If you’re going to run until your feet stiffen into senseless slabs of hamburger, you may as well do it somewhere pretty. At least that’s the idea behind the Jackson Hole Marathon, which occurred this month. We at Flat Creek Inn have done a marathon or two, so you can trust us when we say this one is a great opportunity to experience 26.2 miles of voluntary agony.

If you’ve never done a marathon, let us lay it down for you: you get up at some unnatural hour and hop on a bus, which will take you the starting line. That’s where you stretch and take a few moments to seriously contemplate the life decisions that got you to this point. For the first one to fifteen miles, depending on your level of preparation, you feel on top of the world, like no mere marathon could crush your spirit. Right after that, the marathon crushes your spirit. You hit a wall and your body tells you it’s had quite enough of this, thank you. But you persevere, pull yourself across the finish line, and gain the right to passively shame all of your more sedentary acquaintances on social media. 

Sound appealing? Unfortunately, you just missed this year’s event, but that means you have a whole year to train for the next one. And you what would make a great prelude to next year’s marathon? The 24th annual Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot! It’s a 5K, which makes it an excellent starting point if you have ambitions to run a marathon next year but are a little more comfortable with a quick jog around the block than you are with a soul-crushing high-speed death march. 

Once you’ve gotten some training under your belt, The Grand Teton Half is a great place to get a taste for the thrill of marathoning. Half marathons are actually quite enjoyable; they’re long enough that you feel a sense of accomplishment once you cross the finish line but short enough that you don’t curse your very existence for the last few miles. If you run the Grand Teton Half and you find yourself aching for a little more glory, sign up for the Jackson Hole Marathon.

See you at the finish line!

Here's the Flat Creek crew at our latest marathon.

[caption id="attachment_1231" align="alignnone" width="480"] Here's the Flat Creek crew at our latest marathon.[/caption]