Results tagged “marathon” from Intelligent Travel Blog

Boston Marathon 2009 at the halfway point coming up to the intersection of Route 16 and 128, by Paul Keleher

I'm going to go out on a limb and say it: Today is the best day of the year to be in Boston. Patriots' Day, aka Marathon Monday, is an official state holiday, a day when citizens crowd along the streets to watch some of the most elite runners in the world sprint by (and some of the no-so-elite as well - I ran the race myself back in 2001). This year was the 113th running of the race, and it was won by Ethiopia's Deriba Merga, and Kenya's Salina Kosegi. But it's by no means over for the thousands of people still running as I type.

One thing that may keep them going this year is the knowledge that among the many, many footprints that will cross the finish line - many of them will be accounted for, carbon-wise, by the race organizers, who have purchased offsets for the many buses used to transport runners to the starting line. They've also swapped out the motorcycles used to follow the elite runners with new electric scooters, and have installed a "green team" to ensure that all discarded cups, bottles, and blankets make their way into the barrels posted along the route. It's the first step, so-to-speak, that the race has taken to become more sustainable.

The weather in Washington has finally made up its mind. And it's cold. I have to smile when I see the double-decker buses pass by, topped with a few miserable-looking tourists. Even though hot coffee is never more than a block away (D.C. has the highest number per capita of Starbucks in the country), what makes a person brave the bitter cold from the windy upper deck of a bus? Most of them probably have a limited time in the city and can't think of a better way to cram in all those outdoor sights. My solution: Go for a run. It's healthy, it's free, it's environmentally friendly, and best of all, it's warm.

If you're healthy and motivated enough, running is perhaps the best way to see a new city--or to see an old city in new ways. So pull those sneaks out of retirement and lace up. You'll be surprised where they can take you. My first marathon training program took me across the mountainous coastline of the French Riviera, from Nice to Monaco, and finally to Barcelona for the race. While training for this year's Marine Corps Marathon, which took place in October, I plodded my happy little feet through locations from Maine to Florida. In a single week, I ran through Boston, New York City, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. And of course, I got to know my home city of the District really, really well.