YASIRSALEM

Marathon 41 & 42 of the #50in50: OR & MT (9/21-9/22/2019)

By Yasir Salem · · 4 min read

From the archive. First published on the old yasirsalem.com blog.

  1. NEW YORK 11/4/18: @nycmarathon
  2. NEVADA 11/11/18: @runrocknroll Vegas
  3. PENNSYLVANIA 11/18/18: @Philly_Marathon
  4. WASHINGTON 11/25/18: @seattlemarathon
  5. TENNESSEE 12/1/18: @stjude Memphis
  6. ALABAMA 12/8/18: @irunrocketcity
  7. FLORIDA 1/13/19: @rundisney #wdwmarathon
  8. LOUISIANA 1/20/19: @thelamarathon
  9. MISSISSIPPI 1/26/19: Mississippi blues Marathon
  10. ARIZONA 2/9/19: Mesa-Phoenix Marathon @phxmarathon
  11. TEXAS 2/17/19: Austin marathon @austinmarathon
  12. MASSACHUSETTS 2/24/19: Hyannis Marathon @hyannismarathon
  13. SOUTH CAROLINA 3/2/19: Myrtle Beach marathon @runmbm
  14. ARKANSAS 3/3/19: Little Rock marathon @lrmarathon
  15. NORTH CAROLINA 3/9/19: Wrightsville Beach marathon @wbmarathon
  16. GEORGIA 3/17/19: Publix Atlanta marathon @atlantatrackclub
  17. NEW MEXICO 3/21/19: Dust Bowl Series - New Mexico
  18. OKLAHOMA 3/22/19: Dust Bowl Series - Oklahoma
  19. KANSAS 3/24/19: Chisholm Trail marathon @chisholmtrail44
  20. MISSOURI 4/7/19: Go! St Louis marathon @gostlouis
  21. KENTUCKY 4/27/19: Kentucky Derby marathon @kyderbyfestival
  22. NEW JERSEY 4/28/19: New Jersey marathon @njmarathon
  23. OHIO 5/5/19: Flying Pig marathon @runflyingpig
  24. NORTH DAKOTA 5/18/19: Fargo marathon @fargo.marathon
  25. COLORADO 5/19/19: Denver Colfax marathon @runcolfax
  26. VERMONT 5/26/2019: Vermont City marathon @runvermont
  27. UTAH 6/1/2019: Utah Valley marathon @runutahvalley
  28. DELAWARE 6/18/2019: Mainly marathons - Independence Series - Bear DE
  29. MARYLAND 6/19/2019: Mainly marathons - Independence Series - Elkton MD
  30. ALASKA 6/22/2019: Anchorage Mayor’s marathon @anc_marathon
  31. HAWAII 6/30/2019: Kona marathon @konamarathon
  32. IOWA 7/11/2019: Mainly marathons - Heartland series - Clinton IA
  33. WISCONSIN 7/12/2019: Mainly marathons - Heartland series - Sparta WI
  34. MINNESOTA 7/13/2019: Mainly Marathons - Heartland series - St Cloud MN
  35. RHODE ISLAND 7/21/2019: Violet State marathon
  36. CALIFORNIA 7/28/2019: San Francisco marathon
  37. NEBRASKA 8/20/2019: Mainly marathons - Center of the Nation series - Chadron, NE
  38. WYOMING 8/21/2019: Mainly marathons - Center of the Nation series - Sundance, WY
  39. SOUTH DAKOTA 8/22/2019: Mainly marathons - Center of the Nation series - Belle Fourche, SD
  40. IDAHO 8/31/2019: Pocatello marathon - Pocatello, ID
  41. OREGON 9/21/2019: Pacific Northwest marathon - Eugene, OR
  42. MONTANA 9/22/2019: Foy’s to Blacktrail marathon - Kalispell, MT

I took off early on Friday and flew into Eugene, Oregon and went straight to pick up my bib for my first of two marathons this weekend - the Pacific Northwest marathon.

I got up the next day and ran a good marathon and headed to the airport.

On my way to my second marathon, I flew through Salt Lake City and got to see Gwen’s parents again for a few hours for lunch.

Once I got into Montana I went straight to the hotel. The next morning I got up very early to get to the race start.

I picked up my bib and a huge can of bear spray which runners were required to carry. We boarded a bus and we were taken to the start.

The race included a 5,000 ft climb. I felt unprepared for the race compared to the other runners. I was dressed like a road marathon runner, and the rest of runners were dressed like rugged trail marathon runners complete with camelbacks, trucker hats and beards. I didn’t carry any food or water on me. I went miles at a time without food or drink, because the course was very mountainous and the aid stations were spread far apart. I saw a lot of what I presume to be bear poop, but didn’t see any bears.

The views were amazing!

I completely underestimated the time it would take to run such a challenging trail marathon. About 3 hours into the marathon, I calculated I wasn’t going to make my flight home, so I called Delta while on the course. Because I had flown so many miles with them on 50 in 50, they were able to reschedule me on another route home. It took me forever to finish the race, but I got through it. My new itinerary took me through Salt Lake City again, so I got to see Gwen’s parents again for the 2nd time in a weekend.

The medal is amazing! It was made by a local artist using wood from the local trees.

Overall, both of these marathons are amazing course and the scenery is just breathtaking. I highly recommend them.

PLEASE DOWNLOAD GWENEVIERE’S ALBUM

She was excited about releasing an album that she had just finished, but she passed before she could realize that dream, so we just released her album so that we could fulfill that dream for her. Buy & listen to the album here. 

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