I’m on a mission to run a marathon in each of the 50 states and become a member of the 50 States Marathon Club (oh, and also to qualify for the Boston Marathon… but more on that later).  Because I started this blog several years into my journey, I’ve prepared a quick overview on some of the races I’ve run in the past.  Hopefully this helps you pick your next marathon or plan your own 50-state challenge!  First up…

Atlanta Marathon, 2007

The Atlanta Marathon was my first marathon ever!  But it doesn’t exist anymore so I won’t spend too much time writing about it…

I ran this race in 2007 on Thanksgiving Day.  It was cloudy, windy, and misty at times.  There was very little crowd support, and by the time I finished, most of the spectators and fellow runners were well into their corn pudding.  The course was through some of the less attractive areas of Atlanta (which, by the way, is pretty hilly!).  Think: strip clubs, a large mall.  In short, this race wasn’t my favorite, and it was probably a terrible choice for my first marathon.  On top of it all, I had, for a variety of reasons (including regular intrusive late-summer afternoon thunderstorms and my inability to navigate in the ATL pre-iPhone) trained almost entirely on a treadmill.  Yikes.  One cool thing was that I believe it tracked the 1996 Olympic course.

Publix now sponsors a big marathon in Atlanta in March (Georgia Marathon).  I haven’t done it so I can’t say whether it is awesome. Atlanta is an especially nice choice for 50-staters because it is SO easy and inexpensive to get to via airplane, and it’s generally easy to get around.  Many Atlantans do not use the MARTA system, but it is there if necessary, as is Uber.  If you visit, I highly recommend checking out Atlanta’s shockingly good restaurant scene and, above all else, visiting Taqueria del Sol.

Anyone have a great recommendation for a Georgia marathon?  Rock N Roll Savannah?  One of the smaller races?

I do think this photo is sort of fun, especially because I remember those Asics and LORD they were SO bulky.  Also, I had so few free tech shirts that I had actually purchased a running tee.  Ha!  Those were the days.