Friday Five: Next 5 Races

Time for another Friday Five! I'm joining the hosts (Cynthia, Mar, and Courtney) for this week's theme: Free Friday. Hmmm... all this freedom. What should I write about? How about my Next 5 Races?*

Cute medal, hilly course.

Medina Half Marathon - May 30
Guys, THIS RACE IS TOMORROW. I've been training alone this past month (run club is between sessions) and, oh Lordy, my long runs were not good. I had a little bit of running burnout a few weeks ago, so I've been taking it easy. I have been doing hill repeats, so at least I've got that going for me. (Unfortunately, Columbus has small hills.) Anyway, I'm in it for the medal. Look at how cute it is!!

Healthy Columbus 5k - June 20
This is a free 5k put on by Alex's work (the City of Columbus). The race takes place in a local park I've never been to (Wolfe Park) and if the weather's not too muggy maybe I'll try for a PR. City employees get a shirt and medal, but luckily Alex doesn't care about medals, so he'll give it to me. The shirt is still up for debate. ;)

Emerald City Quarter Marathon - August 24
Last year, Emerald City killed me. I realized around mile 5 that I'm not meant to run half marathons in summer humidity. The race was pretty when you got into the park (the quarter marathon course will be mostly boring and flat) and the medals and shirts are well done. Plus, there's chocolate milk at the finish line. I decided to sign up as a mini-redemption for last year and the quarter sounded in line with my summer goals (keep it fun and easy). IF I'm feeling better prepared I may switch to the half, but it could be nice to take it easy!

Loveland last year - pretty course and a PR

Loveland Half Marathon - October 17
I don't really enjoy giant races, so I signed up for Loveland last year to keep on schedule with my running group, but avoid the Columbus Marathon. It was fantastic and it's my PR half. I'm going to try hard to train for a half PR this fall. The race starts and ends in a cute small town, follows along the Little Miami River, and it was under $30!

OSU 4 Miler - October 25
The 4 Miler's finish is on the 50 yard line of Ohio State University's football stadium (The 'Shoe). I received a comp entry for volunteering at a St. Patrick's Day race and used it for this one. We did the first year 4-Miler, but we didn't appreciate the course as much as we should have. An added bonus: we don't live very far from the stadium so we can avoid parking and walk. I plan to take full advantage of finishing on the 50 this year (lots of photos) and hope the medal is related to this year's National Championship!

*I know we'll sign up for a few more races this year (4th of July, Thanksgiving, and a Santa run), but this is all I have on my plate so far.

What are your next five races? Do you run the same races from year to year?