Matt Walsh, a regular blog reader, former Running Red Fox and current Alumni Racing Team member, sent me an email a few weeks ago about this crazy race idea he has.
Well, it's not that crazy, really, and it's an idea that had been bandied about by Schab and other nutcases of that era.
And that idea is ... a run from Marist College to our favorite preseason destination, Minnewaska State Park Preserve over in Ulster County. Coincidentally, this run is precisely a marathon distance.
Walsh's idea is to have a fundraising race from Poughkeepsie to Minnewaska, with the timeframe being sometime next spring. Sounds swell to me, but the logistics of it could be daunting. But Walsh seems motivated to get it done.
Hmmm ... I sense ... ANOTHER POLL QUESTION! Sure. Why not?
4 comments:
I put "sign me up" but there should be a "Running track, but this sounds awesome!" option and possibly a "Can't run it and never would" option
For All Readers - Minnewaska Marathon started as an idea for the end of the school year run - it was to run something that no one on the team has run all year.
First was Double Tower where in this 19 miler we ran to two different towers(American, as some of you have been up, and Illinois, that is the farther tower seen on campus to the left)
Year after was to the Highland Track (the whole point was to just see the sunrise on top of tower) then we decided to keep going and ran down the other side to the track...eventually following the same path back...I guess two tower runs as well
Years later - Minnewaska has still not been accomplished...So lets do this - I mean Bob Hope can do it in his golf cart
From someone who is used to not being taken seriously..a serious comment:
All -
Working with some of the bigger names in the NYS Track & Field community, I have learned that this is indeed a feasible idea. However, in the small amount of time I have (8-9 months), it is as Pete says "daunting" at best, "impossible" at worst.
I will be running this marathon this year, hell or high water, including the 600ft of climbing in the last half mile (!). While there may not be timing chips, sponsorship, etc., I assure you that I am working hard with names (such as those that put on Nike Team Nats. @ Bowdoin) to make this a definite reality for years to come.
There will be a rule in effect that no current Marist athletes may participate, but they may volunteer.
I never thought this idea would take off, but once my friends from the Runner's Edge (including professional Iron-level triathletes) heard of it, they began to salivate so I began my quest.
Pete, I thank you tremendously for the publicity which your blog affords my effort, and I look forward to running this race with whomever fancies themselves a true glutton for punishment.
Matt Walsh, '07
Addendum:
This is a daunting task; but it is one that I would like to see happen and I am truly working hard on.
I implore those naysayers to think twice before questioning this race, as it will be strictly for charity when the time comes, and it is a means to keep us all together.
I am humble enough to realize the size of this task, and I can do with all the help I can get.
Thanks again, Pete.
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