The race: This marathon – our second year running it! – follows a point-to-point course through fields, and finally along the coast, of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. The marathon was so sold out this year that the race director opened up another 100 spots. We both improved our 2010 course times by 2 minutes; Greg PR’d at 3:35, good enough for 2nd in his age group! Once again, an extraordinarily well organized race, and what still appears to be the best post-race smorgasbord in the Northwest (Nutella! Ramen! Brown Cow yogurt!). Be sure to mark your calendars for June 3, 2011.
All about the shirt:
Type: long sleeve, zipper collar.
Color: psychodelic lima bean.
Material: light, breathable polyester mesh.
Manufacturer: 10,000 ft Above Sea Level.
Narrative: Full disclosure: NODM is, thus far, our favorite northwest marathon. To begin on a positive note, this year’s shirt conveys the textile equivalent of the exuberance that the event staff and volunteers keep bringing to this race. But in all critical fairness, this psychadelic lima bean is a marked departure from a line of heretofore quality merchandise. The race directors clearly have design sensibilities: the medal is one of the national favorites, and previous years’ shirts have been uniformly superlative. But even impeccable design accumen falters when paired with hallucinogens. Warning, do not wear if you wish to remain unseen.
