This might sound weird, but I miss marathon training! There is something about getting up early and logging those LONG runs in preparation for the main event. No doubt, marathons are HARD, but they are such personal journeys. After running 7 marathons in the past 5 years, I’ve had so many unique experiences. The good, the okay, and the sort of awful. I thought it would be fun to rank my marathons and explain why they fall where they do on my list. I am cheating a bit since I can’t pick between the “best”, so I’m ranking them top, okay, and not so great. Here you go, 7 Marathons in 5 Years!
Top Races!
Austin Marathon 2015
This was my first marathon! The best thing about first marathons is that they are ALWAYS a PR (personal record)! It’s so exciting just attempting the marathon, and once you finish it there is SUCH a feeling of pride. Since this was my hometown marathon I was able to have some friends cheer me on, and I knew the streets since I’d been training on them for months. The crowd support was fantastic, I finished happy and excited to run another one!
Mountains2Beach Marathon 2016
I LOVED this race weekend! Some of my family and friends came down to cheer me on as I attempted my BQ (Boston Qualifying time). The city of Ventura was so much fun, we had the best Airbnb, and the race was FANTASTIC! It was a fairly flat course at the beginning, very steep downhill in the middle, then flattened out at the end. I felt strong and ended up CRUSHING my BQ! You can read a little more about my experience HERE. I was thrilled to have accomplished my HUGE BQ goal and had a fantastic time celebrating with my loved ones. It was a weekend that I will never forget
St. George Marathon 2018
This was the first race where I decided to just enjoy the ride and not push for a time goal. I started the race pushing myself (secretly hoping I could hit a decent time), but after getting a side cramp and then slowly crawling up a hill early on in the race (maybe mile 5) I just “let it go” as they say 😉 It turns out that relaxing and enjoying the race was EXACTLY what I needed! I never felt exhausted or completely drained until the very end of the race, and I enjoyed the breathtaking scenery as we ran through the red rock formations. The whole weekend was a pleasure since we did a short visit to Zion National Park and stayed at the Venetian Hotel in Las vegas before our flight home. It was a lovely trip, a great race, and I definitely want to run it again!
Walt Disney World Marathon 2020
This race was my slowest and the most fun marathon I’ve ever run! It was pure Disney magic, and I can’t wait to run it again! What a fun race weekend, despite the heat. I prepared myself for the challenges of the day, slowed down, and in the end had the best experience =) I’ve got my FULL recap of the marathon here, so check that out!
The “Okay” Races
California International Marathon 2015
The only reason this race is just “okay” for me is that I had some personal issues on the course. I ended up with a side cramp around mile 10 that never went away. Therefore it ended up being a sheer struggle of will to keep pushing and running fast in spite of the pain. With that being said it is a phenomenal race, one that I would highly recommend to others. It was well organized, I loved that I had lots of family and friends come to cheer me on (since it was near my original hometown in California). Plus, I shocked myself with an absolutely amazing PR, which was made even sweeter as I celebrated with my loved ones.
My one gripe on the race itself was that the finish area only offered Indian food and non-alcoholic beer as “refreshments” for runners. I was NOT feeling any of that after a tough race. So I always advise people who are running the race to be prepared at the finish with their own water and snacks, just in case this happens to them and they feel the same way I do after 26.2!
Boston Marathon 2017
If you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you might know that this race was NOT my best. The reason this is still in the “okay” category is that… it’s Boston!! There is no race more legendary than this amazing marathon. I loved the city, I loved the crowd support (in fact I probably would have passed out without them!), and even the course was really neat (when I was slightly more lucid and noticed during the race). BUT, it was HARD and HOT, and I should have done SO MANY things differently. I went out too fast and was overdressed, thus I almost passed out from heatstroke. I finished my race under 4 hours, which is insane since I was practically limping through the finish line.
It was a tough race, but a very very memorable experience. And I am SUPER proud to have run it!
The “Not So Great”
BCS Marathon 2017
I hate saying that this race was “bad” because the race weekend had some really fun parts! I was lucky enough to have some friends join me for the weekend as we drove up to College Station, TX. The places we ate at were super tasty, my husband still talks about the celebration burger joint we went to!
The race, unfortunately, was the least enjoyable one I’ve run. This race is great if you are a DIE HARD Texas A&M fan. You run all throughout the town and by the college. I personally did not enjoy the course, lots of long slightly uphill roads where you would turn a corner to see… more slightly uphill roads! I was thinking (and shouted at my friends at one point) “Where’s the downhill???!” Around mile 20 you run on cobblestone, which kills sore feet.
The worst part of this race for me was that it was mismeasured at least half a mile (long). I noticed the mile markers were off starting at mile 13. The rest of the race I was irritated since I knew the race was going to be long (and there is nothing you want less than having to run MORE at the end of 26.2 miles). I honestly didn’t enjoy much of this race, though if I had been less irritated at the finish I might have enjoyed all the snacks they offered the runners.
I hope to add even MORE marathons (post-baby) to my 7 marathons in (more than) 5 years list! For now, I will celebrate my short runs and virtual races. =) Someday I will return to those early mornings and crazy miles!
For a full list of the races I’ve run, check out my list HERE!
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Congratulations on completing 7 marathons in 5 years and thank you for sharing your experiences – good and bad! I like how you say marathons are a personal journey. There’s so much more than the physical activity itself. I haven’t run a marathon yet, but I think when I do, it’ll be something like the Disney one – it looks really fun!
Cobblestone. Not good. Way to go on the runs. Neat article.
This is seriously impressive. It’s so fun to learn about this from someone who enjoys it so much!
Thank you!