Thursday Thirteen

#20 - 13 Races I've Run and Plan on Running

1. Terry Fox Run - I've run this race every year for as long as I can remember. Even before I was a runner, I used to walk the 5K or 10K. Back in school, we would also do the Terry Fox Run during a school day. The Terry Fox Run raises money for cancer research. For those of you who don't know who Terry Fox was, he was a Canadian single leg amputee (due to bone cancer) who set out to run across Canada, a journey called the Marathon of Hope. Sadly, the cancer spread to his lungs and he had to stop before he had finished his journey. But every year, in his memory, Canadians across the country and around the world, participate in the Terry Fox Run in his memory.
   
   
2. Run For The Cure - I've run this race every year since becoming a runner. The Run for the Cure is a 5K event that raises money for Breast Cancer Research.
   
   
3. Do It For Dad - My husband and I ran this race for the first time last year, doing the 10K run, while my mom and dad walked the 5K. This race raises money for prostate cancer research, and I wanted to do this race after my dad was diagnosed with, and treated for, prostate cancer last year.
   
   
4. HBC Run For Canada - Taking place on July 1st (Canada Day) my husband and I have run all of the "Run For Canada" 10K races taking place in Ottawa. The race is run early in the morning on Canada Day, before all the Canada Day celebrations start in downtown Ottawa, and has been a fabulous way to celebrate Canada's birthday. Entry fees from this race go to support local charities as well as Canadian amateur athletes.
   
   
5. Run For Lunch - This was my first "real" 10K race, timed, with an entrant's bib and number (the Terry Fox races, being charity events, aren't officially timed and you don't have an entry number or bib.) This entry fee from this race went to help the student food bank at the University of Ottawa, hence the name "Run For Lunch."
   
   
6. Ottawa Fall Colours Half-Marathon - In 2004 I ran this race as my first half-marathon. It was a great race. Small, but well organized, and the weather that day was perfect for me for running - overcast and cool. The photo in my Thursday Thirteen header this week is from this race.
   
   
7. National Capital Half-Marathon - My husband and I have run this race the past two years, when it has been incredibly hot and humid, so not ideal conditions for running. The course for this race is lovely, along the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, but there is little shade along the route. So with the half-marathon starting at 10 am at the end of May, it is hot out there for the runners. For 2007, they are finally moving the half start to an earlier time.
   
   
8. Prince Edward County Marathon - My husband and I ran this race in 2005 as our first marathon. A small, rural marathon, the route is quite nice, through rural farmland, small villages, and through Sandbanks Provincial Park. Unfortunately, the year we ran it was also a very hot day, much warmer than usual for October, and so the conditions weren't ideal for running. Still, it was an accomplishment to finish my first marathon.
   
   
9. 20 km de Paris - My first race in Europe. I ran this race this past October, meeting a group of friends from the Runango Running Forum. The race went well, although not as well as I had hoped. There is a lot of smog in Paris and my poor lungs couldn't take it! But it was fun to see Paris on foot and to socialize with my running friends.
   
   
10. Vienna Marathon - My husband and I plan on running the Vienna Marathon this April. It will be our second marathon, and our goal is just to finish, running the entire race (unless the weather doesn't cooperate.) I am very fortunate - my husband runs much faster than I do (I'm very slow for a variety of reasons, including poor biomechanics due to the way my bones come together at the joints and a permanently compressed vertebra from a fracture in 1993) but he enjoys running and racing with me, so he happily runs with me for our long runs and for races. He does get runs in at his own pace when he runs at lunch at work (as an army officer, he is expected to stay fit and has time in his workday to do PT - physical training.) He is a great running coach and supporter.
    
    
11. Winterlaufserie 15K - My husband and I plan on doing this race as a training run on February 15th. It will be an opportunity to run through Olympiapark, where the München Frühjahrslauf will take place.
    
    
12. München Frühjahrslauf - My husband and I plan on running this half-marathon on April 1st of this year here in Munich. I'm hoping that the weather will be cool enough for me to have a good race.
    
    
13. Munich Marathon - If, after Vienna, I still have the desire to run another marathon, it will be the Munich Marathon. The course runs through many of Munich's neighbourhoods and past some of Munich's most famous monuments, buildings and sights. The highlight of the race is the finish in the Olympic Stadium.

For those who are curious about the various race distances, here are some conversions:

• 5K = 5km = 3.1 miles
• 10K = 10km = 6.2 miles
• 15K = 15km = 9.3 miles
  
• 20K = 20km = 12.4 miles
• Half-Marathon = 21.1 km = 13.1 miles
• Marathon = 42.2 km = 26.2 miles

Tags: Thursday Thirteen, race, running, memes