This is where the marathon starts:
The Bucks County Marathon takes place along the towpath trail of historic Delaware Canal State Park from Washington Crossing Historic Park north through New Hope, Pennsylvania.
I wrote more about that first marathon experience here. What an amazing journey that was.
http://journey2succeed.blogspot.com/2012/11/my-first-bucks-county-marathon.html
Since that first marathon, I have returned to run many of the RunBucks series and it has become my favorite. Now I'll tell you why.
History - The RunBucks events start at Washington's Crossing Historic Park located in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, a town full of history. Formerly known as "Taylorsville", it is most famous for Washington's crossing of the Delaware River on the night of December 25-26, 1776 during the American Revolutionary War.
There is much to visit and learn about on return trips, so consider an extended stay in the area for a weekend visit. From wonderful shopping villages to restaurants, there's lots to explore.
The scenery and wildlife is beautiful.
Whether enjoying the bright green lush colors of spring and summer, listening to the birds sing, watching the wildlife, running on the towpath along the canal in the spring and summer is so refreshing, especially after a tough winter full of cold, ice, and snow.
As summer turns to fall and the colors of foliage begin to change, the views along the towpath are still spectacular and there is still some color that remains as the marathon approaches in November.
I'm told that even in the winter, after a dusting to an inch or two of light snow, there is a wonderful calm and peaceful feeling to running along the towpath. Unfortunately, with the heavier snowfalls we had this past winter, I was not able to experience that.
In addition to the beautiful scenery, the Bucks County Marathon Series, has so many other positives in my opinion:
Smaller group of runners - Avoiding the hectic rush and anxiety of race morning that you see with the bigger races is a huge plus for me. Since the RunBucks events are limited to a field of 500 runners, the prerace anxieties are reduced and it is a much friendlier atmosphere. Shorter potty lines, less transportation and parking chaos, and just an easy feel to race morning. This leaves time to relax and stretch, meet up with friends, a chance to say hello to runners I've met at past RunBucks events, and to shake off any prerace butterflies.
A welcoming feeling from staff - the staff of RunBucks are very friendly and welcoming, always available to answer questions about the events, the trail, offer suggestions, and the volunteers are there along the towpath at water stops, directing us around a turn, or just to cheer us on. I had the pleasure of volunteering for the first time this past year for Chasing the Unicorn race, a race organized to provide runners an opportunity to qualify for this year's Boston Marathon after the bombing. I loved volunteering. It gave me a new perspective to distance running, seeing it from the other side, and I plan to volunteer more this year.
Variety of races, distances and themes - There is such a variety of events throughout the year, 5ks, 10k,
10-miler, 15k, half-marathons, 20-miler, full-marathons. There are also themed events such as Run the Lights (Christmas) at Shady Brook Farm, New Year's Eve Midnight Run, and Christmas in July. I am looking forward to participating in a few of these this year as well.
In addition to all of the above, the runners of the series events receive beautifully designed finisher's medals and tech shirts.
My opinion is that the RunBucks series is not just for the elite runners. These events are for runners of all levels. Everyone is made to feel welcome. I love the out and back course. I love that as I am making my way to the halfway point, the runners in the lead are on their way back. It's an exciting part of the marathon for me to be able to cheer them on as they FLY past me, but the cool thing is the wonderful feeling I get when some of those runners are actually cheering us on as well!
It’s always a great group of runners. I have met so many wonderful people along the towpath while running during the events and look forward to meeting many more.
So for me, although I do enjoy the excitement of the big events and will continue to participate in them as well, my heart belongs to RunBucks, and that's where I will return this year to complete my second full marathon.
Maybe I'll see you out there on the towpath this year!
