The Running Thread --2025

[SheHulk]

Whelp, lost the Broad Street run lottery.

Fortunately, the American Cancer Society had charity bib space so snagged one of those, so (hopefully) Year 8 of running here I come!

@marty3d @SheHulk, see you there!

Oh wow so they had more entries than spots! I would have wished they would give priority for someone who has done it so many years.

 

[Novatrix]

LSUlakes said:
QOTD: Lets discuss race expos. As part of the race experience do you enjoy having to go to the expo? Do you often purchase items at them? If the expos you went to had a mail your bib to you option, would you rather that than attend the expo? What do you like or dislike about them?

It depends on the size of the race and the size of the expo.

Large races like Disney and the Broad Street run? I enjoy because there's usually interesting things to see and freebies I can pick up. I'll even purchase items if they appeal to me.

Small races? Unless they aren't too far out of my way, I much prefer paying for the bib to be mailed or for race day pickup.

There's one I do in Atlantic City that they did away with the morning pickup option for one year after the pandemic, and I was muttering under my breath the whole time. 1 hr drive there, paying $15 dollars for parking for 15 minutes (they don't have an expo, but since bib pickup is in a casino they try to drive foot traffic), then driving 1 hr home all to do it again the next morning. Not to mention half the drive was on toll roads. Just struck me as an inconvenient cash grab. I had legitimately emailed the race coordinators a couple of months ahead of time offering $50 if they'd just mail the bib to me and they turned me down. Fortunately, the morning pick-up option was back again the next year.

 

[RuntheMouse]

ATTQOTD: Not a huge fan of race expos. I have major imposter syndrome and feel like a fish out of water!

With runDisney, I don’t buy merch so we end up going the second or third day which makes it SO much better. The craziness of all the runners and their whole families is a bit much for me.

Locally, if the parking situation stinks, I dread going. I’ve been tempted by same day pickup but that gives me a different level of anxiety!

 

[Novatrix]

Oh wow so they had more entries than spots! I would have wished they would give priority for someone who has done it so many years.

I really have bad luck with lotteries. I've actually lost it before (First year I ran in 2018), but was able to get a bib through bib swap. I didn't want to risk it this time, so I decided to go the charity route.

Now just two more years I need to be successful in the lottery and it won't be a problem again for the rest of my life!

 

[marty3d]

I really have bad luck with lotteries. I've actually lost it before (First year I ran in 2018), but was able to get a bib through bib swap. I didn't want to risk it this time, so I decided to go the charity route.

Now just two more years I need to be successful in the lottery and it won't be a problem again for the rest of my life!

Glad to hear you at least got in through a charity! I feel like I stole your spot because you told me about it (I know that’s not quite how it works!)

 

[KCO5988]

What are people's go-to pump up songs. Like get you through a really hard workout song. I'm making my playlist for my 10k and need a few more songs in case the music on course isn't "pump-upy" enough for me hahaha

 

[nancipants]

What are people's go-to pump up songs. Like get you through a really hard workout song. I'm making my playlist for my 10k and need a few more songs in case the music on course isn't "pump-upy" enough for me hahaha

Here is my "race" playlist! https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgqpCsZG6gfTJod0lELQkBufOuqfe0cPA&si=onl6namFrR90NZeZ

 

[LSUlakes]

ATTQOTD: I don't buy stuff, so merch expo holds no appeal to me. The only place I ever bought anything was at Boston Marathon, and that is special......now if I could just find a larger version of the shirt I had from 2011 which just said "Right on Hereford, left on Boylston" then that would be good.

At Disney, it's all about picking up the bib/shirt and getting out of there.

I got that shirt either in 2013 or 2014, I cant recall but I do wear it from time to time, but less now as I dont want to ruin it lol. So I dont wear it as much now. A quick search on google, and I see what you mean. I cant find one like the one I have either. I am sure if I spent some time I could find one probably on ebay but it probably cost twice what it was then.

ATTQOTD: I would do anything other than pay a large sum to avoid an expo. I hate crowds. I don’t enjoy shopping. There is literally nothing about an expo I like lol! My goal is always to get in and get out as quickly as possible.

This! Using Disney as a example. Taking a bus from the resort to the expo and then spending the minimum amount of time in packet pickup, followed by the bus back to the resort... This is like a hour to two hour ordeal and I want to dedicate less than 15 minutes to it.

What are people's go-to pump up songs. Like get you through a really hard workout song. I'm making my playlist for my 10k and need a few more songs in case the music on course isn't "pump-upy" enough for me hahaha

The Only Way I Know by Jason Aldean. Lyric below for reference.
"That's the only way I know
Don't stop 'til everything's gone
Straight ahead, never turn round
Don't back up, don't back down
Full throttle, wide open
You get tired and you don't show it
Dig a little deeper when you think you can't dig no more
That's the only way I know"

Another is by Better than Ezra - Desperately Wanting
This one was my from my high school XC days lol, back 1998-2002
"I remember running through the wet grass
Falling a step behind
Both of us never tiring
Desperately wanting"

Cake - The Distance
Master P - Make 'Em Say Uhh
Foo Fighters - My Hero
Eminem - Till I Collapse
U2 - Beautiful Day
System Of a Down - Chop Suey!

I'll add I do not currently listen to music or anything while running, so that may be why my song recommendations are a bit dated lol

 

[Novatrix]

Glad to hear you at least got in through a charity! I feel like I stole your spot because you told me about it (I know that’s not quite how it works!)

Absolutely not! The more the merrier for the Broad Street Run!

Although, if I lose the lottery for the NYC marathon again, I might have a bone to pick with you and all the other non-tri state participants!

 

[marty3d]

Absolutely not! The more the merrier for the Broad Street Run!

Although, if I lose the lottery for the NYC marathon again, I might have a bone to pick with you and all the other non-tri state participants!

Not taking responsibility on the NYC lottery - I took the easy way out and went with an international travel package so I’m not fighting with you for spots.

 

[flav]

ATTQOTD: If I am already close by, I am ok browsing a big Expo for a while, it becomes part of the celebration. I would definitely like having the option to get my bib by mail if it was saving me a trek across town or having to drive really far. I appreciate when someone else can pick up someone else’s bib, it allowed to optimize the transportation in the past.

 

[StarGirl11]

ATTQOD: I like them. I like seeing local businesses and maybe picking up something I hadn’t seen before. Like if I miss it it’s not the end of the world.

I honestly don’t like the mail system. Mainly because I don’t trust the mail to get me my bib. Recently especially I’ve had stuff not show up until weeks later. Which is a problem when you’re doing a race.

Need to vent for a minute. So I had a seizure for the first time back in January. And because I had it I had to cancel a trip I had planned originally so I decided to pivot to another local race I had done before. Albeit at a shorter distance.

The thing is I had never done this particular distance before. And last year I was advised to contact ahead of time so they could get me a parking pass since I can’t use the shuttles.

Fine. I contact them shortly after I decide I’m going to do the race. Days go by with nothing and at first I’m a bit annoyed. But then days turn into weeks and now we are over a month past the initial attempt at contact and the registration price has gone up since I don’t feel comfortable registering until I’m given the green light.

Which I don’t normally care about but it’s the printable of the matter. I’m having to pay more because someone isn’t doing their job correctly.

So to say the least I’m a bit annoyed.

Especially since I’m now on attempt three to contact them.

 

[FFigawi]

ATTQOTD: I enjoy race expos, mainly because most of the races I do are large ones where the expo has enough vendors to make it worthwhile to walk around and check things out. The expo at Challenge Roth last summer was probably the best I've ever seen. It's massive - the largest triathlon expo in the world - with 150-200 vendors spread out over acres of space, plus food and beer trucks to keep you fueled while shopping. It took us a few visits to wander around and make sure we saw everything, and of course buy a ton of stuff we never knew we needed.

 

[Naomeri]

ATTQOTD: I've only experienced actual expos for runDisney races and Twin Cities Marathon Weekend. I've enjoyed the TCMW expo in the past, but last year is was really crap--a lot more booths for supplements of questionable origins and a lot less booths for other races all over the country. In 2023, there was a cool booth for Marine Corps Marathon with a display of all the previous medals. I do like to buy things, and I like to collect candy from the TCMW expo booths (many seem to have a bucket of candy sitting out)

For races with strictly packet pick-up, no expo, I almost always opt for either mailing or same-day pick-up whenever possible, because most of the races I end up doing are in Minneapolis or St Paul and that's a hassle for just a 5 minute stop (and when I was working, the hours were rarely convenient)

 

[Naomeri]

What are people's go-to pump up songs. Like get you through a really hard workout song. I'm making my playlist for my 10k and need a few more songs in case the music on course isn't "pump-upy" enough for me hahaha

Here's my whole running playlist. I just hit shuffle and let it pick the order of the songs--it has an uncanny ability to pick appropriate songs for the moment at hand, as evidenced by the number of times it's played "Highway to Hell" when I'm stuck on a narrow, crowded path

If you don't want to sort through 200+ songs (or can't look at Apple Music) my current top 5 songs (in no particular order) that give me a boost would be:
Mötley Crüe--Kickstart My Heart
Kenny Loggins--Footloose
From Encanto--Surface Pressure
Billy Joel--Why Should I Worry?
Justin Timberlake--Can't Stop The Feeling

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

I'm snickering at the first song on that playlist. I'm sure I've recounted this before, but it still makes me (and my son) laugh.
For tunes I used to use a Creative Labs Stone, which was a tiny mp3 player with an external speaker that I clipped to the back of my collar. I start the playlist and just let it play during the race. I have pretty sensitive hearing, so I keep it turned down low and the effective listening radius is only a few feet, based on the reactions of runners near me.
I'm in one of my first rD races, and right as I go to pass a couple of, um, wide bodied women, here comes Queen with Fat Bottomed Girls.
Gads. Great moments in bad timing.
I think that wound up being one of my faster miles as I got myself out of there....
(TBH, it was on one of the wider parts of the course, and they may not have heard anything at all, but I didn't want to take that chance)

 

[Disney at Heart]

Expo? Disney, yes; Peachtree, no.
For Disney races we try to avoid the crowds. Running Goofy in January means we can go on the 2nd or 3rd day. For W&D, all three races, we go later on the first afternoon. There are still enough people to produce the exciting vibe, but no long lines. We rarely buy anything from the venders unless it’s a gu or something small, and in the Disney merch area, I usually get a magnet for my car, and if there are any weekend shirts or a jacket in my size, I will get one. Of course in January there was nothing left in my size for Goofy, so it was just a magnet.
For Peachtree, mail that bib! We are too far away to drive in, pick up the bib, and drive home, and although we spend the night before the race in a Buckhead hotel near the start, we don’t want to come in a day early and then get downtown and back to pick up a bib. This will be DH’s 38-39th(?) Peachtree. Of course, there was that one year we left the bibs at home and DH drove home a little less than 2 hours and back to get them! Some other ATL races have will call or regular morning pick up.

 

[GollyGadget]

ATTQOTD: It's been a long time since I've been to a proper race expo but I do enjoy them. It's usually a chance to discover other races or register for them at a discount. I don't consider rD a proper expo since they don't have other races present. rD is just a glorified shopping experience.

My local races are more of a packet pickup than expo but that's fine for me as it's usually a quick errand. Another thing rD has going against it, why is everything so spread out and such a hassle. Just let me collect my bib & shirt and leave.

Obviously I still enjoy rD for the races but their bib collection process is an absolute time suck.

 

[LSUlakes]

QOTD: For those who take in calories during a race or training run, what product do you use and which ones would you not try again?

ATTQOTD: For runs over 2 hours I will use GU and have one hydration bottle with Powerade/water and two others just water. I take a GU typically every 45 minutes during a race but spread them out a bit more on training runs. Only two flavors I roll with are salty watermelon and strawberry bananas. I found I can not do gummies or solids. I just cant handle running and chewing lol.

 

[PrincessV]

ATTQOTD: I fuel by time, not distance.

No extra calories for under an hour - just electrolytes and fluids in hot weather. Unless I’m running first thing in the AM without having had breakfast, in which case it’s FL summer and I need both calories and electrolytes, so I throw some Gatorade in a handheld before heading out.

Long runs, I always eat breakfast 1.5-2 hours beforehand. At rD races, I eat in my room and bring a Honey Stinger waffle or Clif bar to eat 45 minutes before starting.

6 miles, which falls in around an hour 20 mins - I do a scoop of Tailwind in 12oz of water

Beyond 6 miles, a gel every 45 minutes, plus 2ish ounces of water or Nuun every half mile. No caffeine. I’m not picky about gel brands, but GU makes the smallest packages, so I gravitate that way for really long runs that require a metric ton of them. Otherwise, GU, Clif, or Honey Stinger - whatever I can get on sale.

Can’t do gummies: bad for my dental work. Tried “real food”: found no difference in effectiveness and don’t want to carry huge bags of fig newtons or crackers or whatever.