Best Race Ever – Just Run Series

Just in case you were bummed out by the collective worst races ever from the Just Run bloggers, we decided to cheer you up with our best race ever stories this month. Catch up on all our past round ups here:

Tips for Beginner Runners

Instagram Tips and Tricks for Runners

Worst. Race. Ever.

Every runner is going to have a different reason (or reasons) for why their favorite race experience was their best ever. Maybe it’s the race they nailed a long-chased PR. Maybe it’s a distance that was a goal. Maybe it was the atmosphere, or the location, or the company. Most importantly, it’s the way you feel throughout the race, how you feel as you cross the finish line, how you feel when you look back on your memory of the race. Just like we all recounted that crushed, slumped feeling post-worst race ever, even though each of us sharing today will have different reasons why we loved each of our best races ever but we all have the same feeling afterward.

My best race ever experience was a PR, and a significant one for me, but it wasn’t as spectacular as I’d been hoping for during training. When I did my RRCA coaching certification, we spent some time going over pacing, and how sometimes the first attempt of a race distance is not the best indication of what a runner is capable of, since they are feeling it out while they race it the first time. The instructor used the marathon as the best example, saying, “You rarely meet a second-time marathoner who hasn’t taken a significant chunk of time off their first PR, simply from knowing how to pace themselves better during training, and during the race.” He asked for a show of hands of those who’d run two marathons, if their time was a lot better the second time. I was the only one who sheepishly offered that I’d only had a 2 minute PR the second time I ran the marathon.

Was I hoping for a better chunk of time off the first time I raced 26.2? Yes, definitely. Yet, I can’t think of a better race experience than the second time I ran the NYC Marathon. My first time, I had ITB Syndrome during a good portion of my training time. I spent a lot of time strength training to try to alleviate it, and getting sports massage and treatment. I missed a couple of key long runs, but I raced as if I was healthy enough to still try for my original goal of sub 4:00. That first marathon was special. It was an incredible day, an incredible race, and an important moment in my life. But I injured myself during the race, and the recovery afterward was so depressing it affected my memory of the event.

The second time I ran the NYC Marathon, I had had a baby. Roman was not yet 2 years old when I lined up the morning of the race, better trained, better prepared, and determined to get the sub 4:00 I had missed out on by less than a minute in my first marathon.

Everything about that race was amazing. I adore running smaller races like the Covered Bridges Half Marathon, but there is nothing like the energy and the feeling of a big city marathon. Here’s why the 2013 NYC Marathon was my best race ever:

• I felt great going into the race. You know when you’re trained right, and I swear you can feel when you’re going to have a really good race. I had no worry about a repeat of injury from the first marathon – I knew I was going to feel good and run strong.
• I already knew the course. I knew where the tough parts for me had been. I knew where I could push it, and where I should hang back a little and find a pack to run with. Knowing the course can be a huge mental boost because it can help you visualize and plan your race strategy, as well as make you feel more comfortable when you’re running.
• It meant a lot to me that my son would be cheering me on. Yes, he was basically a baby, and yes, I knew he’d probably never remember it, but being a mama marathoner was all tied up in how I felt about crossing the finish line that day. A lot of my career at that time was about empowering women, especially mothers, to appreciate their bodies and abilities, and reach their peak fitness. I wanted to live that example.
• It was my city. I lived there, I knew many of the neighborhoods I ran through. I had friends to look out for at different parts of the course. It felt like a celebration of the city I loved.
• Crossing that finish line with that gorgeous, magical “3” at the beginning of my time was AMAZING. I felt strong, accomplished, and it is still one of the best moments of my life.

If I never have an experience like that again, it will have been enough…but I’m chasing that feeling still, of going after a goal, and not only achieving it, but enjoying the journey to get there.

Now, let’s find out what races the other Just Run bloggers loved most!

Angela – Happy Fit Mama

Sarah – Run Far Girl

Nellie – Brooklyn Active Mama

Laura – This Runner’s Recipes