Just how far is 26 miles?

When the walks started getting longer and I started mapping out routes it was pretty surprising how far 26 miles really is. It really hit me when I discovered that places that take me 20 minutes to drive to, without crazy traffic, are only 5 or 6 miles away.

I never doubted that marathon routes are long, but they are usually in a loop so that makes them seem shorter when you are looking at it on a map. So to provide a bit of perspective, I offer up the following points of reference for our supporters.

26 miles (give or take a few tenths here and there) is...

• The distance from the house where I grew up in Finksburg, MD to the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, via Greenspring Avenue.
• From Dewey Beach, DE to the Inlet in Ocean City, MD
• From the National Mall in DC to Potomac Mills in Woodbridge, VA
• From Randolph-Macon College in Ashland to Chesterfield Town Center in Midlothian
• For my colleagues in Kansas, it's from the Overland Park office to the Kansas City Airport
• For Mary's JMU friends, it's from the JMU campus to Staunton Mall

And that's just what we'll do on day one.