Eight Weeks Until the Runner’s World Half and Festival!

Hey runners, run/walkers, spectators and everyone else who plans to be part of the Runner’s World Half and Festival on October 19th to 21st. I’m looking forward to the event… for the festivities and because many of my regular running friends, friends from around the country and many of you, my blog readers, will be there also. 

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If you haven’t signed up for the party yet… you still can! The three races are…

Saturday, 8am – 5k
Saturday 9:30am – 10k
Sunday 8:30am – Half Marathon 

You can do one or the other… or you can do the Hat Trick, which is doing the  5k, 10k, and half marathon. For that you will receive 3 medals, 2 shirts, and a commemorative hat.

Plan to be at the festival for more than just your race, because they have posted the schedule for the weekend and it is one happening weekend! Here are some of the highlights:

• Meet and mingle with your favorite Runner’s World editors and writers, including Bart Yasso, Dean Karnazes, Kristin Armstrong, and Marc Parent
• Get expert tips at our seminars on gear, training, nutrition, and more
• Be inspired by Matt Long, the New York City firefighter whose journey from near-death to the NYC Marathon finish line we featured in our pages
• Join us for inspirational running films, such as “Ultramarathon Man” and “Hood to Coast,” followed by audience Q&A
• Fuel up with us at our prerace pasta dinner

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Twice a month, I join a Twitter discussion with #RunChat so I was happy to see a new announcement by Runner’s World this week…  there will be a “Tweetup” with David Hylton and Scott Miles, creators of #RunChat discussions. It will be a great place to meet people in real life that I’ve connected with online.

Check out the details at the #RunChat blog which includes a limited time discount for the half and the hat trick if you haven’t registered yet. Then on race weekend, stop by the #RunChat Tweetup on Saturday at 2pm to meet other runners.  (If not familiar with Twitter/hashtags/RunChat read RunChat’s informational FAQ page)

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For the 5k or 10k, you have plenty of time to train and build mileage even if you are just starting now. Head out the door a few times a week for a run or a run/walk/run. And to feel strong on race day, do some core and upper body exercises once or twice a week. I’ve recently started doing that more regularly and I can tell a big difference in my runs already.

If you are planning on doing the half marathon like I am, I hope you have been getting some miles and some cross training in, because eight weeks from today, we will be cursing cruising the hills of Bethlehem.

Hopefully you are doing at least 15 to 20 miles each week, with your long run being around 6 to 8 miles this week. This gives you time to add 1 mile to your long run each week, and build up to 12 miles two weeks before the half. Then you have two weeks to taper and you’ll be rested and strong for race day.

So in the next eight weeks, get your training in. Train well. Train smart. Eat well. A body works best with with good nutrition. And listen to your body. You can run through discomfort, but I’m not a fan of the “no pain, no gain” saying… pain is our body’s way of talking to us, so evaluate any pain you feel and learn to know the difference between pain and discomfort.

If you want new socks and/or new shoes for the race, buy them soon and make sure you do a number of runs in them before race day. And as you train, remember each step you take is a gift, because there are many who can’t run. So do what you can… because you can!

If you are going to be at the Runner’s World Half and Festival,
let me know and we can connect sometime there.