Carmel Marathon Championship is ON



Start Finish....moments before the gun. 





In the paddock....almost ready to begin.





Mayor Brainard leads everyone in the national anthem.





New York Athletic Club members loosen up pre race.





Timing Vehicles ready.





Finisher awards in place.



Deeper meaning for some.



Needed constantly.





USA Track offering pre race support



Chase and support teams are ready!





The first 100 yards.



Cool Creek residents Rick (yellow) and Mary (blue) Giesel....way to go!



East Past the City Center



Go @BgKahuna! (Nice Pants)





Bayhill check point.



Eastbound on 126th from Gray Road.



Getting LOTS of support from the gallery.



Heading east on 126th towards Clay Middle School





Hoosier Crapper

In antici -pation of the Carmel Marathon taking place on Saturday, portable restroom facilities have been placed strategically around the course like this one on east Main Street. They are a necessary part of having this type of event.  I'm sure race organizers, who have done a GREAT job in putting this weekend together, didn't intend for this to be used by the construction worker who had exited moments before (uncomfortably....this is true).  If I'd been quicker with my camera we'd have had the evidence.  Well, perhaps it's best we don't.  Nice of him to close the door on his way out.  Note to UPS truck driver slowing down nearby.  You'll want to wait at least 10 minutes.  

You Can't Get There From Here

It will be a busy weekend of firsts in Carmel with the Carmel Marathon taking place punctuated by the return of Rock The District.  If you live in central or east Carmel it will require some planning to get around.  The running events all get underway starting at 7:00 but the effects of the race will last until early afternoon.  Here's a video (thanks @CarmelBruce) talking about the race itself and road alterations. The Marathon and half Marathon will both progress through central and east Carmel starting off at the City Center and heading east on 126th.  From there the courses will wind their way through east Carmel eventually crossing back over Keystone and finishing back at the Farmer's Market near the Palladium.  There will be closings and delays affecting nearly every major north/south and east/west road in central and east Carmel from 7:00 A.M. Saturday until the last part of the course reopens at 2:00 p.m.  Travel in central and east Carmel will require a lot of patience Saturday!  You can find the street closure list HERE and the course map HERE.  Here's our friendly suggestion.  Got a bike?  This would be the weekend to dust it off. 

You Can't Drive 55

While it's only Monday, consider this a friendly reminder that this coming weekend will be a busy one across east Carmel and the Arts & Design District.  The Carmel Marathon Championship Weekend will be in full swing Saturday morning and yes, there will be street delays in east Carmel as well.  We'll post the exact course maps here by Friday and give you some times to be aware of for Saturday morning as far as when to expect some extra travel caution.  Not all of the road racing events will stretch beyond noon in east Carmel so we'll give you a summary by week's end as to when the busiest times will be east of Keystone Parkway. 

Party Time

The city's festivals will start early this Summer with next weekend being a big one in Carmel.  Not only will the Carmel Marathon Championship weekend be taking place but Rock The District will also be on tap for Saturday night June 11.  The Carmel Arts and Design District has a great line up of all types of music and you can get the full list of groups and activities HERE. Some subtle schedule changes have RTD a bit earlier in the Summer in 2011 and frankly we're liking it.  While I'm not overly familiar with Yacht Rock Review's work, this FREE event is always one our entire family enjoys taking in and we will again next weekend. The nice thing is this year it's at a time on the calendar when we're not in a mad dash to get ready for school starting, pack in end of Summer vacations, etc.  Note to Yacht Rock Reveiw.....no worries on my level of fandom.  I'm probably a bit out of your demo.  If for nothing else but a great bit of food, amosphere and people watching, you'll want to put RTD on your schedule for next Saturday night. 

Carburetor Loading

You'll no doubt be seeing a lot more of these in the next eight days. This is one of several Carmel Marathon vehicles that are being used in support of the Carmel Marathon Championship Weekend taking place June 11. Hard to believe that in just over a week Carmel will host a major running race that stands as a qualifying event for the Boston Marathon. Now before any of you non runners tune out, this will be an all inclusive event with something for each of us. In all there will be five events including a 1 mile family fitness walk that everyone can be a part of.  The conculsion of the race will take place on the Palladium Center Green in conjunction with the Farmer's Market.  The day's festivities will wrap up with the Indiana Live Street Party and awards presentation on Main Street in the Arts and Design District.  Runner, walker, or none of the above...this promises to be a big weeknd in Carmel.   You can see more on the event including full schedule, course maps and a great video, '26 miles in five minutes' at their website, which is packed with information.  Best of luck to eveyone at the Carmel Road Racing Group for a successful weekend June 11!