Fits Do Race (Pre)views: The Urban Wildland Half Marathon

Hi all!

Thank you for all the love on Matilda's Guide to Minneapolis- apparently you guys love dogs! You're not coming here for Fitness, Fashion, and Fitness Fashion- you're coming here for a daily dose of vizsla!

Now that I know, I'll try to post plenty of pictures of this face more often...

#vizslaselfie

She forgot to mention that she also loves the Apple store in Uptown- dog friendly!

Anyways, I'm checking in to let you know that I'm running the Urban Wildland Half Marathon this Saturday, or "Urban" as its known within my run club.

Are you running Urban?  Sure am!

In fact, my sister is coming to visit to run it with me! She has a time goal in mind, and my plan is to pace her to achieve that goal. I haven't ever paced anyone before, but I am excited to do it.

I have run Urban twice- 2010 and 2011. Year 2010 was the year that the bibs were biodegradable into seeds that you were supposed to plant (it's a very "green" race). Unfortunately it rained during the race, so the bib basically disintegrated while we ran- so much for that idea...

Then,  year 2011 was a super humid August morning, and I had a pretty awful race. With that said, Urban Wildland is a really well-run and pretty (and flat) half marathon that I enjoy, as long as the weather cooperates.  The race starts at 7:00, and the forecast for this Saturday says low 60's at at the starting time, so that seems promising.

The race is held in Richfield in the Woodland Nature Center, and the course is well supported with plenty of support stops and a varied terrain.

From the website, "Both courses begin and end in Vets Park, behind the Ice Arena (636 E 66th St), cover very flat terrain, and pass through shaded residential neighborhoods, past neighborhood park, and through three natural areas: Wood Lake, Richfield Lake, and Vets Park.  The half marathon course is certified by the USATF." 

A large group from my running club, the Calhoun Beach Running Club will be racing Urban to see where they are in their training for a fall full marathon. A lot of half marathon PR's have been set on this course, and I'm really excited to (fingers crossed) help my sister set one too!

Online registration is closed, but you can still register on Friday at packet pickup if you're interested, and there's a 5k too if that's more your cup of tea. 

Will I see you there? Are you running "Urban" this weekend?

Fits Do Race (P)Reviews: Maple Leaf 1/2

By: LL
Since my husband and I will be in La Crosse, Wisconsin for the city's annual Oktoberfest celebration (rolling of the Golden Keg anyone??), I decided that it would be fun to run the Maple Leaf Half Marathon that coincides with the event.

In doing some research of the race, it appears that it is a fairly small race - only 1400 total in the four races offered in 2011 (13.1, 5, 5k and a 1 mile fun run). However, knowing La Crosse fairly well, I believe that this will be one of the most scenic races that I have run - comparable to the Twin Cities Marathon.

The "website" lacks good details (not sure when the expo might be or if there is a gear check), but at least I found some information through www.halfmarathons.net, which says that the route "takes runners along some of the city's most scenic streets, as the half marathon starts and finishes in Riverside Park overlooking the mighty Mississippi River, and also takes runners over a bridge that crosses the Black River, and features views of Lake Onalaska in the middle portion of the race's 13.1-mile course [...] Runners in the half marathon start their race at 7:00 a.m. at the park, and follow what is basically a long, out-and-back route." The bluff city of Wisconsin is normally very beautiful and this time of year will likely make this route, even though I will see it all twice, the perfect fall race.

Here is one of the only photos that I could find of the race from previous years:

{Gotten love the dude in his high school singlet [Logan] out front}

Due to the annual Oktoberfest Maple Leaf parade that is also held that day, runners must finish in less than 2 hours and 45 minutes, which seems pretty standard, maybe a tad quicker than other half marathons. And, unfortunately it appears that there is no medal and that the shirts will be lacking (cotton perhaps).

Either way, I think that it will be a fun race and definitely a good start to a weekend of good ol' German "merrymaking" in a town that has been doing it right since 1961!

{Permanent Oktoberfest grounds in La Crosse, WI}