This past October I ran the Baltimore Marathon with my good friend, Regan. It was an incredible accomplishment. I finished 5 minutes faster than my first marathon in Philly the previous year and with a much more challenging, hilly course.
The City of Baltimore knows how to hold a marathon. Although it may not have been the best for businesses or city-folk, it was really great for runners. The race closed down a lot of the city streets making it impossible to get from one side of the city to the other by car, public transit or even by foot.
The race began with just the marathon runners at Camden Yards where we had full access to the stadium parking lot, clean bathrooms instead of porta-johns, and lots of space to queue up and stretch out. The course wound through the city hitting all the parks and high-points like Druid Hill, Clifton Park, Patterson Park, and the Inner Harbor.
The half marathon race joined us at the Inner Harbor when we were halfway done. They kept us energized and motivated all the way until the end.
The best part of the race was the support along the way from the great people of Baltimore. There were very few, short segments of the race where there wasn’t a crowd of local spectators cheering us on and passing out food and drink. Residents came out in droves to blast music, dance and cheer for everyone. It was amazing.
I would certainly run the Baltimore Marathon again. I found it to be more challenging, but more rewarding than the Philly Marathon.
