off little by little. Just make sure your layers are items you don’t mind throwing away.

#2 - Be Technical - Be sure to keep technical clothing as your bottom layer. It is fine to throw an old cotton t-shirt on as a middle or top layer, or a sweatshirt. Just keep some wicking clothing on as a base layer.

#3 - Head and Hands - Do not forget to keep your head and hands warm. If you don't have one, go buy a cheap stocking hat. An ear warmer is fine too, but with temps predicted in the 30s to start, you will want to hold in the heat. As for gloves, go cheap. My recommendation is going to the kids department in Target. You can buy a two pack of kids gloves for $1.49. They are super stretchy, and you can put on both pair at once. If your hands get hot, peal off a single pair. These gloves fit my hands in case you are wondering how stretchy they are.

#4 - Trash Bags - Lots of runners will rip (or cut) a hole in a trash bag as a final external layer. It holds in the heat and is black so it warms up in the sun. You can throw it away when the race is about to start.

Bottom line. . . dress warm but with layers. Once your body has warmed up, it will stay warm as long as you keep moving.

City of Oaks Results

What a great debut for the City of Oaks Marathon in Raleigh. From the race reports it seems as though things went pretty well for an inaugural event. The most common comment is that this course was hard! Even though the half never entered Umstead, there were few flat segments. The Umstead portion of the full marathon was obviously the most challenging section of the enitre race. It took a true test of will for Deb, Doug, Abraham, Christy, and Cameron to finish. Below are the results:

Full Marathon Runners:

• 4:21:49 - Deb Bunting +
• 4:53:09 - Doug Bunting
• 4:14:03 - Abraham Cox *
• 4:14:03 - Christy Cox
• 3:58:57 - Cameron Kelley

Half Marathon Runners:

• 2:40:44 - Michael Dial*
• 2:32:20 - Tammy Malinowski *
• 2:02:13 - Julian Martinez
• 1:55:56 - Larry McKeel*
• 1:54:40 - Patti Miller +
• 2:19:27 - Amber Poole*
• 1:54:46 - John Tracey
• 1:53: 03 - Scott Wingfield

* Debut Run at this distance; + Personal Record

Congratulations to everyone on a job well done!

Thank You from Team Fox!

A BIG thank you to Team Fox Supporters! We have raised $2500!! Your support and encouragement means more than you know!

Michael and I experienced one of the World's greatest races with 37,998 other runners with 150 of them running for Team Fox. It was an amazing feeling to cross the finish line knowing that we gave it our all and were among thousands of people running for many different charities. Your efforts have enabled the Michael J. Fox Foundation to continue to fight for a cure for Parkinson's disease! It was an honor to represent your generosity. Michael and I look forward to sharing details with you in person if we have not done so already!!

Thanks again! - Ryan

WOW! What a day!

I will be blogging soon to update everything that happened this weekend. Truly an amazing weekend for the RMEC. Some very impressive performances were posted in Raleigh and New York. Hang tight for updates!

Too tired to do an update right now. Will try to get things done by Tuesday night. I will however share a picture with my new bud, Alan Webb (aka the fastest American to every run a mile). Check the cover of your current Runner's World for more information.

New York Marathon

Hey everyone, Don't forget that Michael and Ryan are running the NYC marathon this Sunday. Guys, wishing you the best of luck on the run - enjoy it!

It is supposed to be nationally televised on NBC at 3PM EST. Be sure to look for the two guys sprinting from the masses to pass the leaders. Michael is playing it down by saying that when they pan back from the leaders, we should spot him...about 10 miles back! I think it was a typo in his email and he meant 10 yards. ;-)

Eric