Fun Fact

When I made the decision to run this marathon, I knew I needed all the advice and tips I could find.  Just like in middle school, when I went to the bookstore and wanted to find out what was going on in the world, I picked up that month's BOP.

 So what was the first thing I did back in March?  I got a subscription to Runner's World Magazine.

I've enjoyed reading the stories, tips, and advice over the past 6 months, and will probably renew my subscription even after this marathon. 

I was reading this month's issue and came across some interesting Fun Facts - one of which actually relates to me (and when does that every REALLY happen in a magazine?).  There are lots of races in the fall, I am very grateful for this because although training occurs in the hottest months of the year, race day is not likely to have a humidity index of 100 degrees.  Back to the point...

According to Runner's World, nationwide marathon registration numbers have been on the rise - up 26% in the last 5 years - causing race day supplies to be on the up and up as well.

Chicago Marathon (October 7th)
48,250 gallons of Gatorade and 58.420 gallons of water - enough liquid to pump through Grant Park's Buckingham Fountain for seven minutes 33 seconds.

ING NYC Marathon (November 4th)
2.3 million paper cups, enough for every resident of the borough of Queens (2.3 million people)

Twin Cities Marathon (October 7th)
314 Porta Potties, which, if stacked, would rise 2,032 feet, or nearly as high as Minneapolis's three tallest buildings combined.

Philadelphia Marathon (November 18th)
3,800 pounds - the total weight of the race's 16,000 finishers' medals - nearly twice as heavy as the Liberty Bell.


...and last but not least...

Marine Corps Marathon (October 28th)
24,000 yards of ribbon used for finishers' medals; enough to surround the Reflecting Pool 15 times.

That's all she wrote.