1. Besides the Richmond Marathon in a little less than 6 months, I don’t have any races on my schedule. It’s a refreshing feeling.
That doesn’t mean I won’t put something on my calendar soon, but for at least a couple of weeks I’m enjoying not having the stress of training or thinking about PRs.
2. I’m traveling back to Ohio on Friday night to spend the holiday weekend and bring my wife and son home — they stayed the week with my in-laws. I’ll have a chance to do a longish flat run over the weekend. And guess what? The forecast is to be really hot. So much for it being cooler there.
3. Speaking of Ohio … I said “never say never” the other day, right? After that post, I discovered that next year’s Cleveland Half is only $40 through May 31. That’s very tempting …
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
LOL. I think racing is like childbirth. You say “never again” in the delivery room/finish area, but after you’ve had a shower you are already thinking about the next one.
I always try to avoid that phrase; I think I said it once after my second marathon. As for a race like Cleveland, it deserves a second chance. I just don’t know if it will be a year from now or 5 years from now.
It’s weird, I was way into “racing mode” for a long time (pre-injury) and found that it was both motivating and also an easy obsession. I’m back to running now but not racing and part of me misses it (having a goal to work towards) and part of me is relieved as well!
I’m interested that you want to go back to Cleveland! Especially considering you seemed to have a pretty mediocre view of the race, it’s nice to see visitors recognizing that CLE isn’t just a Mistake on the Lake. I will say that, while I’ll always love our dear city I think there are better area races there. You might not know it from the Rite Aid Marathon/Half, but Cleveland has a pretty snazzy racing scene. The Towpath Marathon is really beautiful and a nice, flat course, for instance, and people rave about the Akron Marathon experience. I heard the City of Kent (just south of Cleveland) is hosting a marathon now too-it’s one of the prettiest areas in NE Ohio. I know it’s appealing to see the downtown and Lakefront areas of the city when you visit, but we’ve got a lot more than just that!
What I view of the registration fee is what is the value of the race. For $40, and even the next price range up, I think the Cleveland Half is worth that. The race itself was fine — the weather makes my views a bit flawed. I just want what I usually experience in NE Ohio — clouds and temperatures 10 degrees cooler than where I am in Virginia.
You can’t beat the (extremely) early registration price for Cleveland. But I do agree that there are better races in NE Ohio. The River Run 1/2 on Sept. 9th is a fun race on a really nice course.
Unfortunately I only visit the area twice a year, maybe three times. The timing of Cleveland works well, but I’ll certainly explore more options in future years. I love getting the feedback on Ohio races/running!