Racing doesn't just involve showing up on race day and crossing the finish line. Obviously the most monumental part is the actual event itself, but choosing a race is choosing to take on the whole race life cycle. From getting the courage to make the mental decision to race, selecting your race, committing to training, showing up and performing on race day, to the final glorious post-race celebration (mostly involving food and beer).
So, since the cycle in its entirety can be a monster to take on, we broke it down into five stages with blogs from the archives. Here you have the full racing life cycle -
TEN REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD TOE THE LINE IN 2017
STAGE 1: Make the courageous mental decision to willingly put yourself in pain (aka convince yourself you want to race). Need some extra motivation to make the decision? Read these ten reasons why you should toe the line.
STAGE 2: Choose your race. But how!? There’s too many options, too many locations, too many distances! Don’t fret, we got a list of fan favorites right here. Infographic for the win.
KARA GOUCHER'S 10 WEEK HALF MARATHON TRAINING PLAN
STAGE 3: Okay now train. You don’t want to be mid race realizing you are running further than you ever did on your training runs. Follow this training plan to help build your race day stamina and confidence.
STAGE 4: AHHH it’s actually race day. It seemed so far away! Like a little event you had just noted on your calendar. Calm those race nerves. Read a race day letter to get you feeling like the boss you are. Remember how you followed that training plan in stage 3? Yeah, you’re ready.
STEPH BRUCE'S MARATHON RECOVERY DAY
STAGE 5: You are alive! And feeling excited, and emotional, yet exhausted all at the same time. Take a moment to celebrate your race journey and live in that wonderful race day moment. Then recover. Trust me you will need to recover.
See, now the process doesn't seem too intimidating. Happy flights!