Two Cities Marathon

What I love about the Two Cities Marathon in Fresno, CA, is that it's a great course that's very easy to PR. I earned my half marathon personal record in Fresno two years ago with a sweet time of 2:11. When I ran the marathon last year, I managed to finish with one of my best times, even though I had to deal with shin splints early on in the race. I love the Two Cities course. More importantly, this is one of my favorite races because most of my family live in Fresno. With everybody's busy schedule, my family really only sees one another maybe once a year at Christmas, so it's nice to stop by for a quick visit in early November. The little ones in my family are not so little anymore, so I really do want to spend time with them before they go off to college, get married, have kids, and start their adult lives. Wow, how dramatic was that?

Here is Endorphin Dude's bizarro world counterpart with his two bizarro nieces!

Unfortunately, I did not have the race that I was hoping for. I didn't come into this year's Two Cities Marathon looking for a PR, but I did want to finish it within the time limit and feel good about it. Well, I did fulfill the former, but that latter not so much. I completed the race within the 7 hours allotted, but I did so in an unconventional manner.

When I reached mile 18, one of the volunteers would not let me continue, stating that I did not reach the cut off time. This baffled me as I have run the event two years before and don't recall this ever happening. After a few exchange of words (they were kind, I did not revert back to my Morgan Hell self), I turned around stressed out about losing three miles. Fortunately, there was an ultra event going on at the same time, so I veered off and took the 50k route. Had there been no ultra, I would have ended up with a DNF. At this stage in the Titanium quest, I cannot afford any more of these!

There's Terri and Louie. It's our anniversary! I first meet these peeps in Fresno last year! This year, Terri ran the half and Louie the 50k. I love these people.

Check out newly minted Marathon Maniac, Pete! First race in Maniac gear!

Best volunteers ever! The girl in the tacky knit cap is my niece Madeleine.

There's fello Marathon Maniac Elizabeth Mckay!

Another anniversary! I met Jennifer at Fresno last year as well!

Love the entertainment. Here's my buddy Jeslen Mishelle.

ACE! Love this guy. He always has a smile on his face.

Finally got to meet Ryan Corrigan, a Facebook friend of Endorphin Dude. Good to meet you and I hope we can run again together soon!

I actually had one minute to spare!

I wish I could have finished this race feeling good about it, but it is what it is. I did have one private meltdown, and thankfully I had some friends right there to slap some sense into to me. Thank you Elizabeth, Jennifer, Mitchell, and Terri for being there. I could have very easily reverted back to bad Morgan Hell E-Dud, but you helped me keep composure. As a result, I was able to complete life time marathon #46!

Titanium Score Board: 39 down, 13 to go.