It costs how much to run?

When you get into running the first thing you hear is how there is little equipment to run.  Really all you need is a pair of running shoes and nothing more.  It doesn’t cost to step out the door and head down your street for a 5-mile run.  What people don’t tell you is how much it costs when you start to really get into it and when you want to go the distance by running a Half Marathon or a Marathon. 

Of course you can do the local events and the costs might be cheaper but if you want to experience or have an excuse to go to a great city you have to pay the price.  For the purpose of this blog post I am going to stick with the costs of doing a Half Marathon.  More people are stepping up their training to enter this race more than the Marathon partly because it is easier on your training time and it’s easier on your wallet. But is it really?

The Disney Half Marathon held in January of every year costs $160 dollars.  But let’s be truthful, I find it worth every penny.  Yes, Disney is making a profit, but they are also making this one of the best races if you want to have fun. Characters are everywhere, the medal is one of the best if not the best and the shirts for this run are top notch. I run 2 of these events a year and am hoping to take it across the coast to Disneyland in 2012 which will add more bling for no additional cost for the Coast to Coast medal.  The Disneyland Half is $145 and I’m hoping well worth the trip to the other ocean.

As much as Disney might be in it for the money, I’ve heard that the Rock n’Roll Series of Half Marathons will really hit you in the wallet.  The Chicago Rock n’Roll entrance fee is $120, the Zappos.com Rock n’Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon will cost you $155 and the new Savannah will cost you $105.  What they don’t tell you is that for Savannah they are charging for the transportation to the race and I’ve never heard of this but they are charging for your friends and family to track you throughout the race.  Something I am hoping that iPhone’s new Siri will help me with in the future. 

If you want to put your money to good use, I recommend a great race out of Jacksonville, FL, The 26.2 with Donna, the National Breast Cancer Marathon.  100% of the $95.00 entrance goes to help women with Breast Cancer and the research to finish the disease. Plus how much fun is it to run on the beach in February!

No matter what race you choose, undoubtedly you will have a great time and will be rewarded with an outstanding accomplishment as well as a beautiful medal to add to your collection.  If you sign up for the Nike Women’s Half Marathon it can even be a Tiffany Necklace. 

Happy Running. 

Born to Run

There are some great resources for inspiration and knowledge on the web. Recently I found a video on Ted.com by Christopher McDougall: Are we born to run?   Every runner has read Christopher McDougall's book by the same name Born to Run.  If you haven't read the book I highly recommend it.  

If you have ever wondered why we run and most importantly why we run longer distances like the Marathon or an Ultra Marathon this video could give you the answer you need.    Most people call this crazy, why would anyone run 26.2 miles never less 100 miles. Seriously who are these people? I have a friend, Chris Twiggs, who runs the Hard Rock 100 every year, and yes he is crazy. 

Are women more crazy and more suited for a longer distance run? Christopher McDougall seems to think so.  As he points out in this video, women were not allowed to run the marathon until the 1980’s, because everyone thought that parts of our body would fall apart.  Sometimes after I run 20 miles I start to believe that this could be true.  But women are just 10 minutes off the fastest men. Not bad if you ask me.  Thank you Kathrine Switzer for going rouge in 1967 to run the Boston Marathon.  Every women today who runs Chicago, Boston, New York and every race out there owes it to you for your courage to run.

McDougall speaks about another amazing women who ran the Hard Rock 100.  That’s over 100 miles at a high altitude many of times in snow and blizzard conditions.  Emily Baer finished 8^th of 500 runners, stopping at ever water stop to breast feed her new baby.  Power to the women!

I have seen a number of t-shirts around that say “Running is Cheaper than Therapy” or “Running is my happy hours”.  I think we women run to get away.  To have a moment to ourselves and to feel powerful in our bodies. 

I’ll end with a quote from Christopher McDougall’s video Are we born to run?

“imagine a world where everybody could go out their door and engage in the kind of exercise that's going to make them more relaxed, more serene, more healthy, burn off stress -- where you don't come back into your office a raging maniac anymore, where you don't go back home with a lot of stress on top of you again.” 

Road Runners Club of America

Road Runners Club of America

Have you ever wanted to join a running club or start a club of your own?  There are some very active running clubs across the country, who even put on major events. These clubs help thousands prepare for 5k’s and Marathons.  When I lived in Chicago I had the opportunity to run with CARA, the Chicago Area Runners Association.  CARA starts helping people who just want to learn the basics, how to run 15 straight and takes their program to help people of Chicago run the Chicago Marathon.

With the number of people who are apart of running clubs, the organizers need advocacy and support. There are a number of associations that support running clubs and running event directors.  The largest is the organization Road Runners Club of America.  This organization offers the services needed to promote and support local running clubs and events.  The mission of Road Runners Club of America is to promote a healthy lifestyle through competitive running events and clubs. The organization is the oldest and the largest organization, supporting running.

Road Runners of America offer a number of programs to promote running and to help area running clubs and event directors.  The Road Runners of America does not discriminate about ability and looks to help those just starting out to those winning races.  On September 16, 2011, Road Runners of America sponsored Run@Work Day.  The goal of this day was to promote at least 30 minutes of running during their day.  This event encouraged corporations across the country to help employees schedule time for fitting in physical fitness in the form of running. Road Runners of America provided a kit to anyone wanting to plan an event as well as posters to promote the events. 

Road Runners of America offers running clubs tools to help run their clubs, including membership, insurance, and even funding.  What it really takes is a group of people or one advocate to start a running club in your area.  If you have the will, Road Runners of America is your source.  This isn’t the end all be all location for event directors, but it really is a great source of information and provides the running community with the resources and advocacy they need.  The website www.rrca.org provides a wealth of information, and I highly recommend you visit it more than once. 

Remember membership is free for the average running and $75 per participant in a running club or event.  If there isn’t a running club available in your area join as an individual and think about starting a running club yourself.