To date I’ve run over 150 races. Â Most of them I’ve run in Chicago or nearby but more than half of my half marathons have been in other states. Â Recently I ran a half marathon in Alaska. Â I don’t have a recap yet but have written a few posts about my trip and you can read about them HERE.
So you bet it was kind of hard to pick and write about my favorite races. Â Well, I thought about it hard and here are my 5 favorite races.
Chicago Marathon. Â Definitely the best marathon ever! Â I am kind of bummed that I am not running it this year but am excited to spectate and cheer for my friends. I’ve run this race 5 times and am always amazed at how well organized it is as well as the support and encouragement I get along the way. Â Plus, it is a BEAUTIFUL course!
This is from my first Chicago Marathon in 2006. Â Check out the iPod!

Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle. The race marks the beginning of the running season in Chicago. Â I’ve done this race since 2006 and have missed it a few times due to weather and being out of town. Â This race starts and ends on the same course as the Chicago Marathon and there are also many spectators along the way. Â I remember the first time I ran this race, I was so happy because I had run the whole race and only stopped ONCE to get water. Â That was a huge accomplishment back in 2007 when I was still kinda new to running.

Elmhurst 4 on the 4th. Â I love the distance and there aren’t too many 4 mile races. While I enjoy taking the train and running a race in the city, I also like getting in a car and driving to a different race location. Â There is plenty of parking, cheap ($25-$30), and good crowd support. Â Plus, I like the variety of running on small hills – different from running in flat land in Chicago.
In 2014 and a 39:39 PR.

Soldier Field 10 Mile. Â What’s not to like about running 10 miles? Â It’s weird how when running a half marathon, I start feeling like crap past 10 miles. Â That won’t happen when running this race. Â I love that it starts and ends near Soldier Field. This year the start line was inside the stadium which was kind of cool and much more organized. Â It is cheap if you register early (around $55) but then can go up to $90 in April.

Rock ‘n’ Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon. Â I ran this race in 2014 and it was my last race of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series. Â I enjoyed running on the Strip at night and checking out the view. Â I ran for fun because when will I ever get the chance to run on the Strip and not have to worry about pedestrians and cars?
The best part of the experience was my VIP status.  I didn’t sign up for it but got it        because I signed up to run 15 RnR races that year.  I ended up running a total of 14       races because last minute I decided to skip Denver.
Would I do this again?  Absolutely!  A few bloggers are heading out there in             November and I am tempted to go but do not want to pay the ridiculous price for        the race.  I could just go and hang out with them, right?

I’m linking up with Running on Happy and Fairytales and Fitness for Friday 2.0.
