Summer and Fall Race Picks

I may do a couple local 5Ks but the destinations are a trio of half marathons in the Northeast.

8/2- Kelley Half Marathon in New London, Connecticut. 
This is a free entry race.  I assume that means no T-shirt and no finisher's medal.  I'm okay with that.  I've got plenty of those as it is and probably should toss a few of them.  I'll fly into Boston the previous day and tour Fenway Park.  From there, it will be I-90 W then cut south into Connecticut.  The race starts and ends at Ocean Beach right on the Long Island Sound.  Even in Connecticut, it is liable to be warm in early August but fortunately, the course should not go too far from the shore, which should moderate the temperature. 

After the race, I will head about an hour east and spend the rest of the day on the coast of Rhode Island.  Narragansett Beach looks pretty nice to me.  I expect that the water temp will be around 70 degrees, which will be chilly but tolerable for swimming.  There's also a pretty good chance of decent surf up there too.  That'll be cool.  I'll head back to Massachusetts that evening and may be able to steal a couple more hours in the surf before I have to catch my flight out of Boston.

9/15- Newport Liberty Half in Jersey City, New Jersey.
This is one day after my birthday.  I plan to spend a day or two at home with my parents then catch a flight to Newark the day before race day.  No rental car is needed here.  I'll just take the PATH train from the airport to the hotel.  Supposedly the views of NYC are better in Jersey City than across the river in Manhattan.  After the race, I'll take a PATH into Manhattan.  I'll probably end up at Trump Tower for lunch and a drink and maybe hit the Empire State building if I have time.

10/20- Mt. Desert Island- Bar Harbor, Maine
Fly into Bangor then cut 4 hours north into Quebec City.  I haven't been there in more than 30 years and really need to improve my French skills.  I'll tour the city and hike up to a waterfall then it's back to the USA.  The race course goes through Acadia National Park and it is really beautiful.  This time, it is cold weather that could be a factor.   

If I can finish all 3, my tally will be 45 race states and 44 half marathon states.
I'll be missing only the following:
Maryland
Utah
South Dakota
New Hampshire
Minnesota (official race was a half but the RD cut the distance to 6.7 due to weather)
Hawaii