Best Road Race Ever - The Great Cow Harbor 10k in Northport, NY

This weekend Saturday Sept 17 is the 34th annual Great Cow Harbor 10k in Northport, NY. This is one of the most fun and challenging races you will race.  Many runners measure themselves against the clock far too often, but the Cow Harbor 10k race course is a race where you can line it up and just compete.  By that I mean you have the opportunity to compete against a stellar competition - up and down the 5600 runner field - and you have the opportunity to compete against the most challenging hills you will ever see within a 10k race course.

The small island town of Northport's streets are are always lined with cheering running fans and the amazing scenery along the course is enough to distract you just a bit while you try to even split this race.  Up and down the race organizers and volunteers make this a top 100 race in all of the United States. I would rank it in the top ten though!  I have had the opportunity to race in Northport 6 out of the last 7 years.  It is just one of those races you have to experience one time the atmoshere and race buzz is very cool. Get the Great Cow Harbor 10k on your race field trip plan in the future.  Tackle one of the toughest 10k courses in the US and if you are lucky you will get to line it up and race against Olympians Ryan Hall or Deena Kastor in any given year.

Best of All -Time Races (Martian Invasion of Races)

The ThunderDome Running racing team took a little field trip to Dearborn, Michigan this past weekend for the 6th annual Martian Invasion of races.  Over the years I have probably raced more times in Michigan than in Wisconsin. The racing community and the road race scene in Michigan is amazing.  This weekend I jumped into a 10k.

Running Fit presented the Martian Invasion of Races with the opportunity to race a 5k, 10k, half marathon, marathon relay, or full marathon Saturday April 2.  To pull off that sheer number of races on a single race day morning takes a ton of work and organization, but the Michigan racing community did not disappoint.  The race organization was top notch from the police dept, to the race volunteers, to the support from the city of Dearborn. There were aliens all over town!

I think the best part about the Martian racing weekend is that the race organizers realize there can be something for everyone that raced from beginners, to seasoned veterans, to elite runners.  That is what I love about Michigan races.  The race had the charity arm but also had a prize $$$ purse. The race host hotel had a pre-race/post-race breakfast that had more food than many finish line spreads. I cannot think of anything better than finishing up a tough race and getting to reward yourself with a huge Belgian Waffle.

If you get a chance jump on www.runmichigan.com and checkout the menu of Michigan road races, and hopefully you can make the quick trip to try a race outside of your home turf.  A big thank you to Running Fit for putting on  the Martian Invasion of races and to Ian Forsyth the elite race director.

Pettit National Ice Center Festival of Races

This weekend in the Midwest is one of the most anticipated sports weekends of the past year. The NFC championship game at Soldier Field with the Packers taking on the Bears is one of the biggest games in Green Bay Packers football history. There is also a buzz around the Milwaukee area for runners racing in the InStep Pettit National Ice Center Festival of races with a 5k, (2) - 1/2 marathon races, a marathon relay, and the Marathon wrapping things up on Sunday. This third year race has sold out all race spots and is a perfect spectator race as all races take place on the 443m indoor track.  Come out and check out the race action this weekend.

Best of All-Time - Races

The Yuengling Marathon, Half Marathon, and 8k
Virginia Beach, Virginia
March 19-20, 2011





This is one of my all time favorite races. I've raced here several times and the combination of the location and the weekend of races make it one of the most entertaining yet challenging running events that I have ever been to. The 8K takes place on Saturday, followed by the half-marathon and marathon on Sunday. This means that you can test yourself by rollin two days in a row with the 8k on Saturday and half-marathon on Sunday.  I tricked Kyle Moss (one of the top Master's runners in the USA) into doing that, his real race effort was only supposed to be the 8k. Jogging to the start of the half marathon Kyle was almost in tears because it was too cold and his legs hurt from the 8k, and yet he still ran 73 minutes and change for a top 25 finish.

You can try to wimp out and call the half-marathon on Sunday your easy long run after you raced the 8k hard on Saturday but the reality is that you are going to race the half no matter what once the gun goes off--it is no easy long run. Race temps are normally in the 50's and both races finish along the ocean. Competition is fierce that just adds to the fun and games.