Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Buffalo, New York - Marathon

This past weekend I travelled to Buffalo NY to run the Buffalo Marathon.  I picked this location because my friends Keith and Melissa were planning a trip to Buffalo for Memorial Day weekend and Keith planned to run the race with some of his family that live in the area.

Finishing the Buffalo Marathon  3:39:59 (sounds more awesome than 3:40)

I arrived in Buffalo on Friday morning and spent the day walking around the city.  The waterfront area near Lake Erie was particularly nice and it felt a little like being at the ocean.  Keith and Melissa arrived later in the day and we met up for some good food and beer at Pearl Street Brewery.

Downtown Buffalo

 Lake Erie

Lake Erie

Saturday was race prep day and I met up with Keith and Melissa to pick up our packets and check out the free pasta and beer(!) party that the race puts on the night before.  We also stopped for an essential pre-race margarita, the key to having a good marathon!

Keith and his fancy new man tights for running

Pasta and beer party with Keith and Melissa

The marathon was fantastic and I set a new PR by about 5 minutes.  The weather was supposed to be hot and humid, but cloud cover kept the temperatures down and conditions were perfect for running the entire race.  The crowd support was awesome and the course was excellent as it went along the waterfront and up through some beautiful parks and neighborhoods.  As always, the volunteers made this event happen and they were some of the friendliest and most helpful of any race I have run.  Unlike any other race, Buffalo seems to understand the importance of beer as a sports drink.  Where else can you find a beer station at mile 24?

 At the finish line with Keith

Running along the waterfront

Tim at the finish line

Keith enjoying an ice bath

Beer!!

No trip to Buffalo is complete without a visit to Niagara Falls and Keith and Melissa were kind enough to take me there before dropping me off at the airport on Monday.  I had never been to the falls before and they really were amazing, but the tourist trap attractions around the falls were horrible!  Can't people be entertained just by looking at the beautiful waterfalls?  I guess not.

Horseshoe Falls from the Canadian side

 Keith and Melissa

American Falls