Best and Worst in My Racing History Link-Up

So, Jessie, from over on The Right Fits is doing something on her blog that I have not seen or participated in before. She's doing something called a link up. The theme of her blog is mostly running, but also Vizslas (both two of my favorite things! No wonder I love her blog, right?!) and Twin Cities living. Jessie is on a quest to run a marathon in every state! So inspiring. And her blog is filled with great running stories, fitness advice, running and racing tips, and of course, fitness fashion. It's great!

Anyway, she's doing something called a link up, where she has a bunch of questions posted on her blog. In this case, they relate to running and racing. The idea is that anyone who reads her post can "link up" to the post and also answer all the questions themselves. Kind of creates a cool web of connectivity, likely between people who all have a common interest in reading and writing about running!

So this post is my answers to the questions she posted, as pertaining to the racing I have done. Granted, I don't run marathons, but I have run quite a few 5Ks, so I'll tailor my responses to what I have done. I also added two categories that Jessie didn't have in her original post-- Best Costume Race, and Best Cross-Country Style Race. Hope you all enjoy! And please, check out The Right Fits-- Jessie does a really, really great job! Even if you don't run, you're bound to be inspired by some of her posts. Or, just get excited about her super-cute Vizsla, Matilda!

Here goes nothing!

((Click on the Link Up picture above to go to the Link Up post on The Right Fits!))

Best Finisher's Shirt:

I had to go back through my stack of shirts for this one. First, I'll just say that in general, I prefer a normal cotton or cotton-blend tshirt over the technical shirts that are sometimes given out. It seems like often when I receive a tech tee, it is really poor quality and fits horribly. In that case, what's the point of it being a tech tee anymore? I'm also a huge fan of really corny or cheesy images or slogans, so that also affects my list of favorites. Here are a few photos of some that I like, below. 

Love this one from the Shelby, MT Fun Run 5k a few years ago.
I love it just because it's silly.

This one is one of my oldest tees that I still have. It has stains and holes. I have worn it A TON over the years.
Yes, the coveted long sleeve cotton tee-- my favorite! And, it has a great silhouetted logo. Perfect!
More about the Red Flannel Run will follow!

Worst Finisher's Shirt:

Refer above for my thoughts on t-shirts. Given all of that, the tee from one of my most recent races, Kickin' Assphault, is probably one of the worst. It's absolutely huge. The other thing that doesn't work for me with tech tees is that they don't work as well for making t-shirt quilts. The material melts when ironed, which is a problem. So what's a girl to do with an ill-fitting tech tee?! I'll take suggestions!  Kickin' Assphault offers Half-Marathon and 10K distances and is run in September in Great Falls, MT.

I never took a photo of me wearing this shirt because it's just ridiculous. I have only worn it once to work out in and I had to tie the shoulders and sleeves to my sports bra straps to keep it from flopping all around on my shoulders. Not worth it. Good thing this race had some other good swag (I use that water bottle all the time!) and a finishers medal to make up for it. I would have needed an extra-small or a kids size to make this shirt work. Mine's a medium and it's gargantuan. And yet, other times I've ordered a medium in what I know will be a tech-tee and it's too small. Part of the frustration with tech tees. You never know what type it will be. 

The t-shirt from this year's Shelby Fun Run is sooooo boring.
And it doesn't even mention anywhere that it was for a run! It looks like a tourist tee for Shelby, which isn't really a tourist hot spot, believe me. I don't get it. Hopefully next year they'll step it up.

This is probably my all-time least favorite tee from a run. Another HUGE tech-tee. And it's white (equals major see-through!), and it's already coming apart with loose strings, and the graphic was printed on poorly.... Ugh. Fail. 

Best Finish Line:

Probably Dam-to-Dam in Des Moines, IA. This was from way back in the day and before I started blogging, so I don't think I have any photos. Dam to Dam's featured race is a Half-Marathon that runs from Saylorville Dam to Downtown Des Moines. I'm told it's a really great course and it is certainly one of the most popular halfs to do in Iowa, drawing huge crowds every year. They also offer a 5K, which is an out and back course, starting and finishing downtown, which is what I have participated in a few times. The finish line is always awesome because it's filled with people, but there's still a lot of space, since it ends in a big plaza area. They have great food and beer tickets, and the super-awesome Des Moines Saturday farmers market is up and running by the time you finish running, so you can go over and walk through that, too. 

Image source: www.damtodam.com

Best Overall SWAG/Gear:

IceBreaker in GF is awesome-- they always have a really nice long-sleeve t-shirt (oh, the coveted long-sleeve tee!), a medal for all finishers, and a great sack lunch after the race, along with some great coupons for local businesses in the swag bag, too. I've done the Icebreaker twice, but I don't think I have any blog posts from it. This year, perhaps! Icebreaker is run in late April in Great Falls, MT. They offer 5 mile, 3 mile, and 1 mile options. It's always a fun race to do with friends and family.

After Icebreaker 2012. As you can tell by the photo, it was unseasonably warm. 

Best Crowd Support:

I'm going with Dam to Dam again for this one. The course is lined with local musicians and lots of people cheering. Plus there's just so many people who participate in this race, that the crowd supports each other. I remember talking to people all along the route.  I also would put the Opera Run in Bozeman in this category, thanks to the Opera singers serenading runners along the route. So cool! Opera Run typically offers distances of 10 mile, 5K, and 1 mile kids run.

Funnest Costume Race:
Red Flannel Run in early 2007 with my friend Lee. We made coordinating red flannel costumes out of flannel shirts I had purchased from Salvation Army-- and actually won a prize for best Couples Costume (even though we weren't an actual couple!). We had such a blast at that race! Red Flannel Run is held in February in downtown Des Moines, IA, usually around Valentine's Day. They offer a 5 mile or 3 mile run. 

Back of our costume. If I remember right, it says, "Lee and Katie. Friends 'til Age 93." So far, that's true!
On the hearts on our rears it says Kickin' it for the YMCA, which is who the race benefits.

This one shows the front of our costumes... and a man wearing a kilt.
Yes, that is what he wore for the entire race. No shoes. And no... well, let's just say he felt the breeze freely under his kilt. 

Best Cross-Country Style Race:
I have done a few Cross Country style races, but the one that was definitely the most fun was Living History Farms in West Des Moines, IA. I did it with my friends Nicole and Wade (who are now married! See?! If you run together, you STAY together!) and we had an absolute blast! Nicole and I ran about the same pace for that race and this particular year, it was cool and wet on the course, which traipsed over the meadow and through the woods, over several creeks and through a big mud bog. We stopped and played in the mud for about five minutes or so-- so fun! When I ran this race, only once, I think it was 5 miles. They used to change the distance and the course every year, but it got to be extremely popular, so they upped it to 7 miles just recently to try to actually keep registration down a little bit. It's run through an actual living history museum (where I actually worked one summer in the costume shop, incidentally!) and I think they try to keep the registration somewhat manageable to keep the grounds from being too destroyed. That being said, if you ever get a chance to do this one, you should take it because it is definitely one of the best and most fun! 

Image source: http://www.fitnesssports.com/November_races/LivHistFarms/lhf_index.html

Hottest Race:

For me, the hottest race I can remember ever participating in was Beat The Deadline 5K this past September in Washington D.C. It was about 75 at race time at 8:00 a.m., but 100% humidity. Yes, at "only 75" it could have been worse, but it was the humidity that really got me, since I'm used to running in dry, cool Montana. Ugh. I was dripping before the race even started! But that didn't negate how awesome it was to run that course through the National Mall and among the monuments. Unforgettable. 

Before running Beat The Deadline. Stifling humidity.

Coldest Race:

That was the University of Okoboji Winter Games 5K that I did in about 2005 or something like that. Really, really cold for that race and windy. The race takes place in January and my family had somewhat of a family tradition of participating in it. Even though the weather was horrible, we still ran. At that race, I learned all about running in the wind. It was at my back for the first half of the out-and-back course-- I was flying. Then it was time to turn around and run back with super strong wind gusts. Not fun. We warmed back up with hot chocolate afterwards, but I remember really hoping they would have somehow acquired a hot tub for free use after the race! Anyone interested in this race- it offers a 5K or 10K, in Spirit Lake, IA. 

Running in the Okoboji Games 5K. Just grabbed this pic off my Facebook. The caption on FB says, " i hated my life at this point in time. hardest race i've ever done. ever." So, that was winter of 2007 I believe.

I don't remember this, but apparently I got first place in my age group for this race and my mom got 2nd place in her group. 

Most Beautiful Course:

Possibly the Paw Power 5K this past spring in Missoula. The course started and ended as a trail run through a wooded mountain park. Awesome. Wish I had taken more (any!) photos! Also, the cause was really beautiful, in my opinion. Proceeds went to raise money for the training of service dogs. This past year, they ran just a 5K (actually, they said it measured out to be 3.5 miles, so a little longer), in June in Missoula, MT. I think next year the race date is changing to April or something like that.

Tshirt from Paw Power.

Another really beautiful race that Jeff and I both participated in was the Celebrate the Swan, which offers a variety of races in the Seely-Swan area of Montana, near Condon, including half-marathon, 10K, 5K, 1 mile run/walk events and a couple bike races, in late June. The course follows primarily logging roads through the Mission Mountains Wilderness. It was really beautiful (and hilly!). After we finished and were driving to our friends house after the race, we saw a black bear cross the road not too far from the race route, so if I ever do this one again, I'm probably bringing bear spray!

Hilliest Course:

Kickin' Assphault is again hitting my list for this category. There were some MASSIVE hills on this course! Celebrate the Swan also falls into this category. When I did the 5K, it was uphill the whole way out, and then downhill the whole way back. Made for a pretty awesome negative split at least!

Race That Took the Most Mental Strength:

I think I've explained before that even though I considered the Kickin Asphault to be my first 10K, I had actually run one once before, in about 2006, in Ames (my hometown!), called Midnight Madness. I was not prepared for that race. At. All. It took everything I had just to finish. 

Image source: http://www.amesmidnightmadness.com/

Most Disappointing Finish:

I can't think of anything that I'm still really disappointed with, time-wise. But the race I am most disappointed with in general is this year's Opera Run. Even though I still had a strong finish as the third-place female, I was really disappointed because Harvey was so adamant about NOT running with me! 

Lining up for the start of the Opera Run, sans dog.

Now that I think about it, I was pretty disappointed when I did the 10K of Midnight Madness, too, because of how I performed and that I hadn't trained adequately or run smart. This race is in mid-July in Ames, IA. They used to offer a bike race, along with a 5K and 10K. Now, I think they've ditched the bike race and added a 15K. It's run in the evening, hence the name. More about this race below when you get to Best Finish Line Food.

Best Start Line: 

Icebreaker is up there. They have an awesome race emcee, often someone from a local news station, and I love doing zumba and stretches with the crowd. Something about being in a crowd of people before a race is pretty cool, I think. So many people there together with the same goal.

Image Source: www.icebreakergf.com

Most Organized:

Probably the best organized race I have done is Huffing for Stuffing in Bozeman. It's an annual race, but I've only done it once. It's a big 5K/10K event on Thanksgiving Day, with many, many participants, so they actually set up an expo of sorts ahead of time during packet pick-up. Really fun. And they get the race going efficiently, too, with chip timing and a well-organized starting line area.

Flattest Course:
I've run a lot of flat 5K courses. I did a 5K in Ames that I can't even remember the name of, but it was at Ada Hayden Park, looping around the lakes, and incredibly flat. I had my all-time-best time of 24:something, that's to the course, and that's also when I was at my peak in terms of conditioning. This was always a place I loved to go for walks and runs, so I knew the course well, too. Still, when I visit my family in Ames, I almost always go for a walk here at some point during the visit.

Best Finish Line Food:

Top of this list includes Midnight Madness in Ames and Run For The Roses in Ames. Midnight Madness had spaghetti dinner and beer tickets after the race for no extra charge. I always looked forward to a spaghetti feed and a cool beer after that run, which was usually pretty warm even for being run at night. 

Run for the Roses always used to have a made-to-order omelet after the race! Sooooo good! This is a race run and organized by the Iowa State University Alpha Omicron Pi sorority, to benefit arthritis research. The race offers a 5K and 10K and starts and ends at Ames Middle School. The sorority girls all line up at big tables after the race and cook omelets for finishers. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! Sidenote: Other AOII houses also do a Run For the Roses race, like THIS ONE I just did with my Montana family in Bozeman a few weeks ago.

Coolest Medal:
Gonna go with Dawson's Run for this one because it's the only time I've actually won a medal for placing, and not just for finishing when every finisher wins a medal. Yep. I was the first-place female finisher for that race. No website for Dawson's Run. It's a very local race in our community here, held in Joplin, MT, in conjunction with the Joplin Car Show each June around Fathers Day. 

T-shirt from Dawson's Run. There was a photo taken of me with my  medal after the race, but now I can't find it anywhere. :(
Below is some of the medals I have earned. The center medal is for Dawson's Run, for finishing as the 1st Place Female. The outer two are finisher medals from Icebreaker.

Most Emotional Finish:

Again, Kickin Assphault. It was emotional for me because it was really my first 10K and I was just really proud of myself for putting in the time to train and then finish the race. If I get a little teary after a 10K, what would I be like after an even longer race?! 

After finishing the Kickin' Assphault 10K. I got a finisher's medal, which was awesome. 

So, there you have it! If you are a runner, what are some of your best and worst experiences? If you are a runner who also blogs, consider clicking on over to The Right Fits and participating in Jessie's link-up activity, too. :)

Next up in my racing world will include a Thanksgiving Day race either in Bozeman or Great Falls, depending on where Jeff and I are. There's also a Turkey Trot Prediction Run in Bozeman on November 15 I'm thinking about for the 4.4 mile distance. Closest to their prediction wins a turkey to use on Thanksgiving!