2016 Races I Ran

For posterity, I'm going to make a blog post for each year listing all the races I've completed. I meant to post this at the end of last year but forgot until now. It's still interesting to see the variations in my running/racing interest and motivation from year to year.

Here is 2016: 

Date	Name	Type	Distance
1-31-16	Too Cold to Hold	road	10k
2-06-16	Dash for Beads	road	5k
3-13-16	St. Pat's Tri	triathlon	sprint
3-19-16	Dash Down Greenville	road	5k
4-10-16	Zombies, Run!	virtual race	10k
4-12-16	Spring Duathlon	virtual race	10k/5k run/bike
4-17-16	Zombies, Run!	virtual race	5k
4-30-16	Run for Human Rights	road	5k
5-06-16	Super Mom	virtual	5k
5-08-16	JCC Bagel Run	road	10k
5-19-16	Kickoff	road	5k
5-22-16	Texasman Triathlon	triathlon	Olympic
6-25-16	Meaningful Miles	road	10k
8-13-16	Cobra Brew	road	5k
8-14-16	Hottest Half /10k	road	10k
9-25-16	Plano Balloon Festival	road	half marathon
10-23-16	Tough Mudder	obstacle	10-12 mi
10-29-16	Shannon Brewing Monster	road	5k
11-13-16	Trinity River Run	trail	10k
12-11-16	BMW Dallas Marathon	road	marathon

That’s 20 total.

2010-12 Races I Ran
2013 Races I Ran 
2014 Races I Ran
2015 Races I Ran 

2015 Races I Ran

For posterity, I'm going to make a blog post for each year listing all the races I've completed. I really only started writing them down in one place in 2013, so it will be a challenge to go back and figure out what the heck I did from 2010-2012.

Here is 2015:
 

Date	Name	Type	Distance
1-04-15	LifeTime Tri	indoor	1 hr tri
1-10-15	Bold in the Cold	road	15k
1-31-15	Big D Climb	stairs	53 stories
2-14-15	Dash for the Beads	road	5k
3-29-15	Historic McKinney Kiwanis	sprint tri	Distance
4-14-15	Five55 Series*	aquathlon	500m + 5k
4-19-15	Caveman Tri**	sprint tri	Distance
5-10-15	JCC Bagel Run***	road	10k
5-16-15	Bubble Run	fun run	5k
5-17-15	Grand Tri Fest****	sprint tri	Distance
8-08-15	Cobra Brew	road	5k
9-07-15	Blackland Tri	sprint tri	Distance
9-26-15	Jailbreak	obstacle/mud	5k
9-27-15	Stonebridge Tri	sprint tri	Distance
11-1-15	LLS Light the Night	charity walk	5k
11-14-15	Trinity River Run	road	5k
11-26-15	Cold Turkey (SLC)	road	5k
12-6-15	Ugly Sweater Run (NE)	road	5k

That's 14 events completed!

Missed due to *injury and **illness
***Canceled due to tornadoes
****Canceled due to flooding
All within a month. No refunds, no transfers, no fun.


2010-12 Races I Ran

2013 Races I Ran 
2014 Races I Ran
...
2016 Races I Ran 

2014 Races I Ran

For posterity, I'm going to make a blog post for each year listing all the races I've completed. I really only started writing them down in one place in 2013, so it will be a challenge to go back and figure out what the heck I did from 2010-2012.

I sign up for A LOT of races because I do it for fun, not for performance. But I'll admit that I pretty much lost my damn mind in 2014.
  
Here it is:

Date	Name	Type	Distance
March	US Road Running	virtual	5k
3-01-14	Be the Match	road	5k
3-22-14	Warrior Dash	obstacle/mud	5k
April	US RR	virtual	5k
4-10-14	White Rock Celebration	road	5k
4-21-14	Stand with Boston	virtual	10k
4-27-14	Lone Star	road	10k
5-03-14	Cinco de Miler	road	5 mi
5-03-14	Cinco de Muddo	obstacle/mud	5k
5-04-14	Tough Mudder	obstacle/mud	12 mi
5-08-14	Katy Trail	road	5k
5-10-14	Gladiator	obstacle/mud	5k
5-11-14	JCC Bagel Run	road	10k
5-14-14	Jumpin Jellyfish	virtual	5k
5-17-14	Spartan Super	obstacle/mud	8-10 mi
5-18-14	Spartan Sprint	obstacle/mud	4-5 mi
5-22-14	US RR Diamond	virtual	10k
5-24-14	World Domination	virtual	5k
5-26-14	US RR	virtual	5k
6-18-14	Merrell Down & Dirty	obstacle/mud	6 mi
6-17-14	Red Pirate US RR	virtual	5k
7-12-14	RAMS	road	5k
8-23-14	Nocturnal Lands	fun run	5k
8-31-14	Disneyland	road	half
10-4-14	Rugged & Raw	trail	10k
October	Choice 5k	virtual	5k
10-14-14	Five55 Series	aquathlon	500m + 5k
10-19-14	Honored Hero Half	road	half
10-25-14	Double Trouble*	road	5k/10k
11-15-14	Six:02	road	6k
11-27-14	Turkey Trot	road	8 mi
12-28-14	One Big Fat Run	virtual	5k

That's 31 races run!

*Double Trouble was really obnoxious in that I couldn't find any registration confirmation from when I registered in July and did not receive any updates and ended up going out of town instead of running it and couldn't get a refund or transfer or anything.
  
My 2010-12 Races
My 2013 Races
... 
My 2015 Races 
My 2016 Races

2013 Races I Ran

For posterity, I'm going to make a blog post for each year listing all the races I've completed. I really only started writing them down in one place in 2013, so it will be a challenge to go back and figure out what the heck I did from 2010-2012.

I sign up for A LOT of races because I do it for fun, not for performance.

So here's 2013: 

Date	Name	Type	Distance
1-19-13	Electric Run	fun run	5k
2-02-13	Graffiti Run	fun run	5k
4-06-13	Hero Rush	obstacle/mud	4-5 mi
5-14-13	Bring Home Bowe	road	5k
6-01-13	Miles of Mud	mud/obstacle	4 mi
6-22-13	Splash Dash	fun run	5k
9-07-13	Mud Factor	obstacle/mud	5k
9-21-13	Neon Splash Dash	fun run	5k
9-30-13	Get Out & Run	virtual	10k
10-05-13	Rugged & Raw	trail	10k
10-19-13	Choice 5k	road	5k
10-20-13	Get Out & Run	virtual	10k
10-22-13	Halloween Team	virtual	5k
11-01-13	Bad Prom Run	fun run	5k
11-23-13	Savage Race*	obstacle/mud	10k
11-xx-13	Get Out & Run	virtual	10k
11-30-13	Ugly Sweater Run	fun run	5k
12-01-13	Fit Fatties	virtual	5k
12-15-13	Spartan Beast	obstacle/mud	15.2 mi

That's 19 races run!

*Savage Race was my first ever DNF, and I am very proud of it.

My 2010-12 Races
...
My 2014 Races
My 2015 Races  My 2016 Races

2010-2012 Races I Ran

For posterity, I'm going to make a blog post for each year listing all the races I've completed. I really only started writing them down in one place in 2013, so it's been a challenge to go back and figure out what the heck I did from 2010-2012.

Date	Name	Type	Distance
7-24-10	Boryeong Mud Festival	mud flats	5k
9-12-10	DMZ International Peace Marathon	road	10k
10-2-10	Energizer Night Race	road (zoo)	5k
10-30-10	???*	road	10k
11-14-10	8th Sports Seoul Marathon?	Type	Distance
11-21-10	Son Koe-Chung Peace Marathon	road	5k
12-19-10	Something Else?	road	distance
4-16-11	Warrior Dash	obstacle/mud	5k
5-01-11	Heels and Hills	road	half
6-05-11	Merrell Down & Dirty	obstacle/mud	5k
6-25-11	Patriot Games	obstacle/mud	5k
6-16-12	Gladiator	obstacle/mud	4 mi
11-03-12	Foam Fest	obstacle/mud	5k
11-17-12	Glo Run	fun run	5k

*I have pictures from this event but cannot find any other info. It was the "World Cup Stadium Marathon" or something like that.

That's 14 races run!

My 2013 Races 
My 2014 Races
My 2015 Races  My 2016 Races

Ugly Sweater Run 5k

I ran the Ugly Sweater Run 5k at Fair Park over the weekend in Dallas with my brother. It was a pretty solid event benefiting Toys for Tots. The course was nice, the weather just a hair warm for running in sweaters, and the swag unique. Registration included an Ugly Sweater knit cap, a mustache tattoo, and two beers or hard ciders at the finish line. I happen to like the Angry Orchard Apple Cider offered at the Ugly Sweater Run and enjoyed the spiffy ugly sweater koozies. Parking was free, though a bit far from the start line, and this event was definitely worth the discounted $20 registration fee.

I did not make this monstrosity but bought it at a thrift store a few years ago. There are Santa worry dolls and plastic beads glued to it along with a plastic beaded wreath pinned to it and sequined Santa. I wish I had a better picture for you; it hurts to look at.

Bad Prom 5k

Once we got past the $10 parking fee that the Bad Prom 5k failed to mention or even allude to on its website, in the pre-race documents, at the packet pickup, or in any of the multiple emails sent to participants with various other race-day reminders, it was a very fun and well-organized event.

I had been worried going in, because the last gimmick-race I ran at The Ballpark at Arlington was the abysmal Neon Splash Dash. But the Bad Prom 5k was much smaller and sent out smaller waves with plenty space enough for running. The course wound through actual roads rather than back and forth through parking lots and used big, reflective cones and gate barriers for clear markings.

The best part was waiting in the Start corral and hearing the Bad Prom 5k announcer explain basic race etiquette as he advised walkers and picture-takers to stay to the right and keep the path clear for runners on the left! If only every race did that!

There Bad Prom 5k had four photo stations set up with huge inflatables and music: Titanic, Paris, Under the Sea, and a Castle and Dragon. I only carried my phone, so my pictures didn't turn out well, but there were LOTS of photographers on this course, and I'm very eager to see the photos published. I might even order some.

At the end, there was a dance party with a decent DJ, and my friends, brother, and I had a ball with the deliberately bad-dance party.

Virtual Races

Who's a fan of virtual races?

Virtual Races are events that you sign up for online and can run or walk on your own time within a designated time frame (usually a month). Some races are free or charge a modest registration fee to support charities; some offer medals, bibs, and t-shirts.

So far, I'm very fond of the US Road Running virtual race series. They host monthly races and additional holiday events and team challenges. They have pretty sweet medals that they will customize with your name, race distance, and finishing time on the back.

This is the September medal I got. I'm also waiting on a Dr. Who 50th Anniversary Fun Run medal in the mail from a different organization. (You still have time to register!)

Some of the benefits of virtual runs are the opportunity to get a few friends together to run/walk your favorite trails, no race crowds or pressure, and you can split up the distance over a few days if needed.

Has anyone done virtual races or want to recommend any?

Running ain't just for affluent, cranky, middle-aged white men any more.

This article, The Slowest Generation: Younger Athletes Are Racing With Less Concern About Time,
has been circulating a few of my groups lately, and I have a lot to say about it. In it, a middle-aged runner complains at length about the decline in the number of competitive racers among the millenial generation—a new twist on the tired "Wah, wah, millionals suck, get off my lawn" theme.

Before reading the article, I said I had mixed feelings about the issue. Aren't there a number of elite and timed road racing events, some of which require qualifying times? Aren't there a number of mud run events that provide chip timing and elite waves in addition to open waves for everyone else? To suggest that greater interest in movement and fitness activities and greater inclusion is a negative thing is some snooty, privileged, disablist bullshit. Everyone who wants to should be allowed to participate in fun fitness events safely.

HOWEVER, these events absolutely need to limit the number of registrations they accept in order to maintain a fun and safe environment for everyone who participates. I've been learning first-hand in the last two years about shitty fucking races that are poorly organized, poorly budgeted, and straight-up dangerous: Patriot Games in Denton 2011, Firefly in Plano 2012, Mud Factor 5k in DFW this year, and the egregiously aggravating Neon Splash Dash in Arlington last weekend.*

On the upside, I'm planning 2014 more carefully around established and proven events, with a greater focus on half and full marathon road races than fun runs, adventure runs, and obstacle runs. But these hellish gimmicky first-time events are endangering their participants, leaving a bad taste in their mouths, and literally turning them off to running altogether.** THAT is what is doing the sport of running a disservice, not participants who are not competitive.

Since reading the article, I would like to say that I think the author draws a lot of faulty conclusions and is probably not very good at math. Because of the explosion in fun run event popularity, there are more races for competitive runners to choose from, so you're less likely to compete against the best at any one event, AND there are thousands more run-walkers and walkers registering and skewing the median and average result times without necessarily impacting the number of competitive runners out there, just the percentage.

I don't know anything about Olympic and world championship racing, but I fail to see how it is related to regular road races and fun run events, which happen to get more people into running at all levels of ability who never would have tried it in the first place. You can't open a running mag without seeing a profile on a now-competitive runner who got into the sport "for fun."

I find it interesting/disappointing that the Tough Mudder uses dis/able-ist language, calling timed races "lame," and am especially glad I passed that one up for the Spartan Beast instead.***

*I should put together a page where I review the events I've run and link it here.

**A friend of mine had so much difficulty getting to Neon Splash Dash and was treated so poorly at the event and refused any kind of refund that she has sworn off all races.

***My buddy bailed, so it looks like I'm going alone. Drop me a line if you'd like to run with me, pretty please.

Neon Splash Dash 5k-Fail

My friends and I had the distinct displeasure of running shuffling through a 5k 4k fun run this weekend, so here I want to review the Neon Splash Dash (Dallas) at the Ballpark at Arlington.

It's pretty obvious that the Neon Splash Dash organizers know approximately jack and shit about the location of the race they hosted. Early packet pickup was held at a location in Dallas at least an hour from the event itself. This is great for me because it was near my office, so I got my stuff and a friend's, and two other friends also live near the pickup. The 5th in our party, though, lived on the far side of town and had already arrived at the event and paid for parking before realizing she forgot her ticket, and the check-in table refused to accept and scan it from her smart phone. Others of us were already on the road and unable to help, so she went home in tears, unable to run at all.

The rest of us arrived about an hour before the first wave, and a good thing, too, since it took a full 20-25 minutes once we arrived to park and walk to the event. The first wave was scheduled to take off at 8 and did start shortly after that. Each wave would be divided into a few hundred people with runners at the front, followed by joggers and walkers. Except that's not what happened because the Neon Splash Dash was so egregiously oversold with many thousands of people too many for the venue. We wanted to get into a jogging wave, but there was no organization, just a massive crowd milling near-ish the starting line, moving 10-15 feet closer as each wave was released. We couldn't hear a word from the announcer but finally passed the start line at 8:32.

I'm in the purple fluffies.

The course itself was marked by nearly invisible traffic cones without even reflective tape and wound back and forth through a parking lot. Yeah. Unable to see the Neon Splash Dash course or any of its turns, we had no choice but to follow the crowd and try to shuffle through, with no opportunity to run except for the slowest of slow trots.

A few runners passed, courteously calling out as they did, "Walkers to the left!" A woman near me remarked in a nasty tone, "Guess they didn't get the memo that it's about FUNness not fitness," like she was so clever. So I shouted back, "Guess some people didn't get the memo about basic race etiquette. And just what the hell do you think DASH means, anyway?"

The splash zones where they sprayed us with neon water were actually well-lit and well-padded with a great cushion to absorb extra wetness before runners stepped out onto the pavement again. That was a good design.

I quickly lost count of participants that I saw darting across race markers from one turn to the next, skipping every possible corner. Three of found an easy pace, including myself and an extra we picked up through Meetup who had run a 10k obstacle that morning and was grateful for an easy run, and we jogged the whole course and finished together in 34:37. Hm. I'd run a 5k less than a week ago, found it very taxing, and finished in 39:37. I definitely did not pick up 5 minutes in a week while chatting comfortably throughout and without breaking a sweat. I'm guessing the course was about 2.5 or 2.65 miles instead of the purported 3.1. An email from Neon Splash Dash had this to say about it:

The course was marked by Police Officers & Ex-Military Soldiers with 25+ years of service. They take pride in doing their job, and doing it well. We take extreme attention to detail when it comes to measuring the course. We can assure you that the course as marked was EXACTLY 5k in distance. Additionally, we would NEVER mark a course with curbs & sidewalks you would have to cross over, and this course definitely didn't have any as we marked it. HOWEVER- during the event, there are always a select few who would rather take short cuts than to stay on the marked course. We don't mind, except that when they do that everyone behind them tends to follow. That is exactly what happened Saturday night. A few decided to take some shortcuts, and lead a number of you off course, over curbs/sidewalks while cutting some distance off at the same time. As soon as it was brought to our attention, we scrambled as many Staff & Volunteers over to re-correct and get you back on track.

I'm really glad that Neon Splash Dash emailed me a link to participate in a survey about the event, and I really enjoyed filling it out.

Where do you think we should advertise in order to obtain more participants?

Maybe you should put that effort into improving the safety* and enjoyment of this event instead of unnecessary promotion. I really think you need to put a cap on this event and that having so many thousands of participants was largely a detriment to the enjoyment of it. I'll be certain never to register for this event in the future. Finding a venue that can support such numbers of people with a wider, safer course to run is imperative.

(*We passed a woman who had tripped and fallen on a deep, unmarked hole in the pavement, of which there were many throughout the course. Did I mention this was a night race?)

Besides lowering the price, what else could we do to entice more people to Register for our Event?

You were unable to adequately support and run the event for as many people as did attend; why do you think you need more? You provided only a handful of porta-potties that ran out of paper at least an hour before the race began, a course too small for the number of participants, cones that were practically invisible and mostly knocked out of place long before most runners even started instead of visible course markers. You could have used the pre-race notifications and participant packets to educate participants about basic race etiquette in order to make it safer for everyone involved.

Neon Splash Dash did get pictures posted quickly; they were up Monday after a Saturday night event. But instead of setting up a photography website that is searchable by bib number, they posted 600+ photos on Facebook and directed participants to tag themselves. As if we have the time or desire to do your photographer's job for him. Fortunately, one of my friends did get a before and after picture of us, so I feel free to do any number of better things than pore over blurry night photos.

Far right, you can almost see my twinkling tutu.

I have to say, with the raging popularity of fun run events, the scores of events available, the years of experience in race organization compiled into published books and guides, and the millions of dollars these events make on participants' registration fees, merchandise purchases, and parking fees, there is absolutely NO excuse for this kind of shoddy execution.