Missing Three Marathons in a Row

10 Marathons in 10 Months, then Nil

If you have been following this blog, you would have noticed that, in the year past, I had been on a roll, marathon running-wise. From May 22, 2010 to February 20, 2011, I completed 10 marathons for an average of one marathon a month. That I had ran 9 of these marathons in 9 different countries/US states earned me 4 stars and a select spot in the Insane Asylum of the world's largest endurance running club, The Marathon Maniacs. Then came dead silence.

Kilometers Ran in 2011 by Week

Not that I had gotten injured or decided to retire early from running and, as a consequence, run-blogging. Neither had the incessant running of marathon after marathon sapped my energies or burned me out, as hopefully it never will. In fact, I have logged 486K for 2011 on DailyMile already and, just yesterday, subbed-1 another 10K. More so, from March 20  to April 17, I was registered to run three marathons in a row! But for three different reasons, I missed/am about to miss them all- the Seoul International Marathon in Korea last March 20, the Marathon de Paris in France last April 10, and the Kasumigaura Marathon in Japan on April 17.

Seoul Interantional Marathon Registration

I missed the Seoul International Marathon due to the travel-related issues. I usually use either discounted or award air tickets when joining races, the latter resulting from accumulating mileage as a result of work-related travels. For this marathon, I was to travel using an award ticket but could not get a confirmed seat for the return flight from Seoul. I thus opted out. Luckily, with the help of a friend living in Korea, the organizers gave me the yellow finisher shirt- indeed a nice memento of what could have been marathon number 11.

Marathon de Paris Registration Confirmation

And then marathon number 12 could have been the Marathon de Paris. It would have been only my second time to visit La Ville Lumiere or the City of Light. And only the first time to run a marathon in Europe. So expectant was I in fact to run this event that I was among the first to sign-up online when registration opened in September last year. But work related issues- schedule conflicts with important must-attend meetings- prevented me from running Paris. For now.

Kasumigaura Marathon Cancellation Email

Finally, there was prospective marathon number 13- the Kasumigaura Marathon. Considered as one of the most popular and famous marathons in Japan, the route affords runners scenic views of the country's second largest lake- Lake Kasumigaura in Ibaraki prefecture. But nature intervened with the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear radiation disaster in the adjacent prefecture Fukushima. Last March 30, I was informed that the marathon was cancelled with the registration fees to be donated to the victims of the triple tragedies.

So there, three missed marathons for three different and compelling reasons. I am hopeful that this undesired three-peat would stop at three. No issues thus far in the next two marathons I have already registered for already- in Kota Kinabalu and Melbourne.  Hopefully, I'll run into a kinder and gentler May.