'Traveling Marathoner' sets a rapid pace

HONOLULU — Boston, the most prestigious of America's marathons, has its "brutal" Heartbreak Hill, but Bostonians "come out in droves" to cheer you on. The New York Marathon, the world's largest with more than 34,000 finishers, is — like the city itself — "larger than life."

And you can be hugged by Winnie the Pooh at the Walt Disney World Marathon, or by — what else? — a pig with wings at the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati.

These are the observations of Elise Allen in her new guide for people whose idea of a vacation is to watch or run a marathon, "The Traveling Marathoner" (Fodor's, 19.95). The book has chapters on 12 marathons around the country, one for each month, from the Disney race in Orlando, Fla., in January, to the Honolulu Marathon in December.

Allen selected the "most outstanding race" for each month and admits that's a bit subjective. But she said her choices represent "a solid mix of marathon types and locales."

"If I was not impressed with the race, I didn't put it in the book," she said in an interview in Honolulu during a promotional tour. "I didn't want to include races I can't stand behind."

She says she tried to describe the pros and cons of each race honestly.

"I tell people the Deseret News Marathon (in Salt Lake City) is very challenging and not for beginners," she said. The run drops 3,200 feet from start to finish, which can be hard on the knees.

She also says the Los Angeles race "has its flaws," which might be why elite runners bypass it.

"But the Los Angeles Marathon isn't made for the elites. It's made for the pack," wrote Allen, herself a back-of-the-packer.

Allen ran her first marathon in Chicago in 2000 and finished her seventh in her hometown Los Angeles race in March. She plans to run three more marathons this year, saying "I'm an addict. I can't get enough of it."

But planning trips to marathons wasn't as easy as expected, said Allen, 34, a writer for television shows who lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their 18-month-old daughter. "I found information on the city and the marathon, but nothing that put it all together," she said. "This is the guide book I've always wanted," a book that would help readers make the marathon the centerpiece of a vacation that also includes sightseeing and dining out.