Last week I posted a long wish list of races I'd like to do next year, and I promised to follow up with how I go about picking which races to run. The first, and most important, thing to consider is your current level of fitness. Secondly, you'll want to decide what your goal for completion is. So, for example, I had mentioned wanting to do another marathon next year. It takes a minimum of 18 weeks to train for a full marathon, and that's with a base level of fitness. Since I'm basically starting from scratch as far as running goes, I'll need lots more time to build back up to even running 5 miles at a stretch.
After taking into account the time you'll need to train, the next most important thing for me is the time of year. If I could think of a stronger word than loathe, detest, despise, flat out hate, I would use it to describe my general sentiment towards summer. Hot weather and I are just not meant to be one. So, naturally running in heat and humidity feels much more like a chore than a beloved past time. For me, picking a summer race is a major no-no unless the start times are generally pretty early and I know enough about the course to know what kind of support there is along the way, Further, for a fall marathon specifically, all my training will have to be done over the summer. As you might be putting together, that doesn't really fit with my race schedule for next year. No, not really.
I have thrown in a few shorter races over the summer, to keep my fitness up and to keep me motivated to keep training for a fall race. Secondly, I'm really banking on next summer being a little more mild than this one. A little gamble with mother nature, I suppose.
Finally, I like to consider things like travel distance. This is a biggie for me, especially with a small child. Also, most expos for picking up your race packet are the day before. Some races allow packet pick-up the day of the race, but that means you'll have to be there even earlier and you might have to wait in a long line before you run. I also like to read reviews about the organization of the race if I haven't done it before. The race website should offer you information such as a course map, elevation map, information on aid stations, etc. These are all important things to consider. The course is important if you are someone who relies on crowd support during your run, or if you want to tailor your training (i.e. running hills or flat stretches, trails, etc).
I like to try races every year. That's part of the fun. I do nearly all my training on the same 9 mile loop, which I'll explain more about in later posts, with only some variation to add hills and speed work. Running is a great way to see a new part of town or a new city. There are two races that I've done that I would not ever do again, and though I'm glad I did them, it did also help teach me about myself as a runner, what I look for in a race, and what I like to avoid...
Not recommended race #1: Air Force Marathon
I'm sad that I didn't like this race at all. I wanted to, I really, really did. It was a really organized race overall, with a lot of hype since it has a military theme. There were a lot of current servicemen participating, which was motivating, and throughout the day there were several flyovers by different planes. That said, the course is BORING!! It takes place almost exclusively on Wright Patterson Air Force Base. So there is almost no fan support, except for a fantastic town that is off base at about mile 10 (I spent most of the last 6 miles wondering why they didn't invert the course so that you could run through that town closer to the end of the race). Additionally, I am not exaggerating when I say that I had a mile walk from the parking area to the race start line. At least. It was so far. It was annoying before the race, and even more annoying after the race. I bet it took me 30 or more minutes to make that walk afterwards.
Not recommended race #2: Indianpolis Monumental 1/2 Marathon
My goal during this race was to set a PR in the 1/2 marathon, which I did, but it was a real challenge. The course was tight, only one side of the road was open most of the way through downtown Indy, and it was jammed with tons of walkers and slower runners who refused to line up by their estimated per mile pace (this is a huge annoyance of mine, a problem I blame both on uninformed participants and poor race organizers--use start corrals, people!). Anyway, besides the race being too big for the course they had, it was a pretty course and it takes place at a nice time of year for running--late fall. It was in November last year. From what I heard, the marathon course was a lot better, because nearly all the runners cleared out after the half broke off to head for the finish. But, the damage is done. I'll not do this race again just because of the size of the field and the narrow course.
I find races by word of mouth, personal experience, websites like this one: Marathon Guide. Visiting your local running specialty store is also a great way to get connected to smaller races around. Also, there are no less than a zillion 5ks that take place for various causes throughout, mostly the summer. Some of those are really fun races to run, because they're such a smaller scale and usually are for something fun like church picnics, small charities, schools, local festivals, you name it.
Happy race hunting! If I can help you pick a race, let me know, I'd be happy to help if I can.
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