How to Choose Your Next Race

Spring may still be indecisive about its arrival, but race season is already in full bloom.  Each weekend, thousands of walkers and runners line up at the starting line in various cities all around the world.  But if you’re considering your first race—or even if you’re just looking for your next race—the prospect of choosing the perfect race can be more than a little overwhelming.

If I do a quick search of races in my area, I can find hundreds of races taking place this year within a relatively easy driving distance.  Of course, it helps that I live in a major city with a bunch of suburbs surrounding it.  But even if you live in a smaller town, there’s a pretty good chance that you’ve got several options to choose from.  Each one is different, and it can be hard to narrow down the choices.  It’s even harder if you’re new to the whole race thing—if you’ve never participated in an event or you’re still new enough that you haven’t met very many people with the inside scoop.

Whether you’re thinking about giving your first race a try or you’re just trying to choose your next race, here are some of the important things to consider before you get yourself registered and start training.

TIME OF YEAR

Depending on where you live (and where your race takes place), the time of year can make a big difference in the race conditions.  Here in the Midwest, you can never really predict the weather—but if you sign up for a race in anywhere from November through March, there’s a chance that it will be cold and possibly snowy (or, worse, sleeting).  If you sign up for a race anywhere from May through September, it could be sweltering.  That’s why a lot of the bigger races here tend to be from mid-March through April and from mid-September through October. 

That’s not to say that you should never sign up for races any other time of the year—just that you should be prepared for the race day conditions.  And if you tend to do all of your walking indoors, on a treadmill or a track, you should probably spend some time training outside, to get used to dealing with the elements.

TIME OF DAY

I am not a morning person.  Not at all.  My brain barely functions before about 9 am.  Unfortunately, most races are held quite early on weekend mornings—when I would otherwise be curled up in bed, trying my best to make up for all of the nights when I haven’t gotten enough sleep.  If all races could start around 10 am, I’d be one happy walker—but, sadly, those races are rare. 

If you love early mornings, this won’t be as much of a factor for you.  But I’ll admit that some races have dropped lower on my priority list after I noticed the 7 am start time.  No, thank you.

LOCATION

When registering for a race, it’s important to pay attention to the location.  Make sure you know where you’re going ahead of time—and how long it will take to get there and get parked (keeping in mind that there will be a crowd, so it’ll take longer than you expect). 

Also, consider the course.  Will it take you through unpaved trails?  Along sidewalks (which can get crowded)?  Through the city streets?  Will you be tackling hills, or is the course pretty flat?  You’ll want to take some of those factors into consideration, too, when making your choice.

If you’re registering for an out-of-town race, also keep in mind that you’ll most likely need to pick up your race packet ahead of time.  Unless the race offers race day packet pickup in the hours before the start time, you’ll need to find a way to get to the race location the day before the race (or earlier).  So if you’re planning on coming in from out of town, unless you know someone who lives nearby who’s willing to pick up your packet for you, you might need to find a place to stay.

PACE REQUIREMENTS

For “fun run” type 5ks, you most likely won’t have to worry about pace requirements—because those kinds of events often welcome participants of all ages and abilities.  As long as you keep moving, you’ll have enough time to finish. 

Some races, however, will have a minimum pace.  I affectionately refer to a 16-minute mile as “Disney pace”—because that’s the minimum pace required for participating in a Disney race (which is still on my wish list).  Often, races will have some kind of volunteers drawing up the rear of the race—and if you fall outside the minimum pace, you may be given a ride to the finish line or asked to move to the sidewalk. 

When you’re researching a race, then, it’s important to know the minimum pace.  If it’s something that you’re pretty sure you can maintain, go for it.  Then keep an eye on your pace as you train.  Because it’s no fun to sign up for a race and spend months training, only to end up swept out of the race because the required pace was just too fast.

COST

A lot of time and work and expenses go into organizing a race—things like getting permits to clear the roads and hiring police officers to direct traffic and ordering all of those cool finishers’ medals.  On top of all of that, some races also raise money for a special cause.  So, considering all of those factors (along with other things, like the race distance), registration fees can vary wildly.  They can also change depending on how close you are to race day.  So if you’re working with a budget, keep an eye on things like rate increase dates—and consider the overall value of the race. 

SWAG

Speaking of overall value…race swag usually pays a big part in my final choices.  For those of you who are new to the racing world, race swag is what you get for signing up and completing the race—things like shirts and medals and tote bags and engraved beer steins and post-race parties featuring free food and drinks. 

Of course, the experience itself is important.  In fact, there’s one race in particular that had such a horrible race experience that I refused to do it again—even though it’s a two-part series that comes with two really soft shirts (which are in heavy rotation in my closet), two medals, and a free pair of shoes.  But it’s often what I get out of it that helps me choose my races.  Am I paying $70 for an ugly cotton shirt, a boring medal, and a “free” banana in a parking lot after I cross the finish line?  No, thanks.  But if I’m going to get a nice tech shirt or a cool hoodie—along with a fun after-party—out of the deal, then it’ll make my list. 

Maybe you’re not as much of a swag snob as I am.  Maybe you don’t even want a shirt or a medal.  But if I’m going to get up early on a weekend morning, I want to get something fabulous to show for it.

With so many race possibilities out there—and so little time!—you need to weight all of your options before deciding which races will get your time and money, so you’ll make sure to have the best experience in the end.

Do you have special factors that you keep in mind while choosing a race?  Which factors are the most important for you?