Although I finally consider myself a “runner” and I am running the Boston Marathon, I really haven’t ran that many unique races. The Rock and Roll San Diego Marathon was the first race I ran out of state. Boston will be the second. There are some really great marathons out there, and I would love to be able to cross at least some of these off my list.
- Oldest marathon
- Must qualify
- Run on Patriots Day (second Monday in April)
- Running in April!
- Largest marathon.
- Qualify or enter lottery and hope you get in
- Run in November
- My plan was to run this in 2013 by qualifying at the Seattle Rock and Roll Half this year (need a 1:37) until they changed the qualifying times. Now, I need a 1:27 for half or a 3:00 for a full marathon. Eek. I wanted to qualify, but there is still a chance I may opt for the lottery.
S- Run in February
- Said to be “one of the most beautiful marathons in the country”
- Scenic and hilly
- Ran at 4500 feet elevation
- Run in October
- VERY popular (sold out in 4 days this year)
- I feel like all the cool people run this, so I want to, too
- Fast and flat course
- Also run in October
- Another one I feel like the cool kids do
- A race that’s won a lot of “bests”-best first marathon, best October marathon, best walker friendly marathon, best in the west for entertainment
- Run in April
- This marathon was a dream of mine years ago, before I even ran a marathon
- Instead of GU, they hand out fruit (raisins, oranges and bananas) every 5km
- It’s Paris!
- Run in April
- Big Sur to Carmel on Highway 1. Scenic route
- Ranked #1 destination marathon in US
San Francisco Nike Women’s Marathon/Half Marathon
- Run in October
- Largest women’s only marathon
- Each finisher is given a Tiffany’s necklace, handed out by firemen (this is the main appeal of the race)
The SeaWheeze Half Marathon (also known as the Lululemon Vancouver half)
- Run in August
- I love Lululemon
- I love Vancouver
- “Yoga. Run. Party. Please meet the SeaWheeze™ (aka the most fun half-marathon in the world)” SOLD!
- If you register by May, you get a pair of Luluemon shorts!
I also love the Rock and Roll Series and want to run as many (mostly half-marathons) as possible, with the following a priority (already have run Seattle half and San Diego full)
- Arizona-Ran in January
- Montreal-Ran in September
- New York-Ran in October (the best time of year to be on the east coast, in my opinion)
- Las Vegas-Ran in December…at night. So cool.
- Madrid-Ran in April
- Dublin-Ran in August
Which marathons are on your bucket list? Have you crossed any of them off? Run any marathons on my list? Running your first? Which one?
Hi Julie – it was great to meet you yesterday! I hope your marathon turned out wonderful and hope the coffee gave you the juju you needed! =)
Boston was incredible. I wrote a summary of my experience and emailed it to my friends last night. If you send your email to me, I’ll forward along. I finished with a PR! (for my slowest marathon ever…LOL) but I was smiling and am still smiling.
Namaste,
Denise
Denise! So great to meet you, too! Wow, congrats on your PR! That is amazing. I didn’t PR, but I did finish and had an amazing experience, too. I can’t wait to do it again! Looking forward to reading about your race. julieg@runrevolution.com. Stay in touch. I owe you a cup of coffee.