Categories: Fitness

On the Race Calendar

Tonight’s post is brought to you by the letter P, for pollen. My allergies are kicking my ass, and as a result, my ass is firmly planted in bed.

Speaking of pollen, my mom found a really interesting article on why New York allergies can be so bad: turns out that many of the trees are male and of the same few species. The male trees are the ones that release the pollen, and having only a few species of trees means you’re exposed over and over to the same type of pollen. I’d always wondered why my allergies could be so bad in NYC where there’s a lot less vegetation than outside the city. #nowyouknow

This morning I woke up in a mini-panic about my fall marathon (which is, you know, 6 months away) and started thinking about my race schedule for the rest of the year.

For it only being April, I’ve already gotten quite a few races under my belt:

Gridiron Classic

Tangled 5K

Disney Princess Half

RNR USA Half

More/Fitness Half

But I have a few more races that I’ve already pulled out my credit card for, and about 14 million other races I would sign up for if the peer pressure was right.

Currently Signed up For:

Reach the Beach Massachusetts with Team Off Balance, May 18-19.

Tina sent out our legs before she went on vacation, and I’m going to be running 19.82 miles over 24 hours. Eek. I’ve heard that the adrenaline really gets you through, even when you’re tired, for these kinds of races, and I’m hoping that’s right. Either way, it will be fun.

NYRR Mini 10K, June 9

I’m not all yay! women, but it is interesting to run women’s-only races, and I had a good time running this one last year. (And the year before, apparently.) What I like most about this race is that it’s not just one loop of the park–you get to run up Central Park West, which is cool.

Wyckoff/Franklin Lakes Triathlon, June 16

Basically, it’s in my hometown–why not?

Marine Corps Marathon, October 28

It’s cheaper than the NYC Marathon, it will be my friend Julie’s first marathon, and it’s in my old stomping grounds.

Almost Ready to Pull the Trigger


The Color Run, 8/25 in NYC

Because…why not?

Army Ten-Miler, October 21

I am dying to run this race again–it was my first long race, and I’ve run it twice. The only things keeping me from signing up for it: it’s a week before Marine Corps, and it’s the morning after a friend’s wedding. (In D.C., so I’ll already be down there for it…)

Newport Half, September 23

This half, in Jersey City, is fast, flat and cheap. The only thing keeping me signing up for it is that I’ve been invited to a wedding that weekend which I’m not positive I’m going to yet. (Yes, this fall is the fall o’weddings.)

What’s on your race calendar? And which races are you considering?

Theodora Blanchfield

View Comments

  • Doing the color run in Southern California on Sunday! looking forward to it - but almost sorta nervous because it's such a unique race!

  • Seriously thanks for posting that article. U never had allergies until I moved here, and I grew up in CT surrounded by massive amounts of vegetation! This comment is brought to you by the letter A, for allergy attack, at 4:24am :-( I already canceled my short morning run w a friend who just started running. SHE was the one who suggested it, which is an annomily, so I felt AWFUL for canceling. My races are the Brooklyn half, women's mini 10k, I wish I could do the color run but I think I'm on vacation, and NYC marathon if I get in. End rant.

    • @Kristin Miller: Aw man :( Yeah, running sounds like hell to me right now. I've always had allergies to other stuff before moving here, but my seasonal allergies have never been so aggressive. Hope you're feeling better!

  • Marine Corps Marathon will be my first marathon, too! I'm going to be logging a lot of miles up and down the West Side Highway and East River Promenade starting in July, so if you're ever looking for a partner, let me know! My credentials: I'm targeting a 3:59 race time and I'm very good at locating bagel shops near the finish lines of long runs. Just saying.

  • I just wrote a post about the Color Run! I can't wait for it to open so I can register.. it looks very cool.

    Other than that I'll hopefully be recovered from my injury to run the Brooklyn Half in May and the Lake Placid Half in June.

  • I had my first race of the year last weekend - it felt good to finally race! I wanted to focus on training and not racing for the first few months, so that was the delay. I feel that I'm in a strange race cycle this year - I've mainly signed up for tri's and one crazy trail race. I'll probably do a few runs in the fall (am thinking about a 20K trail race and a half-marathon), but have yet to sign up for them.

  • Ragnar new england and Mohawk Hudson marathon are definites. Not sure about the rest! Maybe Cheshire half in CT next weekend!

  • Hey! This post could not be written any better! Reading this post reminds me of my previous room mate! He always kept talking about this. I will forward this write-up to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thank you for sharing!

  • my allergies are so much better here than they were in Texas. I think I'm just more allergic to certain things that grow down there...

    I want to run the mini 10K and the Color Run for sure!

  • My allergies are a killer right now too. UGH. but your upcoming races sound very exciting..i have some duathlons coming up and I'm looking into getting into triathlons...havent done the whole swimming thing yet!

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