With 1,785 runners completing the 5k race and 5,051 finishing the half marathon, another 2,540 crossing the marathon finish line and 2,344 involved in the team relay...Saturday's 2007 Baltimore Running Festival was a venue for 11,720 runners to enjoy the October weather and earn a well deserved congratulations! From my perspective running the half marathon, this was one of the most enjoyable Baltimore Running Festivals we've had so far. The half marathon course features the great neighborhood support you find throughout the city plus the beautiful loop around Lake Montebello that gets you pumped for the ever challenging climb up 33rd street. For me, the race, whether I'm running the half or the full marathon, always seems to turn on how I feel at the water stop on 33rd Street, which is mile 9 of the half marathon or mile 22 of the full marathon. If I still have some energy at this point, I know I have a chance for a decent time. This year I felt good all the way up 33rd Street and the zig zag onto Guilford and then 28th Street and finally Howard Street provided a nice change of pace and a chance to enjoy a comfortable finish. My friend Joe Brandli, who has completed a couple of Ironman triathlons, was my pacer. He's much more efficient than me at the water stops, drinking while he's running and usually leaving me in the dust for a while. But thanks to Joe I was able to finish in 1:51 even after doing a couple 9:45 miles as we navigated the large crowds at the start of the race. Joe beat me by about a minute and surely could have finished much faster if he wasn't running with this slowpoke. Thanks Joe! And thanks to our wives, Laurie and Mary Ann, and my son Stephen for coming out to cheer us on...that's what it's all about!

On Sunday morning Joe, my wife Laurie and I got out to cheer Joe's wife Mary Ann and 30,000+ other runners and walkers in the Race For The Cure in Hunt Valley. We were with fellow members of Hunt Valley Church and the cross country team from McDonogh School handing out water at mile 2. Joe and I agreed that standing with outstretched arms holding water for two and a half hours was probably more tiring than running the half marathon! But what an inspiration to see all the people with so many courageous stories to tell...congratulations to them too!

All in all...a great running weekend...now we need some rain!

Tom Tasselmyer

With the fear of record heat behind us and normal temperatures expected for tomorrow's Baltimore Running Festival don't let your guard down with respect to dehydration. Temperatures are expected to reach 60 by late morning and into the mid 60s by early afternoon with relative humidity levels dropping to between 35% and 45%. A west wind will add to the drying factor. All this leads to a need to keep hydrated. There are more than a dozen water stops along the route so plan on using them to your advantage. A short walking break while taking in some water or Gatorade will be well worth it when compared to the risk of dehydration. Click on: hydration tips for some great advice from Nutritionist Sue A. James posted on the website of the Baltimore Marathon.

The updated forecast for race day:

8:00 a.m.
Sky: Clear
Temp: 49
Wind: West 5 mph

11:00 a.m.
Sky: Mostly Clear
Temp: 59
Wind: West 10 mph

2:00 p.m.
Sky: Mostly Clear
Temp: 65
Wind: West 6-12 mph

See you at the finish line...enjoy the run!

Tom Tasselmyer

From 2001 through last year, the six Baltimore Running Festivals have had mostly good running weather. Only one of the six events has had some rain (2004) and only twice have temperatures topped 70. The warmest Festival day was in 2005 when temperatures hit the upper 70s by afternoon. The coolest day was in 2003 when temperatures stayed in the 50s for most of the day. The chilliest starting time temperature was 37 just last year. When you average the six years you come up with a high of 66.7 and a low of 47.5 and that's just about what we expect for the 7th Baltimore Running Festival this weekend. The current forecast:

8:00 a.m.
Sky: Mostly clear
Temp: 49
Wind: West 5-10 mph

1:00 p.m.
Sky: Partly cloudy
Temp: 66
Wind: West 10-15 mph

See you on Saturday!

Tom Tasselmyer

The first of two cold fronts has cleared the Baltimore area as a return to more typical October weather begins. While the first front didn't do much in the way of producing much needed rain, it did take the record heat off the coast which should ease the fears of the 14,000 registered runners for this weekend's Baltimore Running Festival. A second front is tracking through Ohio this Wednesday morning and should sweep through Maryland late tonight and off the coast early tomorrow. Even cooler air is coming in behind this front so that temperatures by race time Saturday morning should be much more tolerable. Here's the early estimate of weather conditions Saturday in downtown Baltimore:

8:00 a.m.:
Temp: 48
Sky: Mostly Clear
Wind: NW 5-10 mph

1:00 p.m.:
Temp: 66
Sky: Mostly Sunny
Wind: NW 10 mph


See you Saturday!

Tom Tasselmyer

With temperatures in the 80s and low 90s the past several days unpleasant thoughts of a very uncomfortable Baltimore Running Festival have managed to creep into my mind. But looking at this morning's run of the medium range computer models gives hope for a more pleasant run come Saturday. If the models are right (a big "if"!), two surges of cooler air will make their way through Maryland this week, each one helping to take temperatures back down toward more typical October levels. The first front is expected to arrive here late Tuesday night, hopefully producing a few much needed showers as it passes. The second push of cool air will come as a low pressure are in the middle levels of the atmosphere drops southeast from northern Michigan on Wednesday into the mid Atlantic states on Friday. If the current timing holds (another big "if"!) this low pressure system will lift out to the northeast Friday night, leaving behind clearing skies and comfortable running temperatures for Saturday. Lots of "ifs" to watch as the weather pattern across North America gets set to go through some changes this week, but the early outlook for Saturday morning in Baltimore is: Partly cloudy, breezy...morning temperatures in the upper 40s and afternoon highs in the upper 60s.

Tom Tasselmyer

The folks at The Baltimore Running Festival have teamed up with local technology firm Force 3
to provide a cool way to track your friend and loved ones as they cover the terrain around Baltimore on race day. The update they sent out about this new system is posted below.

Tom Tasselmyer

FORCE 3 RUNNER TRACKING SITE UP AND RUNNING
Tell Your Friends and Family to Sign Up Now!

Local Information Technology firm FORCE 3 is bringing the latest technology to the Under Armour Baltimore Running Festival. This year, friends and family from all corners of the nation can track a marathon, half marathon or relay runner's progress on the course.

Runners, their friends and family can visit THIS LINK and sign up to receive messages on their cell phones, PDA's or via email. Each time your runner crosses one of up to six locations on the course, those who signed up will receive a message that includes your time, your pace and your expected finishing time-- all courtesy of FORCE 3.

The tracking registration site will only be available until Friday, Oct. 12 at 9pm so don't wait to sign up! The process is easy and takes only a few moments. You will receive a confirmation message on the device that you register to assure that you indeed want the service on race day (8am start in Baltimore can mean a 5am Wake Up Text in California!) Once your reply to the confirmation you will be set to receive the messages on Race Day. (If you cannot find your runner's name, it may be that they were a late registrant and they have not been added to the service. All pre-registered runners will be added prior to the start of the expo so check back later if this is the case.)