This week’s Tuesday Topic: Themed races – yay or nah? Favorite themed races? You can write about this topic or feel free to post any running related blog post. Remember to Link-up with Kim and Zenaida! Visit at least two of the other linked posts – the more the merrier! Remember to come back for later linkers!
Rock ‘n’ Roll
I’ve done quite a few themed races. The bulk were Disney and Rock ‘n’ Roll Races. Sometime in late 2013 I purchased a TourPass. With this pass I was able to run unlimited RnR races in the U.S. This pass was only $399. Awesome deal and I took advantage of it. In 2013 I ran 14 Rock ‘n’ Roll races. I am glad I was able to visit so many different places – some I had never been to before! Some of my favorite cities were Washington DC and Las Vegas. I ran my 100th race at RnR Chicago which I was happy about. The worst one was Nashville because it was hilly and it rained throughout the whole race. I feel like I need to go back and do it again. When I was done with Las Vegas, I ended up with 22 medals.
It’s been fun to read again some of these posts. There are so many things I would do different but still I am glad I experienced these races.
RunDisney
I ran 8 races in 2014. It all started with the Goofy Challenge (half marathon on Saturday and marathon on Sunday) in Florida and ended with Wine and Dine in Florida too. I remember some friends talking about the Goofy Challenge and how they wanted to do it again. They asked me if I was interested. I replied “sure” not really knowing what I was getting myself into. They ended up doing Dopey Challenge which was a 5k on Thursday, 10k on Friday, half marathon on Saturday, and a marathon on Sunday. DOPEY FOR SURE!
Goofy Challenge was definitely hard but I finished. Training for it was even worse. The race was in January and I had to train in the Winter and that was not fun at all.
Then I went on to run Tinker Bell Half Marathon, Enchanted 10k, Princess Half Marathon (those two were The Glass Slipper Challenge), Disneyland 10k, Disneyland Half Marathon (those two were the Dumbo Dare Challenge, and Wine and Dine Half Marathon. I had forgotten that Wine and Dine was a night race (so RnR Las Vegas is not the only night race I’ve done). It also rained most of the course and my finish time is my worst finish time. After this race I had 14 Disney medals.
Also, it’s been fun reading some of my posts again. When I first started my blog, I used Blogger. Then I used WordPress, back to Blogger, and back again to WordPress. Cannot remember why I did this but with all of this back and forth, some of my photos aren’t showing up on the posts or are upside down. I want to fix them but I don’t know how. Or should I even bother and just leave it the way it is?
I enjoyed both the RnR and RunDisney races. However, what I did not like about the Disney races was the price. They’re very expensive! I think I paid close to $400 for the Goofy Challenge. Would I do them again? Only Glass Slipper Challenge. I like the theme and I’d rather go to FL than CA because it is closer and cheaper to get there.
As for RnR races, I will not do those again except maybe Chicago. And that is a big maybe. That race is in July and July is not a good month for a half marathon in Chicago. I would like to run in Washington DC because I love going there.
Wow, 14 RnR races in one year! Even with the tourpass, the travel costs must’ve added up.
Never done Disney; Disney is not really my thing. I’ve done a few RnR races, although in general I’m just not super in love with large race companies.None of them were bad experiences, though.
I wish I would have kept track of how much I spent on RnR and Disney races. But maybe it is a good thing that I did not.
I’ve also enjoyed a lot of the RnR races. I would still like to hit up a few of their other tour stops like Seattle and New Orleans
New Orleans is a good one!
Wow, all those RnR’s in one year! That’s incredible 😉 I’m totally on the fence with Disney. Our family totally loves the experience (I can’t even count how many times we’ve been there LOL), but I think the huge crowd of runners would annoy me because those crowds would be to the extreme. I’d definitely love to do more RnR races, though.
I went to Disneyland for the first time when I was about 19 years old and then Disneyworld when I did Goofy Challenge. Our family never took trips there. The crowd is annoying but those races really is just about the experience and to have fun.
I have never done a Disney race! The logistics seem kind of annoying. We love to visit but not sure I want to run there. Love the costumes I always see there though
It is annoying. I hate having to wake up at 3:30 or so and then waiting a long time to start running. I realize that the waiting time sometimes is typical for most races but when you do it 2 days or more, it is tiring.
I think the Glass Slipper Challenge would be a good race to do with friends. Something to think about.
Wow, you’ve really done a lot of run races! My first RnR was the Chicago Half last year and even though it poured the entire time, I loved it. I am doing RnR Vegas next month – the 5K on Saturday and then the Half on Sunday. My best friend from college is doing the 5K on Saturday and the 10K on Sunday. We are going to wear matching outfits (‘friends for 40 years’) on Saturday, so that will be fun. She’s a huge Disney fan. I can take it or leave it, but she is doing the 5K/10K at WDW in January and I am doing the Dopey Challenge. Oh, God. Did I just say that out loud?
Dopey Challenge? Wow..kudos to you!!! I do remember RnR Chicago last year and the rain. We rarely get good weather for that race. Then again it is in July. I remember when it was in August. Not sure why RnR changed the date. Have fun in Las Vegas!