A Race Anyone Can Win
I may have mentioned a few dozen times in this community that I'm training for a triathlon in May. What I haven't said yet is that that certainly doesn't make me a stellar athlete. In fact, when it comes to running, I'm pretty darn slow.
Me and my sis, finishing the Brooklyn Half Marathon last year at a leisurely pace.
Notice the lack of other competitive runners left on the course!
Since I started running pseudo-seriously a couple of years ago, I've completed a few half marathons and one triathlon, but for anything longer than a 5K, I've only a few times -- and just barely -- broken the 10-minute mile mark. And that's totally fine with me, although I know that I certainly won't be winning any races that way.
Or so I thought. This week I found out about a race sponsored by a run/bike/swim store in my neighborhood called the "Anyone Can Win 5K."
Instead of giving prizes to the fastest runners, the top honors went to people who knew themselves the best -- or, at least, who could predict (or guess) their finishing time the closest.
What a cool idea! Contestants weren't allowed to wear watches and there were no clocks on the course, so you couldn't cheat by slowing down or speeding up at the end.
I found out about this race too late to make it fit my schedule, but if they hold another one I'll definitely be there. Talk about incentive: a race that even I could win! In fact, first place went to someone who ran a 28:28 -- or, if you do the math, about a 9:19-minute mile. That's totally something I could aim for and really push myself to maybe actually reach.
What other cool ideas for 5Ks and community races have you come across? Has anything really inspired you to run, or walk, or bike, or push your fitness boundaries?
Me and my sis, finishing the Brooklyn Half Marathon last year at a leisurely pace.
Notice the lack of other competitive runners left on the course!
Since I started running pseudo-seriously a couple of years ago, I've completed a few half marathons and one triathlon, but for anything longer than a 5K, I've only a few times -- and just barely -- broken the 10-minute mile mark. And that's totally fine with me, although I know that I certainly won't be winning any races that way.
Or so I thought. This week I found out about a race sponsored by a run/bike/swim store in my neighborhood called the "Anyone Can Win 5K."
Instead of giving prizes to the fastest runners, the top honors went to people who knew themselves the best -- or, at least, who could predict (or guess) their finishing time the closest.
What a cool idea! Contestants weren't allowed to wear watches and there were no clocks on the course, so you couldn't cheat by slowing down or speeding up at the end.
I found out about this race too late to make it fit my schedule, but if they hold another one I'll definitely be there. Talk about incentive: a race that even I could win! In fact, first place went to someone who ran a 28:28 -- or, if you do the math, about a 9:19-minute mile. That's totally something I could aim for and really push myself to maybe actually reach.
What other cool ideas for 5Ks and community races have you come across? Has anything really inspired you to run, or walk, or bike, or push your fitness boundaries?
Comment
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Comment by Elizabeth McGorty on April 19, 2010 at 7:14pm -
Hey Amanda! Was your Lent a success? Mine went very well! And it showed me that I do have the discipline to not eat bread everyday of the week. I've gradually re-incorporated bread back into my diet, but only 2-3 days per week! Score!
Re: your post, I can answer two of your questions in one. :) Nike + iPod. Great little system for those of us of the iPod Nano or iPhone persuasion. Nike has completely overhauled it's website so you can log your runs (I've run 82 miles since registering my account in October), train, or join "challenges." There is the option of running independently (like self-train for a half or full marathon), or participate in the challenges, many of which are community based (a popular one is the Borough Challenge for NYC -- which borough can run the farthest? Um, CROOKLYN represent!).
Here is the website: http://nikerunning.nike.com/nikeos/p/nikeplus/en_US/
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