5 Places I Would LOVE To Visit and Run In The U.S. {Friday Five!}

Fun factoid fail. In my last post, I attempted to share a fun February fact but as my husband and 50in50marathonquest so kindly noted to me, there really wasn’t anything special about it. I tried looking up where I had heard about my fail factoid but couldn’t find it and there you go, another don’t believe everything on the inter webs. BUT, February does start and end the same day which is not a common occurrence. (I felt I needed to give you something! 😀 ) My source: Wikepedia, lol!

Linking up again on this Friday morning with the DC Trifecta ladies Mar, Cynthia, and Courtney for the weekly Friday Five 🙂 I’m straying from their theme this week though, it being Valentine’s Weekend and all ❤ , and instead writing about

5 Places I Would Love To Visit and Run in the United States

I’m a huge history buff and enjoy learning about our country and all the interesting places there are in it. And like a lot of American runners, I’d like to run a race in all 50 states; however, there are some specific places that I’d like to visit.

1. Marine Corps Marathon–Washington, D.C.

I DID THIS! I DID THIS!

MCM was my dream/bucket list race and I got to do it in 2014. I distinctly remember putting my name in the lottery thinking there was no way I’d get in on the first try. Welp! 😀

This race encompasses so much of what I love. My dad was a Marine, the race takes you through so many awesome landmarks in our nation’s capitol, and you experience something so amazingly awesome–beyond running marathon. It’s really indescribable.

Best. Medal. Ever.

Best. Medal. Ever.

2. Mt. Rushmore–South Dakota

This is a landmark that fascinates so much for some reason. I’m not sure it’s something that could/would be built today (for a variety of reasons) and I think it’s incredible that it was done in the first place. Like, people made that!!! With their hands!!! (Duh Helly–I know, I know… lol)

The race I would run is the Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon. They have a Mt. Rushmore tour the day before (yay!) and the race is on a beautiful course with views I’m not accustomed to here in the desert. The elevation chart isn’t horrible either.

Not bad..

Not bad..

3. Canyon de Chelly Ultra

I know I have an ultra in me somewhere. Not a long one, but maybe a 50k. There’s a few I’d like to do but there’s one in my state that just looks amazing. It’s up in northern Arizona, Chinle, and the biggest thing I love is how much the race sticks to its roots and culture. From the get-go at packet pick-up, guests are asked to to brush off their shoes so that no foreign elements are introduced to the canyon. I love this aspect of respecting your surroundings and land that is special to so many people. Before the race, a Navajo prayer is said for runners; at the end, Navajo food is provided. This is a race that sells out in minutes and a few of my friends in my running club made the cut this year!!

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4. Anchorage Mayor’s Marathon–Alaska

Kristen at Run Away With Me lives there and I LOVE seeing her pics. Besides wanting to see her, I’d love to run in some of Alaska’s beauty. This marathon happens on the day closest to the summer solstice where there’s maaaaybe 4 hours of nighttime darkness. And even then, it’s not completely dark, right Kristen?

How cool does that sound??

5. I was wanting to choose a fifth but really, there are so many awesome races in this country. I’d love to do Big Sur in California, St. George in Utah, the Indy Mini in Indianapolis, Pike’s Peak in Colorado, Grandma’s Marathon in Minnesota…there’s no shortage of good ones in the U.S.A. ❤

–Where in the United States would you like to race in?

–What’s the best race in your country (if not stateside)?

 

 

Nick’s Run Ambassador

One of my goals for 2016 is to run more local races. I’m very lucky to live in an active community and there are no shortages of races and events to participate in.

When I began searching for local races to fill up my calendar with, I came across Nick’s Run and was immediately intrigued. I like running locally because most often the race is benefiting an organization or charity and that really adds to the meaning of running the race. I feel like my money is going towards me and someone else.

Nick’s Run was started because of a boy who was seriously injured in a hockey accident. Nick was 16 and doing something he loved, never thinking that it would someday risk his entire life.

He fought hard to recover and when he did, he didn’t let the near death experience keep him from his sport, and he returned to the hockey rink unafraid.

What bravery! I’m not sure that at 16 I would’ve had the strength to go back to something that almost cost me my life. At 31, I’m not sure I would!

Nick’s Run helps support Angels for Athletes, a non-profit organization aimed at getting children and teens more involved and active in recreational and competitive sports. As a mom of two toddlers and high school teachers, wanting my kids and students to get involved is always something I strive to encourage them to do.

Being an ambassador for this race is helping me do that on a larger scale and I’m so excited and grateful, as I’ve never been the sole ambassador for race before. I never knew where this blog would take me when I first started, but I’m surely glad it’s given me a platform where I can give back to my community. ❤

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If you’re interested in participating in Nick’s Run February 21st, use HELLY5 for $5 off the 5k, 10k, or Double Challenge. A Kids’ Run is also offered at $5 (discount does not apply).

-Do you like running local races? Is there one in your town you really like?

 

 

A Rock and Roll Weekend (RnR AZ Recap)

I didn’t run RnR Arizona as most of you know, but my husband did and I was still very excited about this race because of that reason and several others.

I’ve been very lucky to have met several blogger buddies and this past weekend I was able to scratch two more off my long list!

I found Suzy last year and it was love at first read. She swears a lot (which I do in real life–right, Scott?) and often when I read her blog, I’m just nodding at how much I relate to what she’s saying. If only I was as fast as her….oh wells! 😀

Anyway, we Facebooked messaged leading up to the race to figure out how we could meet up. She’s from Canada so we couldn’t text so thank goodness for technology. I managed to sneak away to the expo Friday so I could catch her–my husband wouldn’t be going til the next day.

And as I was walking in, she was walking out–as soon as our eyes met, we squealed!

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Suzy and me

She’s so pretty. She’s beautiful in her writing, but in person… ❤

The next day, Saturday, I went back to the expo this time with my husband. I was texting with Mar all morning to make sure we met up and as I looked up mid-text, there she was! Oh man, had I been waiting for this day! I somehow missed Mar when I was in her hood for Marine Corps Marathon and we vowed to not let the chance escape us this time. We seriously chatted for almost an hour there at the expo like we’d known each other forever–which 2 years in the blog world kinda is, lol!

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Me and Mar

At the expo, they had a special for next year’s race and since this is a race we always do (it was both of our first half marathon) we signed up!

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First race of 2017! (wow, lol!)

I hit the Lululemon booth and snagged these really cute shorts

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and used a coupon they gave to buy some pants 🙂

The ProCompression booth was nearby so I was able to visit my Instagram buddy Shane. He is super sweet!

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Race day was the next day and my husband and I ventured out early in the morning. We’re pros at this race as it’s become a yearly thing for us. I wanted to get there a little earlier than usual though, because I was hosting a meet up spot for the Arizona Moms Run This Town chapters. We had a good group turn out for the pre-race photo and it was so much fun meeting women from different chapters around Phoenix.

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Arizona Moms Run This Town

 

After, I walked my husband to his corral, corral 2, and he was off! I waited along the corral fences holding my sign and cheered the runners as they started. I even got to see Mar again! I waited til the very last corral, corral 19, and had an absolute blast. Some people recognized the MRTT name and posed with my sign as they waited for their start. It was so cool!

My husband had been running for about 30 minutes when the last corral started. The start line and the finish line are just under a mile apart so I began making my way there to catch him.

Thanks to tracking, I knew how much time I had before he’d be approaching the finish. I was able to catch him turn the 13 mile corner and he waved to me as he ran to the finish line.

We took a post race pic and hung out for a while and then we went home! It was such a fun weekend that I hardly noticed I didn’t race 😉 (you guys know that’s not true, lol!)

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He let me keep his medal ❤

How was your running weekend?

Have you met bloggers/social media friends at races?

Have you had fun at races you were supposed to run but didn’t? 😀