Thankfully there is an equally as awesome (if not cooler) ladies half marathon the same day in Columbia, MD that I am going to run and I want you to join me:
These Athleta Iron Girl 1/2 Marathon folks are all about encouraging you to believe in yourself, chase after your dreams and be the best version of yourself. I'm all about that. I'm sold.
THE NITTY GRITTY DETAILS:
Saturday April 28th 2013 at 7am at the Columbia Town Center in Columbia, MD
PERKS!
-Health and Fitness Expo
-custom technical t-shirt
-post-race massage
-cool custom medal
CHARITY
The race is produced to benefit the Claudia Mayer Cancer Resource Center, Howard County General Hospital's resource to assist those living and coping with cancer--- a cause that's near and dear to my nurse-heart.
A RUNNING CELEBRITY
Joan Benoit Samuelson helped kick off last year's Athleta Iron Girl 1/2 marathon. She was the first Olympic Gold Medalist in the Women's Marathon in 1984. She has a marathon PR of 2:21:21 and still holds the fastest times for an American woman at the Chicago Marathon and the Olympic Marathon. She is a huge inspiration who shows us that we can all accomplish great things with determination and grace.
Don't know where to start your training? Athleta and Iron Girl have collaborated to create an easy-to-follow training guide for 5K, 10K, and half marathon runs along with sprint and intermediate distance triathlons! Check the guide out HERE or stop by one of the local Athleta stores for a copy.
COST
Registration costs $85 ($100 at packet pickup) for the 1/2 marathon. CLICK HERE to register!
Not up for training for an entire half marathon?
There's also a 5K option available on the same day (men invited)-- $35 ($50 at packet pickup)IRON GIRL TRIPLE CROWN
If you complete the Athleta Iron Girl Columbia Half Marathon (4/28/13), the Athleta Iron Girl Columbia Triathlon (8/18/13), and the Iron Girl Rocky Gap Triathlon (9/8/13), you win an awesome "Iron Girl Triple Crown" medal. I'm all about a crazy challenge, I'm definitely going to look into it.
This will be my first! Can't wait to check it out-- it's 2 weeks after the Boston Marathon so I'm going to just be doing it for kicks, should be super fun.
Never run a ladies only race!!! but I have watched them when my wife ran, lots of fun for me!!! She won't run one again, but to many people / ladies / joggers, who don't know what they are doing!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat point, hopefully everyone's significant other will enjoy watching the race! I'll keep an eye peeled for joggers on the loose, maybe this race has waves? Haven't looked into that yet.
DeleteThat sounds like an awesome race! You should definitely consider the series, too!
ReplyDeleteI've never run a women's only race, but I don't really think we have any options around here.
Yeah I'd never really heard of the whole women's only race idea until somewhat recently with all this hype over the Women's Nike marathon/half-marathon stuff!
DeleteLooks like a great half!! I want to do it!
ReplyDeleteYes it should be fun!! Maybe they'll get one out in Wisconsin :)
DeleteI love that medal! I ran in two all women's half marathon races last year and they were both a lot of fun. Sometimes it is nice to not run a race with men and have them cheer you on instead.
ReplyDeleteYeah the medal is so artsy and looks like stained glass or something...never seen one like it before!
DeleteGreat point about the spectators!
This sounds like a great race! I go to college ~35 minutes from Columbia and was thinking about running a spring half. This may be the perfect race! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh Blair that would be so fun! If you decide to go, please let me know before so that we can meet up :)
DeleteI've run one ladies-only (okay, and men in drag) 5k. I was registered for a ladies-only half marathon, but had to pull out because of an ankle injury.
ReplyDeleteMen in drag, hahaha too funny! Yeah I always wondered if men sneak into these sorts of races at all and if anyone would stop them.
DeleteThis looks fun! I have an event for work on the 27th, but since this is a Sunday I might be able to do it!
ReplyDeleteOh I didn't even realize it's a Sunday! Good thing one of us is paying attention. Oh my gosh that would be so fun if we could run this together!! I'm probably going to go up for the weekend to my parent's house in Arlington and drive from there if you wanted to meet me there and we could ride together :)
DeleteOooh. Tempting. I ran the Women's Running Half in St. Petersburg and it was mostly women. Fun race!
ReplyDeleteYeah I remember when you did that! You met up with your friend down there if I remember correctly?
DeleteWe need to hang out next time I get up to Arlington!!
My only women only race was the first (and only) tri that I've done...it was a good experience, but overall I have slightly negative views when it comes to women's races. But anything that gets people active still wins out.
ReplyDeleteThat's sort of my philosophy on a lot of these events.... Some parts of big mainstream events and women's events are a little iffy to me (I don't love love big crowds and necessarily a ton of estrogen, etc.) but I love anything that gets people out and active!! Win.
DeleteI ran the Disney Princess Half twice and there are still men that sign up. So annoying :P
ReplyDeleteI always wondered about that!! I wonder if race authority people caught them and kicked them off the course??
DeleteThat race sounds like so much fun! I haven't planned my races for his year yet, so I love hearing about them!
ReplyDeleteYeah I really haven't planned a whole lot for this year either!! Just doing Boston, this race, the half ironman...and then I'll fill in the holes later, I always like hearing ideas.
DeleteSounds like a fun race close by. I might actually do this one!
ReplyDeleteOh this would be SO fun if we did it together :) We've GOT to run together some time!!!
DeleteWow did you ever get spammed! I love the Athleta medal, too bad it is so far away!
ReplyDeleteI KNOWWWWWW. It took me so long to delete ALLL those ridiculous robot spam messages........ugh so annoying!
Delete(PS I know, I wish you lived closer so that we could train and run together :)
wow i love that medal!!
ReplyDeleteOh I know, it's a beauty!!
DeleteI have never tried an all female race, might be fun! It just might show up on my 2014 Race list! April is already booked with the Cherry Blossom 10 Miler followed by the Santa Barbara Wine Country Half in May!
ReplyDeleteSanta Barbara Wine Country Half?! Oh my gosh that sounds like so much fun (and I bet it's beautiful!) I love traveling for races, great excuse to explore a new place.
DeleteSupee fun race! My friend and I did the Titanium Girl Challenge last yr...run Iron Girl and then the next weekend run Frederick Running festival 1/2 in Frederick MD. You get a nice Titanium Girl medal at the end of Frederick! You should check it out! Also beware of Harriet Tubman around mile 6hike or so ;
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by!! WOW that's intense, two 1/2's one week apart, congrats! I'll see if I have it in my legs, they may be half-gone by then :) Awesome that they give you a special medal for doing the challenge.
DeleteI'll keep my eyes peeled for Harriet Tubman!?
I ran this last year and plan to run it again this year. Very well-organized event, and the charm bracelet the finishers received was a really nice bonus! Harriet Tubman is a tough hill, but once you're at the top you're halfway through.
ReplyDeleteThey do have pace groups set up (they get men to volunteer for those), so while not everyone pays attention to them, for the most part, the faster runners seemed to be towards the front and the slower ones in the back. The start is a wide road, which helps.
Thanks so much for leaving a comment!! Look for me out on the course, that's exciting that you're doing it again this year.
DeleteGood to know about the pace groups!! I'm just doing it for fun, so I'll pick a comfortable pace to run with.
This race looks fun. I'm doing my next half on the same day at the Divas Half Marathon in Myrtle Beach. It will be my first all-women's half marathon with a super girly theme. Outside of the kind of race I'd normally pick, but I'm excited for something different. Good luck with your training! Here's to a good April 28 for both of us! :)
ReplyDeleteOh how exciting, the Divas Half Marathon sounds like fun! I went to Myrtle beach a number of years ago for UVa's beach week, it was fun.
DeleteYeah this is not my normal kind of race, but I think it'll be really fun to do something different!