What race are you training for?

gooniesneversaydie71516

Curious what folks are looking for. Distances, elevation, climate. What are you training for? What are the best races you’ve completed? Particularly in the US but anywhere really.

cwolfman13

I'm pretty much "retired" at this point except for maybe a shorter charity ride here and there but I was pretty into endurance cycling for a number of years. My favorite was the Enchanted Circle Tour. It takes place on the Enchanted Circle Scenic Byway through Red River, Questa, Taos, Angel Fire, and Eagles Nest NM. Beautiful scenery and lots of rolling hills and hairpin turns winding through the mountains.

Djproulx

I've done a number of running and triathlon races at various distances. A couple that were memorable include the Mt Charleston half marathon, which is a downhill race held just outside of Las Vegas. My friends ran the full marathon there as a Boston qualifier. That downhill run was a quad killer, lol.

Most of my races are triathlons. I've done over twenty multisport races at various distances, including eight at the HIM (70.3 mile) distance and two full distance races, IM Mont Tremblant in 2018 and IM Chattanooga in 2021. I also really enjoyed the IM 70.3 race at Lake Placid. The venue was beautiful, the two loop bike course was challenging and the run course finishes in the Olympic Oval, which was cool.

This year I have three races on the schedule, including IM 70.3 Musselman in Seneca, NY. The race I'm really looking forward to is an Olympic distance tri in Cape May, NJ. The Escape the Cape race starts with a 1500 yard swim to shore after a 12 foot jump off the commuter ferry into Delaware Bay. It should be fun. I just have to decide on a back flip or cannonball water entry, lol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SU1xbt4yBos

DiscusTank5

Ten years ago I was into half-marathons: I completed the Rock N Roll Dallas Half, the Joplin (MO) Memorial Half, and the Tulsa Rt. 66 Half in one calendar year. I had surgery the next year and didn't do much for awhile, except a few local 5K races here and there. My third ever sprint triathlon is coming up in 2 weeks: 300 meter pool swim, 12 mile bike, 2 mile run.

pridesabtch

My favorite and hardest race was the Garrett County Gran Fondo in Maryland. There are 5 ride options: The 125 mile “Diabolical Double”, the 102 mile “Savage Century”, the 62 mile “Masochistic Metric”, and the 44 mile “Fabulous 44” all contain very steep and challenging hills. I settled for the 62 mile route out of fear. Friends who are better riders than I veered away from the 125 & 102 mile rides. "With seven Timed KOM Climbs covering 14.8 miles and 5400′ of elevation gain, the Garrett County Gran Fondo is the King of all Climbing Gran Fondos." Besides Garrett County and Deep Creek Lake are Beautiful. Painful, but beautiful. Hoping to get back there some day.

Djproulx

pridesabtch wrote: »

My favorite and hardest race was the Garrett County Gran Fondo in Maryland. There are 5 ride options: The 125 mile “Diabolical Double”, the 102 mile “Savage Century”, the 62 mile “Masochistic Metric”, and the 44 mile “Fabulous 44” all contain very steep and challenging hills. I settled for the 62 mile route out of fear. Friends who are better riders than I veered away from the 125 & 102 mile rides. "With seven Timed KOM Climbs covering 14.8 miles and 5400′ of elevation gain, the Garrett County Gran Fondo is the King of all Climbing Gran Fondos." Besides Garrett County and Deep Creek Lake are Beautiful. Painful, but beautiful. Hoping to get back there some day.

Whoa. Those routes look like they'd deliver some major pain. By comparison, I believe the Ironman St George full bike course is 7900 feet of climbing over 112 miles.

pridesabtch

Djproulx wrote: »

Whoa. Those routes look like they'd deliver some major pain. By comparison, I believe the Ironman St George full bike course is 7900 feet of climbing over 112 miles.

Yeah, that's why I dropped down to the 62 miler. I've done many centuries even a 2 day double century a couple of times (TOSRV in OH), but it was relatively flat. I live in a hilly area (West Virginia), but still it seemed daunting.

mychellelynne

I am training for a Mammoth March (20 mile hike - not a competition but should be completed in 8 hours) in Burr Oak, OH. It will be my first biggg hike. I am new to hiking also. I had bariatric surgery in December 2022 so I am new to exercise.