by Tom Brown

The seventh edition of the B2B Marathon took place on the warm and steamy Saturday morning of September 13. This local, non-sponsored run (race??) began at 6:30 AM for 64 runners. A significant number in the field use a portion of the course as a trainer for the obviously less important marathon races later in the fall.

The course runs on mostly paths thru HCC down to Hickory Ridge, over to Swansfield, by Hobbits Glen, thru Harpers Choice, down to Lakefront (Rouse Building is at 12.0 mile marker), across Rt. 29, up to Phelps Luck, then down the path past Jackson Pond, Lake Elkhorn, and on to Savage. We finish by climbing the rear steps of the Rams Head Tavern (the finish line is the top step!).

Rick Hatfield painted the course with those yellow arrows that look like upsidedown "T"s. That's what those marks are. Rick leaves several minutes before the B2B starts and bikes the course, marking arrows that have been painted over.

Each of the 8 aid stations is "adopted" by a B2B "angel" family, and have become the highlight of the experience! We could not do it without them.

This year was especially exciting since the Rams Head Tavern, recognizing the importance(?) of such a run, had happy hour beer prices for any and all runners who attended the post-run gathering on their deck! This may have increased the amount of finishers, usually in the mid 20's.

Even though cue sheets are offered at the beginning of the run, most runners feel they do not need the three-page document. Every year some regret not having a cue sheet, and this year was no different: Gabe Hiza took a "different" (there are no "wrong turns" in the B2B).

We also had a contingent of walkers this year who began several hours before the runners and completed the B2B.

FireMonkeyRun.com provided Under - armour shirts for all the finishers; free of course, in keeping the spirit of the B2B.

This year's race was dedicated to Steve Henning, a multiple finisher of the B2B Marathon. Steve passed away three days prior to the run. One of his wishes as he was going thru treatment was to run the last three miles of this year's B2B. Steve was in the thoughts of several runners in the section from the trestle bridge down to Vollmerhausen Road in Kings Contrivance. Steve will be missed. No one was more "honest" about B2B than Steve.