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Friday, February 20, 2015

Choosing races

This is totally me.
I have a goal of doing ten races this year.  How many have I done so far?  One.  And that was the Virtual 5K I mentioned a few weeks ago (and will recap next week).  But it's the second month of the year, so I really need to get moving on that running goal.

I've been checking out the race web site to see what races are out there.

Here are the ones I'm registered for so far:
- Leprechaun Chase 10K (March 14)
- Beaverdale Spring 5K (April 11)
- Run to Exile 5K (June 13)

I also plan to register for the Dam to Dam Half Marathon (May 30), but registration won't be open until next month.

I suppose that's not too bad.  I'll essentially have five races under my belt by the end of June.  That gives me five months to get the other five races in.  I think I can do it.

For me, the most important factor in choosing races is location.  I would love to travel somewhere for a race someday (and will), but right now, with my crazy schedule, they need to be here in the metro.

The second most important factor is the cost.  I try to stay in the $30-$40 range, although I accept the higher cost for the half-marathon.  Fortunately, this year, my Run to Exile registration was only $1 because I signed up right when the entries opened.  That will give me a little more money in my race budget.

The third most important factor is route.  The main reason I did the Hot Chocolate 5K last fall was because I wanted to run on the Women of Achievement Bridge downtown ... and I did!  Trekking through the Jolly Holiday Lights displays was also what drew me to the Holiday Fun Run.  I like checking out different parts of the city on foot, and races feel like a good way to do that.  I'm pretty excited about the Beaverdale race and Dam to Dam this year.

Fellow runners -- how do you choose your races?  What are your top three factors?

+++++

Last week's workouts
Friday: Off
Saturday: Off
Sunday: Off
Monday: 2 miles on the treadmill + circuit training
Tuesday: Virtual 5K!! (Come back on Feb. 27 to find out more about that)
Wednesday: 2 miles on the treadmill + Dirty 30
Thursday: Off

This week wasn't a very good one.  Too many "off" days.  Next week will be better.

2 comments:

  1. Even though I walk my 5Ks, my method is pretty similar. I don't want to have to drive more than an hour, so I pretty much stick between Lynchburg and Blacksburg. I like to have a course where there are fun things to look at along the way, so my favorite course has been the Color Run that went right through downtown Roanoke - the ones in Blacksburg and Salem were not as interesting to me, but I'll still sign up for any Color Run / Color Me Rad because I love being a rainbow. I've learned the hard way to check out how hilly a course is before signing up, though. There's a blacklight run at night through downtown Roanoke that I really want to do this year.

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  2. Those are all great factors to choosing a race. I've been trying to find more local ones to do--it's much easier in Cleveland because I am mostly aware of all the races in the area that I love or want to do, but here it's difficult. I've found several that keep popping up for the rest of the year so I'm trying to take advantage of them as much as I can. For 5K's, I don't like paying more than $30, and other than a half marathon, I reeeeally don't like paying more than $40 if I can help it. Running is expensive!!

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