For a marathon that has everything, you've got to experience one of my favorites: the Hatfield and McCoy marathon in Williamson, W.Va. From the cool name to the awesome course, the incredibly nice people and the beautiful scenery - this marathon has everything. 2008 is the ninth year of the marathon, and this year it's on June 14. It's also great for those of you who are trying to run marathons in all 50 states as this one actually covers two states (yeah, yeah, cheating a bit, but who's gonna tell on ya?). It starts in a tiny town called Goody, Ky., and finishes in Matewan, W.Va., for the half marathon and Williamson, W.Va., for the full marathon. So you can say you've done both!

The Hatfield and McCoy Marathon is a pretty challenging course. There's a couple of major hills, you get street running, trail running, rivers, streams, fields, even a swinging bridge. There's also a parade and then, along the course, you'll see some of the friendliest people
in the country cheering you on. What they lack in number of people watching, they definitely make up for in quality - when you run this marathon you've never felt so welcomed or so encouraged.

The race director, David Hatfield, is a runner himself and he does an absolutely superb job of organizing this race. There's a free Pasta Dinner for all the race participants, and a Pig Roast where you can eat roast pig any way you like it fixed. Just remember not to make too much
of a pig of yourself, or you might puke after all that running.

One of the coolest things about this race though, I think, is the Hatfield and McCoy feud competition. The race reenacts the famous Hatfield and McCoy feud by putting racers into either the Hatfield or McCoy 'family' when they register for the race. At the end of the race, the 'family' with the lowest total time will win the feud. There are also two guys dressed as Hatfield and McCoy who pose for photos, appear around the race course during the marathon, and present the prizes at the end.

One thing you might discover on the Hatfield and McCoy Marathon is that your time will be lower than other marathons. The course is challenging and it gets hot (around 85 degrees by the end of it), so a lot of runners report 10 to 20 minute times that are slower than their normal time. But it's not always about time, right? This one is worth running just for the niceness of the folks who run it and watch it and for the scenery, which is really darn beautiful.

There'll be about 500 runners registered, so the competition is good. Remember to book a hotel early as there are only a few in the area. But, one runner last year did report that, when he couldn't get a hotel room, the race director offered him a bed in his own home. Now you can't get any more welcoming than that, right? So sign yourself up for this one - it's a doozy!