My 20 Best Marathons Bucket List

20 Best marathons, ask 20 people and you'll get at least 20 answers. Here's my bucket list of marathons I have enjoyed running or plan to run.

20 Best Marathons

Marathons I've Loved Running

ING NYC Marathon

At the top of my 20 best marathons list, this marathon features the best of New York City with lots of cheering, and handing out of bananas, pretzels, tissues, wet paper towels and anything else you may need, from New Yorkers of all ages in every borough.

In addition to the amazing crowd support, the city is washed in the most beautiful fall colors!

San Francisco Marathon

This was my first marathon, a little hilly for a starter marathon, but an incredibly amazing experience!

Some of the highlights were running down Fisherman's Warf, climbing up to Golden Gate Bridge Park, the bridge just visible under the fog, the Pacific Ocean.

At the finish a red carpet is layed out where handsome guys in tuxedos present each finisher with a Tiffany necklace.

Years in Miles (only a marathon if you're turning 26.2...after that, it's an Ultra marathon)

For my 30th birthday I invited a bunch of friends, we started outside my front door, plotted our own course and ran 30 miles.

I got to take them through a tour of all my favorite running spots in the city while we shared stories from the past 30 years.

They each chose the distance they wanted to run, when they weren't running they were driving along the course cheering, carting snacks and calling attention to our race. I have no doubt some day it will be the thing to do! ;-)

10 Random Marathons from My Bucket List

Boston My ultimate goal is to qualify for and run the Boston marathon. At my age, you have to have a time of 3:40 in your qualifying marathon. That's about 3 hours less than my current PR.
Florida Keys Ultra Marathon My first 50 mile ultra marathon scheduled for May 14, '11.
Back on My Feet 24-hr

I have signed up to run this in July of 2011. You have 24 hours to run an 8.4 mile loop in Philadelphia as many times as you can. I paced for a friend of mine last year and the best thing about this race was the camp-ground where everyone hung out when they weren't running. You can bring friends to pace you after the first 4 loops, or you can get a bunch of your crazy ultra running friends and all do it together.

As I napped in the wee hours of the morning between pacing loops for my friend, it was so fun to listen to the group of runners in the next tent sitting around talking and drinking and then saying together, "Should we run another loop together." And somebody else would say, "Oh sure, why not?" Can't wait to do this myself!

Ragnar Relay

Not quite a marathon but a team of 6-12 people together runs around 200 miles in some of the most beautiful areas in the country.

You pick your own team and spend two days of running with your favorite people. Doing my first of these in PA in Oct '11 with 11 other running moms and hope to do many more!

Mayors Midnight Run, Alaska Alaska in the summer...you get about three hours of night.
Vancouver Just because I want to go there.
Big Sur I hear this is beautiful. Matter of fact, I haven't heard of a marathon in California that's not beautiful. But this one I hear is especially beautiful.
Pikes Peak You run 13.1 miles up to the top of Pikes Peak and then 13.1 miles down the other side.
Walt Disney Half marathon on Saturday, Full marathon on Sunday...sounds challenging & fun.
Forest Gump One day, I would like to run across the entire country, just like Forest Gump.

7 Continents

Rome I went to Rome in November of 2006 just after I had finished my first marathon and all I could think was, I have to run here!
Athens What is a 20 best marathons list without paying respects to the place where marathon running originated.
Great Wall of China I'll let this one speak for itself.
Comrade 50 Mile Ultra Marathon Saw the movie, The Long Run and have been wanting to run this 50 mile ultra marathon ever since. This goes on my bucket list right after qualify for and run Boston and right before learn to swim and complete an ironman.
Antarctic Ice Marathon Marathon in bellow freezing weather. Does that mean recovery in an ice-bath is not necessary?
Gold Coast, Australia Again, this one speaks best for itself.
Barbados Caribeans Islands

This ends our list of 20 best marathons. But we'd love to here the marathons on your bucket list.

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