Race Calendar

Now that the Ragnar Relay is in my rear-view mirror, I can look forward to some upcoming races. I have three ahead of me that I'll participate in, and beyond that some other potential races as well.

Nov. 8: Mission Inn Run, 10K

I ran in this race last year and will make it two consecutive years running in the Mission Inn Run. I like it because it's very close to my house (start line is about six miles away) and it's been the big (only?) race in Riverside for a while now. I remember back before I ever was interested in running how I'd hear about the race and just thought it was another one of those things that wasn't for me.

There is a bit of a new wrinkle in the race. This year, aside from the 5K and 10K course, there is a half-marathon. As much as I'd love to run a half-marathon, my Loper pace leader recommended only running the 10K. The Sunday before the race and the Sunday after, we're running 15 miles each day so she said it was best to stick to the shorter distance on race day. They apparently had created our training plan without knowing there would be a half-marathon at the Mission Inn, otherwise we might have been slated to include that in our regimen.

Dec. 6: Lopers Holiday Classic, 15K

I've never ran in this race but it's the Lopers' annual event so I'm going to go for it. A 15K is roughly 9.3 miles (or three 5Ks), which is a distance I feel great about. It seems like a bit of a challenge, not just in completing the distance but in trying to get a good time. I have some strategy for the 10K and would have one for the 5K but not sure about the 15K. For instance, what kind of pace would I try to keep the first couple of miles? How do I incorporate the fuel belt and the Gu? I think I'll leave my fuel belt off for the 10K but it seems it would be a necessity for the 15K, because those extra three miles will take about 25-30 minutes to run.

Feb. 7: Surf City USA, marathon

Obviously, the big race on my calendar. I've already registered for this one and I'm looking forward to it already. It's still a ways away but I'm confident I'll get there in one piece, physically and mentally. I don't want to psyche myself out but we've barely completed a third of our training for it with the Lopers. We haven't ran more than 12 miles, and we'll be hitting 15 miles soon enough, 18 miles and then in January I believe we have a pair of 20-milers. Those will be fun.

I guess I'm figuring that once I get to those longer training runs I can start to really feel up for the marathon.

April 23-24: Ragnar Relay, Southern California

I'm hooked on the Ragnar Relay. Truth be told, though, Mrs. LB is NOT a fan of it. She was worried something would happen to me out there, and while there was the sad and unfortunate death during last weekend's race, that was an isolated incident.

There are literally Ragnar Relay races all over the country, and to have one in my own backyard is rather enticing. I'm not sure if any of my Desert Tortoise teammates would be up for it - haven't really asked, though some had said they'd do it again - but I've just been toying with the idea of running it. The route is basically down Pacific Coast Highway so there would be some awesome views of the beach and the Pacific Ocean. Plus, we could use houses for our rest stops! The path runs through Long Beach, and my brother Danny lives pretty close to Long Beach, so we could use his house as a rest area. I think he'd even be up for letting me catch some zzzs on his bed... or not...

Anyway, at this point it's sort of like window shopping. I'd love to participate but not sure if it'll happen.

There's also another Ragnar Relay nearby, in Arizona. That one seems awesome too since it's kinda like Vegas in that it was out in the middle of nowhere. The Arizona one starts in Prescott and finishes in Mesa, and a lot of the running is through stretches of nothing. It's in February, about two weeks after my marathon, so I'd definitely be up for running the distances.

Still, more window shopping. Hey, a guy can fantasize, right?

Camp Pendleton Mud Run

Not sure about the dates of this one but I'm there. I'd love to run in two maybe, so I might consider running one in June and another in October. I assume the dates will be the same as they were last year and this year, in June and October. Whatever the case, I'll sign up for the one in June for sure and then consider the one in October. Just depends on what else I might have going on that year. Ragnar Relay Las Vegas is already set for Oct. 22-23, and the Desert Tortoises might be back for more, but who really knows what'll happen.