Alicia, Tom and Nancy have planted a devil seed in my mind: Moose Mountain Marathon. All my talk to people/myself about my disinterest in a marathon, down the tubes, quite possibly, as I’ve gone and reserved a campsite up at Temperance for that night & am trying to persuade hubbie to get us a hotel room for the night prior, somewhere nearby.
Why I could do it: It’s a trail run with a pretty late cutoff time. The longest I’ve run so far is nearly 3 hours for 25k, so a marathon should take me about/over twice that time, but various folks –including this page of advice– tell me that my recent mileage/hourage has prepped me somewhat sufficiently.
Why I would want to do it: scenery! People to run with. The adventure of a new race distance: how would I do? I haven’t really nailed what my best distance is, though I know that my mental and physical “momentum” usually kicks in after 5 miles, and although I haven’t really pushed myself in my longer trail races, I have enjoyed them.
Why I might not choose to do it:
Time. The race is a month away. My long trail run on weekends is long enough, but my midweek runs need to be at least 7 miles each. That’s doable from my doorstep, but not on trails, and I think that one of my midweek runs needs to be on trail. I live in the city, and the nearest park is 30 mins away.
So, making a change would involve some sacrifice and schedule modification, which I’m not sure I want to do, presently: I love my climbing or yoga nights, and the time I get on evenings to tend my garden and cook.
Maybe I can focus on the Nerstrand half, for the remainder of the summer, and plan on Moose, next year?
Regardless: I am really looking forward to some camping and hiking on the North Shore! It’s been far too long since we’ve done that.
Helen's Loom 
I didn’t know you knew Tom and Nancy and Alicia! I’ll undoubtedly see them this weekend at Afton (they seem to live there); I’ll definitely see Alicia in South Dakota next week. The Moose Mountain Marathon is a very tough one to try as a first marathon; the hills are harder than at Afton (longer, not necessarily steeper) and the rocks and roots make for some tricky footing. On the other hand, it’s beautiful and the people are great. I, of course, will be doing the 100 Mile there.
Now you know! I met those three while volunteering for the ATR last & this year, and joined them for a snowshoe run & the Fat Ass, this winter & spring. And, I ran into them at Afton this past Sunday.
Thank you for the beta on Moose Mountain, I do think I’ll wait on that one. Maybe hubbie and I can spectate or volunteer, since we’ll be up there, anyway. Good luck in SD and on the Superior 100 miler!