If you are like me, then you have a general outline for upcoming races. You might not have registered for them, but you definitely have them penciled in your mind. Of course, there are the ones that you ALWAYS end up doing — whether you want to or not — and then there are the spontaneous ones you sign up for because ALL your friends are doing it. We are clearly an easily influenced bunch.
In a perfect world, we consider several options when selecting our next race. Let’s take a look at 3 of the things you should consider before signing up for your NEXT race.
Location. Location. Location.
Seems pretty straightforward, but a lot of consideration must go into the location of where you want to race. San Francisco is an AMAZING city to visit, but it can be extremely challenging to run. In case you didn’t know, we have a few hills out here. You will need to factor that into your training.
You also have to consider the weather for your destination race — will it be hot, humid, rainy, cold? Weather can be unpredictable at times, but do your due diligence before hitting that registration button.
You might also consider racing close to home. The benefits of sleeping in your own bed the night before cannot be understated. You have also removed the “I forgot to pack X” scenario from the equation.
The Scene
This is more of a factor with runners on social media — sorry about that. Often times a “social gathering” is happening race weekend and the race becomes part of a larger EVENT. From social meet ups at the expo to huge group dinners the night before, race weekend has taken on a life of its own and Instagram is capturing all of it. This might influence you to sign up for the race in the first place — it can serve as a great form of motivation for you to get stay on track with your training and it can provide some much-needed inspiration on race morning being surrounded by friends.
That being said, you might not want to have anything to do with what I just wrote. You might prefer a smaller, low-key kind of race weekend. One without any of the frills and large expos. Maybe you enjoy a race where you pick up your bib 30 minutes before the start. There is a race out there for everyone — large, small, somewhere in the middle. Either way, consider the type of atmosphere for your next race.
It’s all about the Benjamins Baby
If you want to run ALL the races, it’s going to cost you. If you want to run the extravagant ones, it’s going to cost you. Unless you guessed the power ball numbers, your budget is something to consider. Most races are not that expensive, but travel, hotel, and leisure are things you might want to factor into your next destination race. In actuality, the race registration might be the least expensive item in front of you.
If the race is in a destination location, you might fly in 2 days before the race and stay 1 day after. That gives you an initial travel day, an expo day, and race day. Depending on if you fly out the day after you race or the following day, you are looking at 4-5 nights hotel. If you also want to have food 3x a day, that’s 12-15 meals you’ll have to purchase. Your budget just exploded and that $100 registration seems like a memory.
But it can be done economically, if you plan ahead. Booking your flight well in advance is typically less expensive and if you know someone also racing, you might be able to split hotel costs (and taxi or car rental). If your race is not too far away or if you don’t need much down time, you could always fly in early in the morning the day before the race. I’ve also gone the “rent a house” route if I plan on staying a few days. It definitely helps out on the budget if you are staying in a place with a kitchen and you can cook your own meals after a quick trip to the grocery store.
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There are plenty of other factors that can go into racing and some of the above can be broken up into several other factors. A whole post could be written on location breaking down the course, the weather, the elevation, the time difference, miles vs. kilometers… it’s a complicated choice sometimes.
The most important thing is to put yourself in position to ENJOY the race. If that means dressing up in a costume and taking selfies, so be it. If that means running your best race ever and smashing your PR, more power to you. If it means running in a new city or your own backyard, go for it. We all run for our own purposes and for some reason, we keep coming back for more.
Where will your next race be?
These are great things to consider. I think sometimes we sign up for races and we don’t think about these things ahead of time, and then we don’t always have the best race experience. I’d love to run another race with you again- RnRLA was one of my fondest race memories.
My next race is Boston :)
This is so, so true! It’s easy to get caught up in excitement of signing up with races and then realize how much it will cost to travel or that it’s a boring course, etc. These are great things to remember. :)
I could not agree more, and actually #1 is one of the main reasons I chose London this year. That way it can be about a trip home, rather than this overwhelming pressure to perform that I felt running as an elite at chicago. By running in the “championship” section, I dont have to worry about being on my own. I think being at my true home will make such a huge difference to my nerves :) Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Next up for me is Ragnar! A relay more than a race but I am SUPER excited, kicks off this weekend. :)
My next race will be the April Fools half in Atlantic City, which I will be travelling to
Interesting posting. I am less than 2 weeks out from my next race (Little Rock, Arkansas) and flights have been very expensive. So, I am driving and will sleep in the car one night on the way in and one night on the way out. Not perfect, but fine with me and my wallet. I have a hotel in Little Rock.
I have another race in about 10 weeks in Fargo, ND and hotels are super expensive (probably due to the oil boom up there). So, I will be driving again and sleep in the car on the way in and on the way out and have a hotel for one night before the race.
Great post! There are many factors that I consider when choosing races. Is it wrong to say that medal is one of them? ;)
See you in Phoenix!
My biggest deterrent from signing up for a race is definitely price. I splurged on a Disney race last year but the cost was INSANE (imo). I didn’t feel like it was worth the price, at all.
My next “race” is back to back teeny tiny marathons where I will attempt to channel my inner Pavement Runner. ;o)
Definitely a good list of things to consider! I love the big race vibes and the meet ups- at my last race my team was 231 strong so it was definitely a huge party! I’m a pretty social person though and I love to have people to talk to before and after racing. And price has to be a consideration- being an obstacle runner, I typically spend more than road race runners on race registrations, so I volunteer a lot. Which means an extra day at the site.
These days I have to factor in my family also. It’s not so easy for me to jump on a plane and fly across the country by myself for a race (leaving my husband with 3 little kids!). More often it’s a family affair for us and we end up making it a mini get away. For the majority of races I am more apt to stick close to home. :)
These are all great tips! I definitely have the races I always do and then the ones that I get talked into doing (Phoenix ahem hahahaha!)
I am doing a lot of destination events this year so I’m really trying to watch my money and cut corners where I can!
Excellent post my friend. Please permit me to plug Laughlin/Bullhead Half Marathon & 5K ( http://www.runlaughlin.com ) on 12/5/15 as one that ticks these boxes! INAUGURAL mini destination race with hotel rates starting at $40 per night and some of the prettiest landscape you will ever run in. Let me know what you think!