So I went over to Macon, GA, to take part in the Make it By Midnight Marathon, put on by the blog's own Deborah (aka the Little Engine that Could). I went in with the plan to have a solid long run, without wanting to push too hard, and I got just that, a solid long run. The idea behind the Make it By Midnight Marathon is that everyone picks when they want to start running, with the goal being to finish at midnight. The course is a 4.3 mile loop through a neighborhood in Macon, so six loops make a marathon. I started shortly after 8pm, not knowing what the course was like, and, I must say, I wasn't disappointed. The loop winds its way through a maze of streets within the subdivision, and I don't think there was more than a quarter mile of flat running anywhere on the loop. Fun stuff. I cruised through the first loop without too much difficulty, simply trying to get a feel for the course, which, as I came to realize more and more, was relatively difficult as far as a road course goes. I picked up my water bottle for the second loop, and I grabbed my headlamp at the beginning of the third loop. I took a little supper break after the third loop, spending around 5 or so minutes at the aid station to throw some food down my throat and refill my water bottle, and was on my way. As tends to be the case, the second half of the run was a little more difficult than the first, but only slightly so, and before I knew it, I was done. My unofficial time was a 3:23, which was good enough for the win and a course record, and I am very pleased with the time with respect to the amount of effort put into the run. I must say, this race was a blast. The very nature of the loop course meant that I was constantly seeing other runners to offer and be offered encouragement. After I finished, I hung out at the finish line with the rest of the runners until everyone else had finished, chatting it up and having a good ol' time. It was definitely a marathon with an ultra "feel" to it. If anyone is ever near Macon in late July, I highly recommend this race, just for the fun atmosphere of it; as it was described to me, it is just a party with a marathon in the middle of it.
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