Congratulations to all who did the fifth Annual Bagel2Beer Marathon.

We had the exact same number of starters as in 2005 - 42! Amazing! It's like a sign from the running gods or something! The morning was cloudy with temperatures in the mid-60s. To the delight of the runners, the temperature stayed in the 60s, and we had some drizzle to assist us in staying cool. The "Swansfield arrow eraser" did not strike this year. But High Tor Hill had the asphalt surface "scored" right where the arrow pointed runners down onto the path that leads to Jackson Pond. So we had a few go off course a bit at that spot. Since we had a number of "familiarization" runs during the summer, the race committee had just a tiny bit of sympathy for these runners, and Jesse Leitner received the "Heidi Award" for 2006. He actually measured the distance he went off course (2.2 miles) afterwards. Someone at the finish remarked, "If Jesse had been with us, and not looking at his heart rate monitor watch, he would have made that turn." The Race Committee reminded this runner (one of the front runners) that "going off course" had become a fine tradition at the B2B.

We had 21 finishers; that's up one from last year (20 finished last year when there was a shirt involved). Unbelievably, everyone who indicated on the waiver sheet that they were gonna run the entire course, did finish! The race committee does not know how to interpret this fact. So, we won't.

Congratulations to Tracey Peter, who made the B2B her first marathon! As we did at the finish, we applaud her lack of good judgement/choice! Therefore, even though we were gonna try to "go cheap" with respect to finisher's certificates, we are now in the process of getting them printed. Hopefully, we will have them available to the finishers sometime.

We would also like to thank the aid station volunteers as well as those that provided the aid. More than several runners commented on the aid stations being the best part of the B2B (even better than the loop around Savage!!).

With respect to those runners who have finished all 5 B2Bs, the "stupendous six" (someone used another adjective that began with "stup") all finished and kept their streak intact. Tim Beaty has offered a bottle of "Dom" to the final streaker left in the future!

Will the course change for 2007? Well, we've had a few requests to find more distance within Columbia so we do not have to run half way to Annapolis on a loop around Savage. The Race Committee will take that and any other requests "under advisement".

This year we had a number of runners meet us along the course and run to the finish. It was great to have their company, and a great way to get in a long run While enjoying the finish in Savage. We also want to thank Rick Hatfield for his marking of the course. Rick went out early the morning of the race (and several weeks prior that) to make sure the arrows were on the course in Swansfield. He also biked along with the runners to keep them on course and provide witty sayings.

The steps up to the finish line at the back deck at the Rams Head Tavern did not prove to be much of an obstacle for the finishers. All loved the "stairway to heaven."

See you next year!