Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Mount Rushmore Marathon
Billed as a “Monumental Challenge” and that it was! Started in a cold, overcast, South Dakota autumn morning under the Four Presidents (my all-time favorite, Teddy Roosevelt) and finished at the Crazy Horse Memorial. Mile-high most of the way — from 5,208 feet at the start to 5,885 at finish and packed with hills.…
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Palm Beaches, Florida Marathon
Dedicated to my Step-Mom with breast cancer. One in every nine women now living in the United States will develop breast cancer. T-shirt on a Team-in-Training runner said it all: THINK RUNNING A MARATHON IS TOUGH? TRY CHEMOTHERAPY. Finished in 3:55:49; 207 out of 735. Joanne, this one for you — and all of our…
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Carlsbad (CA) Marathon
Along the spectacular coast of northern San Diego. Running Highway-1 hills above the slamming ocean, thought how easy it is to take “the path of least resistance” in life, and how hard to go upstream. It’s the difference between the carp and the salmon. The carp, content to stay in still waters, grows fat…
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A1A (FL) Marathon
Coast-to-Coast-to Coast — last three marathons: Atlantic Ocean to Pacific to Atlantic again. Ran another road on the continent’s edge — Highway A1A along Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Tincture blue water, platinum sand, sunrise a pink blush. I love having a body! So animal, returning to the limbic brain and just moving, romping with all…
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Durango (Colorado) Marathon
Autumn road trip out west. Drove from El Paso, Texas, listening to home boy Marty Robbins’ Greatest Hits in the rental car. While driving the high plains, sang along with M.R.’s great story songs: “Down in the west Texas town of El Paso, I fell in love with a Mexican girl…” Stopped for…
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Kiawah Island (South Carolina)
Knew it would be challenging when walked out of hotel to drive to the start and had to scrape ice off the car windshield! December Arctic cold front poured down the East coast and locked-in ice box conditions. 26 degrees at the start. Five minutes before the start and most of the southern, thin-blooded…
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Phoenix, Arizona Marathon
Next marathon, to warm up, I’m doing Anchorage, Alaska! South Carolina 26 degrees; now 30 in Phoenix. Stripped down, singlet-clad runners shivering at the starting line in “The Valley of The Sun.” And the temperature didn’t budge. Mile 9, a bank digital screen read 30 degrees and a chill wind blew right through us. Finished…
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Marine Corp Marathon
[slideshow_deploy id=’482′] Cool, crisp autumn Sunday in Washington, D.C. Called “The Marathon of The Monuments” and that it was, as route took us all around Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln monuments, Arlington Cemetery, past Watergate Apartments, through quaint Georgetown, with red and gold leaves raining down. Put on by the Marines, with military precision. 32nd year.…
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Jamica Reggae
[slideshow_deploy id=’477′] Most laid-back and enjoyable of the marathons so far. 200 runners gathered early in the pre-dawn darkness in Negril, the remote and nature-dominated west side of the island. Natives raised flaming bamboo torches and Rastafarian drummers called down the spirits of fair competition and mutual respect. A horn sounded and off we…
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Sedona, Arizona Marathon
[slideshow_deploy id=’472′] Brutal, but beautiful. Brutal — in that the 26.2 miles were all hills at 4,500 foot altitude. Beautiful — running amidst the red rock buttes and towering spires that make Sedona one of the most stunning places in the world. “Home Cookin’ ” for this one, as my Dad and Step-mom live…
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