I'm not impressed with this trend in Running

This week's Friday 5 theme is "Fitness Trends".  A few years ago, I wrote a post titled 5 Fitness trends I'll never be a part of.  I just re-read that post and had to laugh because there are now things on the list that I am considering (...gasp)! You should go check it out!


I now have a new story on the topic Fitness Trends, that I'm going to share.

As you know, last year I gave up on a very popular Fitness Trend, those "Challenge" races.  I've done a few challenge races during my time, and then in 2015 I ran the Goofy Challenge (The half marathon and full marathon), The Glass Slipper Challenge, and The Pixie Dust Challenge, all with in a few months.  Needless to say I was exhausted! I'm not proving any points to myself by running this way and to tell you the truth I really don't need that "extra" medal.

Yesterday, I got an email that announced our local race series is now hosting a Fall Day 10K. Yay, I was super excited to have this added to the line up!

When I read closer, I noticed the Fall Day 10K is part of a Trifecta, meaning there is a 5K on Friday night, the Fall Day 10K, on Saturday, and then the Half Marathon on Sunday. Thus ending in another one of those "Challenge" races!

If you are new to this race series than you may think this is a good idea. I am not new to the series and I am quite upset because ......

1. Like I mentioned earlier, I'm done with "Challenge" races so now I have to pick and choose which one I want to run.

2. The 5K that is part of the Trifecta, is the Night time 5K that I planned to run this fall. I passed on running it last year because I was training for the Wine n Dine Half Marathon (I'm probably the only person who does not sign up to run races as part of a training run).

3. I was planning on running this Half marathon this fall with a friend by doing it as a relay. Now that it is part of the Trifecta, the relay is not an option.

4. Both the the Night time 5K  and the Half marathon were always run on two different weekends in September. Now they are both moved to October to coincide with the Fall Day 10K.

5. So in essence, this race series has taken 3 fun races that I really wanted to run individually throughout the fall and now crammed them all into one weekend.  Ugg!


There are a ton of races that happen in the fall so finding one on any given weekend really isn't going to be a problem, but I really like doing THIS particular race series because it is literally right down the road from my home.  
-M

40 comments:

  1. Sorry to hear that things for these races got changed up. Do you think you'll break your "I'm done with challenges" decision and run all 3 of them?

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  2. I've never done back to back races so far. It's so easy to push yourself too hard, and I really suck at using a race as a training run generally.

    That's really sad that you won't be able to enjoy the races like you thought you would. :(

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    1. I'll enjoy one at least but would have liked to done all of them at different times throughout the fall.

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  3. I do like Challenge races but I understand why you are upset. It seems like they are changing everything about the other two races just to fit in the "trifecta".

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    1. Exactly! I talked to the RD and she said they did it in hopes to bring more people to the half that weekend.

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  4. That's a bummer! I think more and more races are going to the challenge theme. I just ran my first challenge at Gasparilla and it was fun :) but you are right, you have to know your limits and know where to draw the line.

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    1. Yes, exactly. I've done a few just for the novelty of it but that's not how I prefer to run races!

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  5. Oh that is annoying. I haven't done a challenge race yet, but if I'd done all that you had I'd probably we done with it too!

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  6. I do hate when races change things up like that. If there used to be certain dates for the races, and they're spread out, changing it simply for a challenge would irk me a lot. And this messes with your race schedule!

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    1. I know right? We look forward to having certain races at certain times of the year!

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  7. That is annoying that they moved them all into one weekend, and especially that they tool away the relay option :(

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  8. These challenge things are really becoming a thing. They're doing that now with our Kentucky Derby marathon with a race that happens like a month earlier in Lexington - its called "Run the Bluegrass" .. you get a special medal if you do both. Its getting bigger every year of people doing both.

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    1. At least it's not the same weekend and it's spread out over 2 months.

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  9. That challenge sounds exciting, but it is very irritating that they moved all the races to one weekend! I hate when races are the same weekend for years, and then all of the sudden they change it to a different month. The Harrisburg Half here, used to be in April, and now they have it in September, the same weekend I have another half marathon!

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    1. It really stinks when there are several good races on one weekend!

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  10. What a drag that they changed up all of those races! Some of that has happened in our area over the last couple of years, and runners are showing their displeasure by not registering...a once-popular girl's run was so far down in registrants that they were encouraging online registration until midnight before the race! That's unheard of...but they were desperate. I've done a 5K/half marathon challenge and it's hard on my legs and brain; which race are you going to run now?

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    1. I actually communicated my displeasure to the race director and she emailed me back right away with a response. Not only did she say why they were trying it this way this year but also said she would take what I said into consideration when planning next year.

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  11. My first "challenge" was at Disney. Disney races are exhausting anyway!

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  12. That is a bummer they changed it up so much! I wonder if the overall turnout will be more? Or less??

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    1. I wonder too. I can't imagine more people doing the half just because there are now other races associated with it.

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  13. Yes! I agree with this too, everything has to be more extreme it seems like. Ugh.

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    1. It's too bad too cus I looked forward to that September 5K at night!

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  14. That is so annoying that they condensed what was previously a series into a challenge? What is the fun in that?

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    1. I guess it's loads of fun if you want to be challenged and be exhausted!

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  15. Oh no! I hate when they change races you love and not in a good way! I understand that if you add on a race to one already happening (i.e. on weekend #1), that you may be able to draw more participants than if it had just been a single race. But if you combine multiple races (from weekends 1, 2 & 3) into a single weekend, you're probably losing out on more business than you would have gained. I wonder if it's a cost savings on race day equipment?

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    1. The RD did say that it was changed in an effort to bring more people to the half marathon. But you are right, I wonder how many people will not come because of the change in date.

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  16. That stinks... especially since they used to be spread out over the fall!

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    1. Yea, it was nice to have all these local race weekends to look forward to.

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  17. That's really similar to what RnR does with their 'remix' challenge. I won't be remixing. I'm good with one race in a weekend.

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    1. Exactly! First it was Disney's thing, then RnR started doing it, now local races are doing it too!

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  18. Ohhhh man, that's a huge bummer. I would be totally down on that as well. There are a few local races here that I would not be happy if they condensed down into one weekend. Maybe it's just time to find a new race?

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    1. I'll still do races in that series. Just don't know If I'll race that particular weekend since there are already so many races going on.

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  19. Well that just stinks!!! I never did one of those challenge races where you do two or three in a weekend

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    1. I found (as have most people) that when you do multiple races in one weekend, its really hard to focus on one for a "goal" race. You just kind of do them all just to "get through it". You're not missing out!

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  20. I might try a challenge weekend, but I'd be bummed if they combined favorite races into one weekend!

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  21. Wow, that's a really major change! Personally, I like the "challenge" races, but it's kind of a bummer they took all three of these and crammed them into one weekend (when they could have created a couple of "new" events before/after the Saturday event...and left the others as is).

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  22. I honestly don't feel the draw of Challenge races - except for the FOMO I guess - but I get why some runners really enjoy them. I get running them as a "finishing them all is a goal" not "this time goal is my goal"...but if that's not where your mind is, it makes sense to not want to do them anymore. I'm sorry they changed up some of your favorite races!

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  23. I am not a big fan of challenges either - I prefer to pick and choose.

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