My 2015 Race Calendar (So Far)

Since I’m just a teensy bit disappointed that I’m not running the Princess Half Marathon this year (it was my first half marathon in 2013, and I returned last year for the Glass Slipper Challenge), I thought I’d take this time to share some of the races I AM planning on running this year…in an attempt to make myself feel better. ;)

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After last year’s 10K…totally worth the 3.5 hour wait. ;)

I’m sure there will be others added to the list, but here’s what’s on the horizon for 2015 so far!

St. Paddy’s Day 10-Miler

I’m ALWAYS fan of holiday-themed races. And since I’m part Irish — and the starting line is, like, 20 minutes away — it looks like we’ll be giving this one a go this year. I ran it back in 2013, and remember it being a rather hilly course, so I don’t have high hopes for any sort of amazing performance…but it should be fun. :)

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The Love Run

It looks like Todd and I will more than likely be doing The Love Run in Philadelphia this year. I wanted to do it last year, but am a little relieved we didn’t since I heard it poured the entire time. Fingers crossed for better weather this year!

The goal of this race? To get a time that’s even remotely close to the half marathons I was running in 2013. It’s been longer than I care to admit since I ran anything under a 2:20, and now I have the added incentive of needing a new time to submit for corral placement for my next runDisney race. Which is a MAJOR incentive for me, might I add!

My old PR from 2013 has officially expired in the eyes of runDisney, so now it’s time to get serious and focus on getting back to where I was…and maybe even setting a NEW PR. Anything can happen, right? :)

New Jersey Marathon

I talked about this a little bit in my last post, but, yes, I am officially in marathon training YET AGAIN. I’m pretty much starting from scratch — our “long” run this weekend was 6 miles — because I want to try something different this time around. I’m hoping this will be the marathon that I finally run under five hours, and I’m DETERMINED to see improvement this year — both in my half marathon times as well as the full 26.2!

I am absolutely going to focus more on consistent pacing this time (as opposed to just logging the miles and “getting it over with”), and I’m trying to push myself a little harder on shorter runs. So far, I’ve been surprising myself a little bit…running a 9ish-minute mile still isn’t “comfortable” the way it once was, but I was very pleased to discover that I could pull off a 6-miler in under an hour this weekend with only a little bit of discomfort. Plus, I didn’t pass out or anything, which is always good. :)

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Wild Half

I love the beach, and we both appreciate any opportunity for a “race-cation,” so a half marathon in Wildwood seemed like a fine idea. We spent a couple of hours in Wildwood for my birthday last year and saw only part of the massive boardwalk, so I thought this could be a fun way to kick off the summer.DSCF0044

I don’t anticipate doing a lot of racing throughout the rest of the summer. (Ya’ll know how I feel about running the heat). But I hope to do some local smaller races, like my annual 4-mile jaunt at the Cranford Jaycees Firecracker race and/or the Downtown Westfield Pizza 5K.

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Like I’m really going to pass up an opportunity to run for free pizza and/or ice cream… ;)

Halloween Half

So Superhero Racing just announced that they’d be offering a Halloween-themed half marathon this October. I’ve done a couple of their races in the past, including the Superhero Half Marathon as well as shorter races like the Super Santa 5K. A perfectly legitimate excuse to run a half marathon in costume? PLUS there’s a costume contest?! This one’s a no-brainer.

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Last year’s Superhero Half Marathon

Wine and Dine Half Marathon

This hasn’t officially been confirmed yet, but I’ve been begging asking Todd to head back to Disney for a long weekend this fall so we can do Wine and Dine. I ran it in 2013 and it was an absolute blast — I’m DYING to do it again! It is, by far, the best overall half marathon course at The World…and I say that even despite the fact that we don’t run through the castle in Magic Kingdom.

Plus, believe it or not, I had registered for last year’s Tower of Terror — which I had to defer — and then it ended up being cancelled. So I have some magical runDisney race money floating around that I get to apply to a race of my choice. I may or may not have booked a room at Art of Animation (this would be my first time staying there)! You know…just in case. ;)

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New York City Marathon…or some other fall marathon

Yep. I did it again. I entered the lottery for the New York City Marathon. I know I got RIDICULOUSLY lucky year by getting in on my first try, and I know it’s highly unlikely to happen again. But, hey, you never know. This year, Todd entered too, so I’m crossing all of my fingers and toes and anything else that could possibly be crossed that we both get in.

I’d kill for the chance to run it again. Not only because it was AMAZING, but I’d also like the opportunity to redeem myself after the disaster that was the second half of the marathon last year. As an extra special bonus, I would be beyond thrilled to run it together this time. So, we’ll see. :)

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Of course, we’re both realistic and do have some back-up plans. We’re looking at alternate marathons now, like the Baltimore Marathon or Hartford Marathon. If neither of us gets into New York, we may also try our luck in the Marine Corps Marathon lottery.

(Have I mentioned how much I hate lotteries? It makes it SO hard to plan a race schedule, especially when there are two of us trying to get into the same race. Oh, the problems I have in life.) ;)

What are some of the races you’re looking forward to in 2015?

Have you run any of these races?

Who has other race recommendations for me?! :)

Comments

  1. I threw my name in the hat for NYC again too and also plan to enter the MCM lottery if I don’t get into it.

    I did the Baltimore Half Marathon last year, which shares the course with the second half of the marathon, and it is HILLY. Not NYC how the heck are we always seeming to be running up an incline and OH NOT ANOTHER BRIDGE hilly though. And the last mile is pretty much downhill into Camden Yards. Crowd support was awesome too and the medal was super cute. I’m doing the half again this year, but will probably switch to the full if I don’t get into NYC or MCM, because then I get to run by the penguins in the zoo.

    • Haha, sounds like we have the same plan! Thanks for the heads up on the Baltimore Marathon…that is REALLY good to know. Me + hills = notsomuch. However…I am OBSESSED with penguins. SOLD! :-D

  2. great list! I also put my name in for the NYCM and if I get in, it will be 3 weekends back to back of running which is just insane (NYCM, straight to Wine and dine for the 5k and half, then back to LA for the hopefully soon to be announced Avengers challenge) but I know I can handle it after doing Dopey and Rebel back to back.

    if I don’t get into NYCM (I did read that the chance of getting in should go up from 12% to almost 18% so it is almost 1 in 5!), then I will enter the lottery for MCM. If I don’t get that, I will enter the lottery for Chicago. and if I don’t get that, a fall marathon may not be in the cards for me but that’s okay!

    so excited for wine and dine though-2 of my friends are in and 1 is a maybe. I already have a room booked for us at Pop century (my favorite food court!)

    • Woohoo, go girl! I’m super jealous of all the Disney running you do! Sounds like we all have the same fall marathon plans, haha.

  3. Great list! My sister is considering the Love run too!

  4. You are amazing! What a great list!!

  5. Good luck with all of these and your goal times. Sounds like a busy but fun year coming up.

  6. Looks like a great list! Out of curiosity, why do you say the Wine & Dine is the best half marathon at Disney World? I’m thinking of planning my first trip out there for a run (and glory in the majesty of the Magic Kingdom!) and I debated signing up for the Wine & Dine, but it seemed like most of the excitement was that it happened at the same time as some kind of food festival, which I wasn’t that interested in. Obviously I overlooked something if the race itself is amazing! What makes it the best? Thanks!

    • So, I personally LOVE LOVE LOVE running through the castle, but I think Wine and Dine has the best course overall in that you spend more time in the parks. You run through 3 parks instead of just two, and it just felt like a little less running on highway. The Food & Wine Festival IS a huge draw, and a lot of fun, but if you’re not really interested in that then you really can’t go wrong with WDW Half, Princess, etc. No matter what, it’s an amazing time!

  7. i’m really hoping to do the chicago marathon this year (my first marathon!) but it is of course a lottery system, so who knows if i’ll be able to do it. fingers crossed you and todd both get new york this year!

  8. I’m doing the Wine & Dine Half this year – I can’t wait! I’m already dreaming up my costume. :) Fantastic list!

  9. Ahh maybe I’ll see you at the Love Run! Will you be decked out in red and hearts? :)

  10. WINE AND DINE IS THE BEST RACE EVER! I will definitely be back this year too (even without any magical Disney money floating around). It’s my favorite race and I will continue to do it until I can no longer do half marathons. Good luck with the lottery this year! I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you and Todd :)

  11. We’re planning to register for Wine and Dine as well. Hopefully we’ll be able to meet up there!

  12. Love your list for this year Jenny. I am registered for NYC by time qualifying entry and I can’t believe I got it! So with Boston and NYC on my race calendar, I am trying to figure out the rest of the year. I love Wine and Dine so much and would love to go back, but it is just one week after NYC, not enough time really to recooperate. Good luck and hopefully you will get into NYC again this year and Todd too!

    • Congratulations! That’s super exciting! Haha, don’t I know it — definitely wondering what would happen *if* I got into NYC and then ran W&D. ;)

      • I am still debating this issue too and my coach wants to do Wine and Dine too. so…..I will make up my mind soon but it is a possibility! It just means wine and dine would be a super easy race and I would not be able to try for an AG prize! :(

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