Running & Fitness

Racing Away

Matt Orlando
Follow Me

With summer right around the corner, I definitely have racing on the mind. As I mentioned in my goals for 2015, I have several things I want to accomplish this year related to racing:

  • Run my first ever 10K (automatic PR!)
  • Set a “30s” PR for the 5K
  • Set a “30s” PR for the 5 Miler
  • Set a life-time PR for the half marathon
  • Get my mile time under 6 minutes

I suppose in order to do all of that I should have some races lined up, right? The good news is I have a few on my calendar already. The bad news is that the next few months are pretty much in flux. My wife and I are in the process of buying and remodeling a home, so our weekends are looking like they will be pretty booked up for a while. It is going to be an exciting summer!

So what’s on my calendar? I will likely sprinkle in some a 5K or two, plus hopefully a 10K, but here’s what is definitely happening:

Belmar 5 (Belmar, NJ) – This five-mile race is one I have run multiple times. The course is flat and fast, with solid fluids and crowd support. I will definitely be looking to PR at this race. My current PR for this race is 39:23, but I am pretty sure I can shave a few minutes off of that. It’s all going to come down to the weather, as the race is on July 11.

Alternative Half Marathon (Washington Crossing, PA) – I am very excited about this September race, and it is my primary training focus. The course is a relatively flat out-and-back on a tow path. Entries are limited to 500, so the field will be small. The course has chip timing, well placed fluids, and is USATF certified…all for $65! You can’t beat that. I ran the course recently while pushing my 2.5 year old in the jogging stroller and was able to do it in just over 2 hours (2:00:39 – caught a knock-me-to-the-ground cramp at 13 miles). With solid training I definitely think I can PR here by a large margin.

Rock ‘N Roll Brooklyn (Brooklyn, NY) – This is the first year for this race, being held in October. I will be running this race with my wife. My goal here is really to just enjoy the feeling of a large race again, with the course support, bands, and just overall good feeling. Spending some kid-free time with my wife is a great plus as well.

That is all I have on the calendar as of now, but who’s to say I won’t sneak a few more in. If I do, I will definitely let you know!

What races do you have planned this year? What are your goals? Let me know in the Comments section below!