Charlottesville Marathon Day Two

Time: 89:44
Distance: ~12 miles

I was back to the marathon expo for the second day after spending the night in lovely Waynesboro. The marathon and half marathons started at 6:30 am which had me pondering the idea of competing, but opted against it in hopes of getting in a good run with Max Smith who was in attendance for Puma. I know Max Smith from my days up in Providence. I'm not sure if we raced each other much as I'm sure he was busy getting ready for bigger competitions. But, the year after I graduated Max put together an amazing campaign and toured Europe the summer of 2007. Check out this gem of a mile he got to compete in where he finishes second (he's the blonde dude in a white Providence College singlet and black shorts):

Watch more video of Atletiek Vlaanderen on flotrack.org

Our run this morning took us through campus and over to the trails that I saw on Thursday. They didn't really go anywhere so we hopped back on a small bike path to discover a dirt road. The dirt road took us to the Rivanna Trail System that runs all the way around Charlottesville. At one point we had to run through a "panda preserve" as Max called it and cross a creek. The bamboo and water made for crappy footing but the trail was soft and scenic. It was great catching up with Max as he has some good insight on the running industry after working for a big company like Puma. I also enjoyed hearing about his comeback after a 3 year battle with an achilles injury. He might be running the Penn Relays in a couple of weeks.

We returned to the expo with some time to spare before having to break down. Eventually we said our goodbyes to Keith Dowling who was in attendance on behalf of Reebok. Keith is friends with my buddy Keith Kelly who also works for Uncle Reebok. I got to hear a little about Dowling's training and when he was the top American finisher at Boston with a 2:13:28 performance. If you have a moment click on the link to listen to how and why Keith stepped away from the sport.

Charlottesville Marathon Expo

Time: 60:10
Distance: ~8.5 miles

I got up and out the door for a run back through UVA's campus. Instead of trying to find trails I continued on to the Charlottesville Running Company. I would be working with this account for the marathon expo later in the day. I visited with the store's manager about 25 minutes into the run and then added on near some train tracks. The expo ran from 12 until 9 pm so the day was going to be long. However, the expo was relatively stress free as I would be managing BodyGlide and suggesting it to all the participants. My goal was to sell all the inventory and be able to head out early.

UVA Double

Time: 55:22
Distance: ~8 miles

I arrived in Charlottesville, VA just in time for my 3:15 appointment with Peace Frog's Travel. They were wanting to take a look at the Fall '11 line up off bags which I tossed in my car before leaving. (I should also note that before leaving for Charlottesville, I placed a big order for Nuun at Inside-Out Sports. They will be receiving all the new flavors soon: Lemonade-Strawberry (the bomb!), Fruit Punch, Grape, Tropical & Sweet Tea). The showing was simple and easy which allowed me to hit up the Panera in the Barracks' Road Shopping Center. I booked a room at cheapest hotel I could find and dropped my gear to get suited up for a run.

I ran about a mile to the UVA campus which is pretty cool considering it was largely designed by Thomas Jefferson. I have been to Charlottesville before but didn't get a chance to explore the campus. I ran through some of the greens and around old buildings trying to get a feel for the school. The weather was amazing and students were out playing games, cooking burgers and enjoying college life. I eventually found a small bike path and some trails that I thought would lead me back to Emmett St. After realizing I was headed off in the wrong direction I turned and started heading back through a neighborhood before having to ask some dude for directions. It was good that I did because I was still slightly off course and had a couple miles to run before getting back to the hotel. By the time I was done I got in close to 8 miles which was a little more than I was intending but I felt great.