Two times I’ve managed to drag Shannon to Maine for a marathon.
 
Only once did it involve 9 hours of driving in the rain with a screaming infant in the backseat.
 
Pick correctly and discover the wonder for yourself:
 
1. Mount Desert Island Marathon
2. Peak Performance Marathon

I’ve run “down the shore” three times:

1. Jersey Shore Marathon (2002)
2. Jersey Shore Marathon (2004)
3. Jersey Shore Marathon (2005)

LA Marathon

Date: 2015-03-15
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Finish Time: 3:33:03
Official Results
Race Website

Highlights:

• Successfully ignored my impulse to be stupid, ran at a sane pace and survived the less than ideal race conditions
• Watching Luke finally meet his long-distance girlfriend
• Watching Dylan.  Really.  Hug.  It.  Out.

Low-lights:

• Realizing Dylan doesn’t firmly grasp the concept of stranger danger, will follow anyone in a furry suit
• Captain Hook finally made his way over, Luke calmly sought refuge under the breakfast table.
• Luke, unable to budge Mjilnor, publicly humiliated

Thanks:

• To Marge for dog sitting and completing dozens of home improvement projects that I had ignored for the past two years
• To Mark and Liza for hosting a kid friendly and delicious dinner
• To Luke and Dylan for powering through two long, hot Disney days with only a few, mild meltdowns

Gallery:

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Hilton Head Marathon

Date: 2015-02-07
Location: Hilton Head, SC
Finish Time: 3:16:32
Official Results
Race Website
Local Brewery

Highlights:

• Finished 7th overall with my 5th fastest marathon time to date, really starting to think that I might be onto something with this strategy of starting off slowly and getting gradually faster throughout the race
• Spent 10 days in South Carolina playing outside, hanging at the beach, hitting the links and meeting farm animals instead of staying in NJ, dealing with sub-zero temperatures and shoveling snow
• Left the kids with Bill and Marge for a two-day trip to check out the sites and sounds of Savannah, GA

Low-lights:

• One of us (not naming names) may have overdone it on our one night out without kids
• What’s that thing called where your younger kid throws up in the car halfway to the airport and your older kid repeatedly yells, “It smells in here! When are we going to be at the plane?” and then when you finally do get to the airport you find out that your flight has been cancelled and you can’t fly home for two more days so you drive back to your parents’ condo but on the way there your younger kid throws up again?  Oh yeah, Valentines Day.
• Went out a bit too conservatively, couldn’t quite make up the time needed to get in under 3:10

Thanks:

• To Bill and Marge for letting Shannon, myself and two loud, energetic children crash their winter vacation in South Carolina
• To Shannon for once again taking charge of all that goes into traveling on airplanes with two loud, energetic children
• To John and Peg for the door to door service to / from Newark Airport and a couple of unexpected days of Eli-sitting

Gallery:

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Buckeye Marathon

Date: 2014-12-13
Location: Buckeye, AZ
Finish Time: 3:13:46
Official Results
Race Website
Local Brewery

Highlights:

• Actually did that thing where you start off slow and get progressively faster throughout the marathon
• Shannon’s foot managed to hold together enough to summit Camelback Mountain, hike down into the Grand Canyon and scale as much of Cathedral Rock as my fear of heights would allow
• Got to take in two Grand Canyon sunrises and even squeezed in a morning run along the Rim Trail

Low-lights:

• Random ice storm 20 miles south of Flagstaff, less than ideal driving conditions
• First two attempts at photographing ourselves in front of the Grand Canyon, less than successful
• Chickened out half-way up Cathedral Rock

Thanks:

• To John and Peg for once again watching our two human children as well as our canine one
• To Shannon for saying she was ready for another trip and acting somewhat surprised when I had an itinerary all ready to go
• To the Daves (Pugh and Klee) for their Phoenix area recommendations

Gallery:

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Empire State Marathon (2014)

Date: 2014-10-19
Location: Syracuse, NY
Finish Time: 3:16:08
Official Results
Race Website
Local Brewery

Highlights:

• Luke and Dylan still young enough to hang out on the SU quad free of charge
• Lions and T-Rex and Zambonis
• Found a somewhat legitimate excuse to run a marathon in even more SU gear than normal

Low-lights:

• Unable to coordinate this marathon with an SU football game
• Microscopic crack in the growler purchased from Empire Brewery, 64 oz of wasted beer
• Running the last six miles in 56 minutes

Thanks:

• To Shannon for once again traveling with two small children so that I could run a marathon
• To Peg and John for providing a post-race dinner / pit-stop
• To Luke and Dylan for being too young to care that we dressed them in identical outfits which matched what their father was wearing and then went out in public

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Woodrow Wilson Bridge Half Marathon

Date: 2014-10-05
Location: Washington, DC
Finish Time: 1:26:34
Official Results
Race Website

Highlights:

• Race location provided a solid excuse to show our children Washington D.C. (even if they didn’t totally care)
• Perfect fall running weather, post-race photo with an actual President (kind of)
• Katie Moran slowly building towards the day when I convince her to run a full marathon

Low-lights:

• 5000 runners, 12 porta potties at the start

Thanks:

• To Shannon for once again schlepping our children around the country (even if it was only for a half marathon)
• To Katie Moran for making her second consecutive appearance at a marathon (or half)
• To whichever race committee member decided that runners should get a free beer after crossing the finish line even if they did so at 8:30 in the morning

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Redmond Watershed Preserve Trail Marathon

Date: 2014-08-23
Location: Redmond, WA
Finish Time: 3:50:06
Official Results
Race Website

Highlights:

• Technically, was the first marathoner to cross the finish line (actually finished third)
• Morning coffee and watching the sunrise at the Mineral Lake Lodge
• Hiking in Mt. Rainier National Park, taking a quick dip in Snow Lake

Low-lights:

• Mild confusion over the preferred marathon start time
• Only found out about this tour during our last night on vacation
• Shannon failing to get her picture taken with the Seattle Moose

Thanks:

• To John and Peg for taking Luke, Dylan and Eli and showing them a good time up at the lake
• To Katie for suggesting a trip to the Pacific Northwest, cruising through the ten-miler and then humoring me while I dragged her and Shannon on a post-race Twin Peaks tour of North Bend, WA
• To Shannon for walking next to me and acknowledging me as her husband as we toured something called the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame

Gallery:

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Race the Lake Marathon

Date: 2014-06-14
Location: Cooperstown, NY
Finish Time: 3:27:24
Official Results
Race Website
Local Brewery

Highlights:

• Successfully executed a Moran family vacation without the assistance of parents, in-laws or other responsible adults
• Abundance of Upstate New York, kid-friendly activities in Cooperstown
• First time I’ve ever seen a dog on a piano in a truck

Low-lights:

• Totally blew up on the east side of the lake (1:36 first half, 1:51 on the back half)
• Rented a cottage on Otsego Lake, spent a total of 0 minutes in the lake
• Visited the Baseball HOF for a second time, Don Mattingly still not in there

Thanks:

• To Shannon for taking on the challenge of a Moran family lake vacation
• To Shannon and the boys for a great post-marathon Father’s Day that included sleeping all the way until 6:30 AM and solid home made card

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Livingston Bicentennial 5K

Date: 2013-10-20
Location: Livingston, NJ
Finish Time: 18:25
Official Results

Highlights:

• Third win of 2013, got the job done in my hometown
• Shannon making her triumphant return to 5K running after suffering from an acute case of giving birth to our second child
• Won a free overnight stay at a fancy-pants hotel in town, successfully acquired babysitters and redeemed the prize sans kids

Low-lights:

• As with all my race victories, questionable field size and quality
• Turns out the hotel stay goes to the first Livingston resident over the age of 18 so I definitely could have come in 7th and still claimed the prize
• Despite what the official results say, I’m pretty sure I didn’t really beat Steve Prefontaine

Thanks:

• Shannon, Tara and Kate for joining the field
• Peg, John, Leigh and Andrew for their spectating support

Gallery:

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