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| 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.
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| Downtown Buffalo |
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| Lake Erie |
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| 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!
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| Keith and his fancy new man tights for running |
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| 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?
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| At the finish line with Keith |
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| Running along the waterfront |
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| Tim at the finish line |
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| Keith enjoying an ice bath |
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| 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.
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| Horseshoe Falls from the Canadian side |
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| Keith and Melissa |
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| American Falls |
