(Future) Fits Do Race Reviews

By Jess

Those of you who know me, know that I'm a planner. I like to have everything sorted out on an agenda.  And this includes planning out my future runs as well!

Here's what I have on the calendar for the remainder of 2012 and 2013. I'm sure plans could change, and maybe additional races will be added, but these are the ones I have marked on my planner.

November:
5th Annual Family Turkey Trot!
LL wrote about it last year (read about it here and here)
Granted, this is not a sanctioned race per say, but it sure is a fun one! LL and I have been directing this race for 5 years now. We have a blast half-pretending/half-serious that this is a real Thanksgiving 5k! Well, I guess it is a real 5k in that we run 3.1 miles, but the only participants are my family.

January:
The Securian Run
When: Saturday, January 26
Where: St. Paul, MN
Website: http://www.securian.com/Securian/Securian+Winter+Run/
This half marathon has a rocky history. The first time I registered, it was so cold that the race directors shortened it to a 1/4 marathon. The second time I ran it, the turn around point was set too early, and the race only ended up being 11 miles! Needless to say, I set quite a PR at that one! However, this is one of few long distance races in the area in the cold months of winter, so it's definitely on my radar.

April:
Goldy's 10 mile
When: Saturday, April 14
Where: University of Minnesota campus
Website: http://www.goldysrun.com
I ran this last year, and thought it was a lot of fun. Read about it here

May:
Borgess Run for the Health of It Half Marathon
Website: http://borgessrun.com
When: Sunday May 5th at 8 am
Where: Kalamazoo, Michigan

I'll be running this race with a few of my sisters, and even my dad! It will be his first half marathon.
This does mean I'll miss the Lake Minnetonka Half Marathon that I ran last year (read about it here) but it will be worth it to share the half marathon experience with my family. Not to mention, I haven't been to Kalamazoo in ages! Fits on the Road- Family Style!

TC 1 Mile
Website: https://www.tcmevents.org/events/medtronic_tc_1_mile/
When: Mid-may- the date has not yet been finalized
Where: Downtown Minneapolis
Last year's review here
It's fun to do such a short race, and it's unique to run down Nicollet mall on a Thursday night. And it's over before you know it! After all, it's only a mile...

June
Newport Marathon
In my post Steamtown marathon haze, I did write about the Newport marathon. We have registered for this one for our spring race. Check out that post here
Website: http://www.newportmarathon.org
When: Saturday, June 1

I'm really looking forward to this marathon! It sounds like such a charming location, and I can't wait to spend some time exploring Oregon. The timing of this marathon works out well, as we will be able to piggyback off the Grandma's and Minneapolis marathon training schedule with the Calhoun Beach Running Club.

July:
Firecracker 10k
Website: http://www.active.com/running/excelsior-mn/firecracker-runs-2012-pl222
When: the 4th of July
I backed out last year, because it was crazy hot, and the race was shortened to a 5k. But I did participate the year before, and it was a blast!

Torchlight 5k
Website: http://www.torchlight5k.com
Last year's review here
I love this fun 5k! It runs before the Torchlight Parade downtown on a Wednesday night, with a great post-race party.

September
And the big finale for 2013....the Berlin Marathon!

"Pre-registration" opened today, and it filled up in 3.5 hours. Dusters and I both logged on this morning over breakfast and signed up. This is a huge marathon, with 40,000 runners. I'm guessing it might be similar to Chicago, where you feel crowded the whole way. This type of marathon probably isn't my favorite, and running an international marathon doesn't really fit into our 50 state goal, but we both think this will be a really cool experience. It's the 40th year for the Berlin Marathon, and some of the world's fastest times have been recorded here.

Well, that's it for today. There are few other races that might fit in: the Polar Dash (depending on the weather), the Get Ready to Rock 20 miler again, and maybe the Urban Wildlands half marathon. TBD folks, TBD!

Fits Do Race Reviews: Lake Minnetonka 1/2 Marathon

By Jessie

The Lake Minnetonka 1/2 Marathon was held on Sunday, May 6, rain or shine (that last bit turned out to be pretty important!)

Packet pickup was held on Saturday, May 5 from 9 am- 6 pm at the Optum Health Performance center in Eden Prairie.

There was plenty of parking at packet pickup, but not much to see at the expo. We grabbed our bags and headed out.

Check out these cute light blue dri-fit shirts for participants!

The above pictures were taken during the only dry part of Saturday. The rest of the afternoon and evening were stormy and pouring rain.

And by Sunday morning when our alarm went off, the storms were still going crazy outside. Neither one of us wanted to drive out to Wayzata to stand in the rain, only to end up with a delay or cancellation! We checked the race website, which stated that "due to weather conditions, the status of the half marathon is pending." Pending???

Well, that isn't very helpful!
We stayed in bed for a few more minutes before we decided we had to get that long run in either way. The treadmill didn't sound very fun so we decided to toughen up and get up! We stumbled out of bed and started to get ready for the race. Thankfully, the rain did let up, and we headed out the door by 6:30 am.

There was ample parking in Wayzata, where the race started. Luckily our friend had dropped her car off at the finish in Excelsior, so we had a ride home afterwards. I know that last year there were a lot of complaints about the post-race shuttles, but we didn't have to deal with those.

The gear drop-off was just a small van on a side road...but the start line was organized, and everything started on time.

I didn't have my camera on the course due to the rain, but it really was quite pretty. It followed rolling hills along Lake Minnetonka, and then went through residential areas past beautiful homes, which made the miles pass by quickly.

Unfortunately, for me, the miles didn't pass quickly enough! My legs just weren't feeling very strong. I'm not sure if it was all the Pure Barre classes I had been doing (nearly every day) for the past two weeks, or just where we are in our marathon training, (i.e. a 20 miler last Saturday) but my finish time definitely displayed my weak legs. I was hoping for a time about five minutes faster. Five minutes in a half marathon is not an insignificant amount of time! (i.e it's not just a few slow water stops!)

So I was disappointed with my personal performance, but fortunately the D-man had a very strong race, and many of my run club friends also set PR's (Congrats runners!)

My friend Angela also ran the race, and she told me she was just behind me...I didn't realize just HOW close. She's the one in the blue!

I still enjoyed the race, and will probably do it again next year.  I give it a 7.5/10!

Pros:

Easy packet pickup

Plenty of parking

SWAG: nice medals and technical tees

Lovely post race party at a city park

Good pacers

Solid crowd support

Cons:

Potentially the shuttles, though I can't speak from experience

Several parts of the course are on the shoulder of country highways that are still open for traffic- not my favorite

Hills- be prepared (though not as tough as Goldy's Run)

Some congested parts to the course

Potential rain delays- I think the website could have added more information

Website: http://www.lakeminnetonkahalfmarathon.com/