Race Selection

There are a LOT of races out there, and whether you’re picking race number 1 or 100 there are several things to consider when choosing your next race.  Here are the top 5 races in my humble expert opinion.

Distance: The first thing in choosing a race is what distance are you going to do?   There are races from 1 to 50 miles, and everything in between.  Most people starting out will pick a 5K, but I’m going to argue against it.  I think you should pick something that’s crazy.  Pull a half marathon out of your hat.  Do something that will truly shake things up.  Go big or go home.

I’ve found that if you plan a shorter race and train solely for that distance, it will end up being an excuse not moving to a longer distance later in the year.  You’ll claim that you won’t have enough time to get up to that longer distance and it will get back burnered until next year (unless you live somewhere like California where you can run outside all year round, then you have no excuse slackers).  By picking a longer distance you’ll have a goal that will be really challenging and will help your times at the shorter distances.  Also you can use the shorter races as training runs for your ultimate goal. 

Location: I’ve said it before, I love traveling to run.  It’s a great way to meet new people and reconnect with old friends.  Most races take you through or by the iconic landmarks of the city, so if it’s a place you haven’t been to before then it’s a great way to see the sights, and if you are returning, it’s a great way to get reacquainted with them.  Also the biggest benefit of traveling to run is being on vacation!  You’re in a hotel with someone cleaning up after you, cooking your food, and if your planning is good, you’re staying right near the start line so there is no need to worry about getting to the corrals.  Plus after a long race there is nothing better than going out, meeting some locals and other racers, and hitting the hot spots the city is known for (or any bar you can find a seat at because no one wants to be on their feet anymore).

On the other hand when you run near your home it can be an advantage as well.  When you’re training, you’re able to run part or the entire race course.  You know how to get to the start line, how long it will take to get there and how to navigate around road closures.  Also you can guilt your friends and family in to coming and cheering you on.
There is a give and take with running both at home and on vacation, but make sure you don’t exclude a race just because of its location.

Amenities:  Do you want to run while being covered in color?  This isn't 50 shades of grey we're talking about.   Do you want to run at night with lights attached to you?  You can sparkle all you want.  Do you want to just run and get a couple of free beers at the end?  Drink Up!  Do you want to run from Zombies?  You know they’re just using you for your braaaiiinnnnssss.  Do you want to run through an obstacle course?  Yes, yes and…aw hell, there are so many of these types of races now go find them yourself.

You can find almost any kind of race out there so think about what you want your race to be and how you want to remember it, but most of all just remember to have fun.

Date:  While the date is probably the least important of these five things to consider it can’t be totally ignored.  The most important thing to think about in terms of your race date is to be sure that you have enough time to train for the race.  Under training can lead to injury and keep you out longer than if you just picked a race a couple of more weeks away.

Honorable mention for the date category is weather conditions.  Racing and training in different climates can make for a slow race. Trust me, I know.  Also running in really hot or really cold weather might not be your cup of tea so the date can come into play a couple of ways.

x-Factor: Let’s face it, some races are just cooler than others.  The New York Marathon is the largest in the world.  The armed forces marathons help honor those who serve.  Some races are put on just to help raise money for charity.  These races and many others just have something that the others don’t, and for many people that’s the draw.  

               

What do you consider when choo-choo-choosing a race?  (10 points for knowing what I’m referencing, but they won't help you because like “Who’s Line is it Anyways?” the points do not matter here either.)

Great Expectations

No matter what distance, where or when you run a race usually falls into one of three categories: “I killed it”, “it kicked my asphalt” or “meh”.  So how do you go into a race making sure you come out feeling that runners high?  I’ve found that setting the appropriate expectations can go a long way in making you feel like a winner even if you finish near the back of the pack, and the faster you realized that you were wrong, the faster you can get your mind right.  Here's a look back at my Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas experience.

 

If you asked in this past October, there was no doubt in my mind.  I knew that come December I was going to set a new PR.  The only question was, is this the half where I break the two hour barrier.  I was set up to succeed on so many levels:

-   This half was just six weeks after my first full marathon so I was going to be in the best running shape of my life

-   The course was so flat that the highest elevation gain is a kin to stepping up on a curb

-   It was in vegas where the warm dry climate perfect for running

There was no way I could fail…until I did…spectacularly.  The sub two hour half I was expecting turned into a nearly three hour, stop filled shuffle through the streets of Las Vegas.  On that day and in the days leading up to the race several events conspired against me including two of the things I thought would be my strengths on that day.

-  I was just six weeks removed from my first marathon.  Training for and completing the Marine Corps Marathon took a huge toll on me.  My legs hurt and running just ten miles seemed so boring after completing 26.2 so I wasn’t able to/didn’t want to train as effectively as I should have for the Vegas half.
-  It’s hard running in a warm dry climate when you’re training in near freezing temperatures.  While it was sunny and in the low 60’s at the start of the race in Vegas, I had done most of my training runs in the early morning darkness of an early New England winter.  Not only was I not accustomed to the warmer weather the dry dehydrated me to the point where I had to literally stop at each water station.
-  I didn’t run the race I was going to run.  As I said most of my training runs were done in the early morning starting just after my alarm went off at 5AM, but the pull of the Vegas half that you run the strip at night which means a 4:30 in the afternoon start time.  Add in the 45 extra minutes before my coral started plus a three hour time difference and I was starting a race at a time I was normally winding down for the day.  My internal clock didn’t tell me I was hungry so I didn’t eat a good pre-race meal, and my body thought I would be slowing down for the day right when I should be gearing up to run 13.1.
-  I was in Disney world for adults.  I didn’t take into account that I was supposed to be having fun.  A night before the race Aerosmith show combined with everything else one does on their first trip to Vegas, meant that physically, I wasn’t in a good place.  On top of all that, my arrival was delayed nearly three hours so that my bedtime was closer to 7AM est, two hours after I get up during the week.

Looking back on it now, I should have seen how outrageous my expectations of this race were but sometimes you can be so blinded by the time on the clock (and the bright lights on the strip) that you lose sight of why you’re there in the first place.  For many of us it’s the journey to get there and not what time you need to be there (especially when flying US air).  Making sure you have realistic and race appropriate expectations go along way in determining what kind of race experience you have.

Despite my initial expectations I was able to see that I was way off and adjusted my thinking early into the race.  Along the way I stopped with the missus to get my picture taken in front of the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign and took time to watch a band which was accompanied a fire breathing praying mantis.  All these led to slower than molasses time but made the trip one in a million.

One of the many stops along the way in vegas