Tips for racing in all 50 states

It’s been a busy week here in the MCM Mama household. Both boys went back to school this week, soccer games start this coming weekend, and we are a week away from running Ragnar DC. To say I’m a bit frazzled is putting it mildly. To add to the fun, Virginia is pretending it’s July again. My Thursday run involved high 80s and 80% humidity. As you might guess if you’ve been reading here for a while, I ran closer to 6 miles than to the planned 12. At this rate, I’m going to be running MCM without running anything longer than a half marathon. But I’m going to keep my head in the sand on that and focus on what really interests me: racing around the US. I love traveling and there’s so much to see in America, so I’ve been enjoying the adventure so far. And I’ve even learned a few things that I can share with you today…

1. Back to back races are your friends – you can save a ton of money in travel costs by running two different states in the same weekend. (I would also say, try some or all of a Mainly Marathons series at some point. You won’t regret it.) If you aren’t quite THAT crazy, hitting two states on consecutive weekends while on vacation is another money saving option.
2. Don’t forget the little races – I know a lot of people want to run in the big city races, but there are tons of small town races out there. Usually these races are cheaper than bigger races and they almost always have a lot less hassle to deal with. Often this does mean the swag is less impressive (not always, my Wausau medal is amazing), but frequently  these events have a ton of food and often a festival or something afterwards.
3. Know where to find the races – I run half marathons so I have Half Fanatics to help me with this. But if you want different distances or close together races, check out Running in the USA. This is where I go first. They have races by state, races based on date, and a 50 staters calendar that tells you about races that are within an easy drive of each other.
4. Plan in advance – often races are super cheap right when registration opens. Jump on it if you know a weekend works for you. Far in advance is also a good time to find air fare or hotels. Conversely, be ready to run last minute. Sometimes a last minute cheap flight more than makes up for the cost of registering at the last minute.
5. Drag some friends into your crazy plans – It’s way cheaper when you can split some costs and it’s way more fun to not go to races by yourself. Obviously Beer Geek and the boys have gone on many trips with me, but sometimes I’ve had the fun of meeting up with or traveling with runner friends.

Do you have a goal to race the states? What wisdom can you share?

I’m linking up with Courtney, Mar, and Cynthia for Friday Five. Today’s topic is “Fitness”.