Favorite race of all time

operationremie

Mouseketeer
Joined
Apr 10, 2013
I was curious what everyone's favorite race of all time has been. I've done three races and I think my favorite was Color Me Rad last year in Hartford, CT. It was fun to start the race wearing white and end up looking like a rainbow. My ear leaked purple for a few days afterwards too!
 
My favorite race so far is the Wine & Dine. I love running through the Osbourne lights and being able to sleep in. Tack on the food and wine fest after party and the festival of the masters, making it one awesome race weekend.

I am doing a color run in july though. Maybe that will change my mind.
 
I'm not sure I can name just one favorite. Several of them were special and important for different reasons:

Richmond - my first, so always on the list
Rocky Raccoon - my first 50-mile ultra. Wonderful volunteers and overall experience.
Marine Corps - beautiful course, great spectators, excellent organization
Dublin - my PR race
Two Oceans Ultra - most beautiful race I've done, extremely challenging
 
Boston (2006). I'd like to go again next year for my 100th marathon.
 


I just started running in January and only have three official races under my belt. So I may not be an expert on this subject:lmao:, but right now I would have to say my favorite was my first. It was a 5M. I had never been a runner, but I finished my first race at 40 years old and I was so excited! :cool1:
 


Newport R.I.

Breathtaking scenery. You are either running past the ocean or the mansions.
 
It's actually my town's Turkey Day 5K, love it. It draws over 1000 people, families from out of town, great weather, music, and moods. If you haven't kicked off Thanksgiving day with an organized run, do it!

(I've done 3 Disney runs, too! They're great but nothing warms the heart like seeing all those families getting together and running with my own family).
 
James River Scrable. This is part of the Xterra East championship weekend. Super fun 10k. Want to do this race again.
 
I usually don; travel too far for races so I don't have many amazing races. I thought my first Disney marathon was awesome so that rates up there.

The half in Las Vegas running down the strip is pretty cool, but I love Vegas.

And locally we have a great sprint tri, the Captiva Sprint. It is held on Captiva Island at South Seas Plantation. Swim in the gulf, ride along side the gulf then run next to the gulf :) Just a beautiful race.
Duane
 
Traditional race would probably be the Flying Pig in Cincinnati. I would say the National Half but I haven't run it since it turned into the Rock N Roll USA.

But, I just finished my new favorite, albeit non-tradidional, event. I posted about it on the weekly thread but figured I'd throw it in here too.

It was a marathon relay all run inside the Cleveland Zoo. It was 22 laps of 1.19 miles. You could run it solo, or with teams of 2, 3, or 4. I did it on a 4 person co-ed team (2 guys and 2 girls).

What made it really different was that you didn't do your whole leg and pass the baton like most relays, you did one lap, then the second runner did one lap, then the third, then the fourth, and back to the first. It was really different, more like a track workout meets a marathon relay but it was a lot of fun.
 
I just signed up for my first color me rad in August. I figure it's good practice for my trip :-D Plus, it looks like a LOT of fun.
 
I just signed up for my first color me rad in August. I figure it's good practice for my trip :-D Plus, it looks like a LOT of fun.

They do look fun. I was able to convince some of my non running friends to do the columbus color run with me in july.
 
-My first race has left the longest impression
-The race that got me most geeked up was The Race for the Taste because that was my first Disney race.
-The most excited I ever got after a race was my 5K PR in 2010.
-The race that I am most proud to say "I've done that" was Mt. Washington.
-Most energy before a race would be any of the Disney races I've done.
-Prettiest course would be the Leaf Peepers Half in Waterbury, VT

I guess that I am not very good at picking a favorite. I can say that my least favorite was this past weekend (Flanders 5K, East Lyme, CT) because I am too fat and out of shape, ran very slowly and got beat by people that I work with that ordinarily would never beat me.
 
I'm just getting back into running, but when I did races many years ago, my very favorite was the Bay to Breakers in San Francisco. Never ran in the centipede division, but loved watching them. The first year I ran, the costume winner of the centipede division was comprised of 29 people running as the Bay Bridge, complete with cantilever section, suspension section, and Treasure Island in the middle.

The last year I ran, Joan Benoit Samuelson finished wearing lobster claw oven mitts, won the women's division (of course), and was also the first woman to beat the UC Davis men's track team centipede.

Good times :thumbsup2.
 
I've done Color Me Rad twice and it's so much fun!! I highly recommend trying one if you have the opportunity! I also have to say I loved the Wine and Dine half for the reasons already listed - the Osborne Lights were awesome and I generally love the atmosphere when you run at night.
 
I just finished my 8th half 3 days ago and it was my favorite, the Eugene Half Marathon here in Oregon. Amazing coordination by race directors, scenery was great but finishing on Hayward Field was awesome! Oregon takes its runners very seriously and Steve Prefontaine is a God here. Pretty amazing to run where he did. Also the medal is gorgeous! The back of it says "Running with the Legends". Highly recommend this one!
 
Like many, it's hard to pick a favorite, so I'll have to pick several.

>> Wine and Dine Half 2012 - my current PR race. I ran faster than I ever thought I would, especially the first 11 miles until I hit my brick wall. Plus, it was pretty, though I have to admit, running through HS and Ecpot was bit of a blur, and I was so wiped after the race I felt more like puking than partying, and skipped the after party.

>> Tinker Bell Half 2012 - my first half marathon ever, and the reason I started running in the first place. I'll never forget it. The course changes in 2013 made that race even better.

>> New Orleans Rock n Roll Half 2012 - gorgeous city, super-flat and scenic route, and I got to run the first 6 miles with my speedy friends for the first time ever. I'd do this one again in a heartbeat.

>> Seattle Rock n Roll Half 2012 - my hometown, and my speedy friends paced me the whole time to a PR (at the time). Plus, nothing beats running along the top level of the viaduct along the waterfront, all the way to the Space Needle. I'm doing the full marathon this summer, too, which will be my first!

>> LA Rock n Roll Half 2012 - the course itself wasn't that special, but this was a Halloween-themed race, and I've never seem so many people in costumes, even at a Disney race! I had blast people-watching as I ran, and my friends and I dressed up as superheroes - me as Supergirl, my friends as Wonder Woman, Batgirl, and Captain Marvel!

I could go on, because I have good things to say about almost all of the races I've done, but I'll leave it at those. :)

The races you guys have mentioned sound fun, too, especially that zoo relay! I have Flying Pig in Cincinnati on my list to do, too. Probably the only one I *don't* want to do is one of those color runs. I know so many people who have done them and loved them, but the idea of being sprayed with colored powder, even if it is non-toxic, freaks me out! Lol.
 

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