Nothing better to get motivated to run a marathon than to commit to a race. Well I did last week. I'm running the inaugural Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon on Sunday, June 5th.

As many of you know, I compile local Ventura County area running events year round to help people find a local race quickly and easily. Most races are repeats from years past. Most races are 5Ks and 10Ks. So I was shocked to discover just a few weeks ago that a brand new full 26.2 mile marathon is planned in June.

The Ojai 2 Ocean Marathon (and Half Marathon) is the brainchild of Tom Taylor and Ben DeWitt, co-owners of eco-friendly local endurance event planning company, Complete Green. Both avid runners, they decided it would be great to organize local events that promote sustainability and environmental awareness.

I spoke with Ben about this new marathon and was impressed by his passion for creating something genuinely different for runners in Ventura County. Sounds like they have their act together and I decided it would be fun to run this inaugural event!

While I haven't been focused whatsoever in my training this year and in fact have not run a single race, at least I've been running consistently. I have base mileage of about 40 miles a week on my body. So why not, for fun, train for a marathon only 6 1/2 weeks away.

Motivated by the commitment, I went out last Thursday after work and ran my longest run since the Tucson Marathon last December, 15 miles. Then on Sunday, pleased to see cool temps and cloud cover above me, I slugged out an 18.7 miler over 2 hours, 21 minutes. So with a couple of 20 milers over the coming 3-4 weeks, I should be fine to run this marathon.

So I asked Ben what distinguishes the race in terms of being "green." Some interesting things were mentioned, such as awards made out of recycled materials, race shirts made out of recycled polystyrene (e.g. old water bottles), using a solar generator for finish line needs and salvaging old surfboards from Walden Surfboards for the mile markers.

This is a first year event and I don't expect a huge turnout, but I do expect it to be fun. Starts with a 10K loop in Ojai, then takes the bike path 10 miles, with a nice downhill grade, to the ocean, where it ends at the Ventura Pier. Starts early (6 a.m.), downhill and ends at the ocean. Sounds pretty good to me! The only negative (which for some is a positive) is that I suspect crowds will be very sparse.

So who's joining me? Or how about trying the half marathon (which starts/finishes near the Ventura Pier).  www.ojai2oceanmarathon.com