Well, our test half marathon (Scotiabank Vancouver, June 23) was to help us decide whether to pursue the most difficult marathon in the world, this coming September. Jungfrau (Switzerland) has been a goal for a while, but is a mountain marathon that gains 1500 METRES, almost all in the 2nd half. That means running a respectable 1/2 marathon time, then switching to a mostly hiking format on mountain trails and single track rock traverses. In theory, we could run the first half, then walk the second (which most do), but the catch is that there are strict cut-off times all along the way, with an overall course time of 6hrs 30 mins. We have two more months to train (after the GranFondo ride on July 7) that would involve faster road running (for at least 10km) and practicing some mountain hikes (quite do-able). The half-marathon yesterday was just a few minutes under 2:30 (beat our goal), however, did not give a clear signal in and of itself that we should pursue Jungfrau. On the other hand, we didn’t run as fast as we could have, and did take a couple of bathroom breaks that added to the time. As well, we walked home (almost 5 km) with only a little leg soreness, and felt we could have well continued to walk for a long time (felt better than sitting, which is when the legs tighten a lot). So, now we are betwix’t. The reason for considering this event this year? – I have been accepted to present at the European Conference on Developmental Psychology which takes places in Lausanne, Switzerland one week before the Jungfrau, and only 100 km away! The decision for Switzerland will likely be a package deal decision as apart from being dubbed the “most beautiful marathon” in the world, Switzerland is the “most expensive” place in the world.