Looking forward to the Napa Valley Marathon with Elvis

Under four weeks ago I was limping after dropping out of Rocky Raccoon 100, but I'm now very glad I dropped before I did much damage as I was running again within a week and am now feeling fairly good about doing the Napa Valley Marathon this weekend. That's despite trapping a nerve on Sunday which left me virtually immobile. Luckily it got fixed the next day by seeing Mark DeJohn for some Active Release Technique magic. Two days later and I can barely notice it, which is a huge relief.

So this weekend I'll be returning to Napa where I (briefly) broke the Guinness World Record for the Fastest Superhero (as Spidey) in 2:40 before Mike Wardian broke it again the following weekend in 2:34. He tells me he'll be going for a GWR in the same race he used last year but he's not doing Elvis, so the pressure's off to some degree - 2:42:52 is the target, which was set in 2009 at the Seattle Marathon.

It should be fun, as these costumed marathons always are (I learnt last year that ultras in costumes are less fun as the joke wears off and it just gets a little uncomfortable). And I like the opportunity to race back in the Bay Area and see friends down there. This marathon seems to attract a few ultra-runners, probably due to it being close to home for many of them and Nathan Yanko (3rd at Napa last year) and his girlfriend, Devon Crosby-Helms (previous winner) will be running too.

I've missed marathons, so am really looking forward to running my first one since May, 2011. My usual gap is about 2-3 weeks, so it feels more exciting again now. Enjoy your runs this weekend, wherever you are.

Finally, a shout out to Geoff Roes who is currently running the Iditarod Trail Invitational 350-miler through insane conditions in Alaska. You can follow him here for the next few days...yes, the race takes that long!