My Race Bucket List

Now that I’ve officially knocked out my first actual race, I feel more comfortable sharing this. I’ve always had a race bucket list, even when my relationship with running has been rocky.

1. A marathon in the World Marathon Majors: Boston, Chicago, New York, London, or Berlin.

Will I ever qualify for the Boston? Maybe, maybe not. Am I okay with maybe never running Boston? Yes, because I know that I’m not a natural runner and maybe the qualifying time will never be in my reach. But there are other big races out there, and I’m going to make darn sure to enjoy them!

2. A 10-miler, half, or full in Disney–or more?

Because I love Disney World like nobody’s business. (Yes, I am and always will be a kid at heart.) And how cool would it be to run through Disney? Super cool. Any other answer you may have had is wrong.

Disney also has 2 challenges above and beyond the full marathon. The lesser of the crazy ones (because a full marathon isn’t crazy enough) is the Goofy Marathon and a Half Challenge. According to Disney:

Participants run the half on Saturday and then the full on Sunday. (Doesn’t that sound like so much fun?) You get 3 pieces of bling–1 for each race, and 1 for Goofy’s Challenge specifically.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Disney is debuting the Dopey Challenge in 2014. If you complete the 5k, 10k, half, and full, you can officially say you’re Dopey enough to run 48.6 miles worth of races in 4 days.

If you complete it, you get six pieces of bling–one for each race, one for Goofy’s Challenge, and one for the Dopey Challenge.

Will I ever be Goofy or Dopey enough to complete one of these? I won’t lie, the idea is incredibly appealing, if nothing else but to say that you did it. (Plus, it’s Disney. You can’t go wrong with Disney.) The reality, on the other hand… 😉 only time will tell!

3. Nike Women’s Half or Full.

Because (1) the full is in San Francisco and the half is in DC, and running in San Francisco or DC would be absolutely magical and (2) the medal is a Tiffany’s necklace. And they’re handed out by studly firemen. Uhm, yes please!

I’ve also heard that Nike does an excellent job of putting on a good race, so I guess there’s that, too. 😉

4. Nashville’s Country Music Half or Full.

Since going to Texas for school, I’ve become a huge fan of country music. Since becoming a huge fan of country music, I’ve wanted to go to Nashville. Since becoming a runner (it still feels mildly weird to call myself that), I discovered Nashville’s Country Music Marathon. I listen to country music while I run anyways, so I might as well get the live thing, right? 😉

5. The Houston Half or Full.

This is definitely something I want to do before I graduate.

I had several friends and professors who’ve run Houston, and I’ve heard nothing but good things about it. I’m stuck in Houston for at least the next 2 years anyways, so I might as well enjoy it. 🙂

6. A trail race.

I like running on roads and through cities more because it’s much more entertaining to me than staring at trees for hours on end. But, one of the things I love about running is being so connected with nature, and where better to do so than on a trail in the middle of nowhere?

7. A race in the mountains.

I’ve been obsessed with the mountains (hello, Colorado!) since I first set eyes on pictures of them. I got a small taste of what mountain life would be like when I visited colleges in Vermont and Massachusetts, and even those pale in comparison to the Rockies.

Where are some places/races that you want to run? If you’re not a runner, if given the opportunity to do some active activity (yoga, walking/hiking, anything!) in any place in the world, where would it be?