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The new year is right around the corner, which means it's time to talk about race plans for 2021! Obviously COVID is making things pretty unpredictable at the moment, but I have some exciting virtual events on my calendar for next year in addition to some in-person races, so regardless of what happens with the live events I'll be earning some virtual race bling! ๐ Here are my plans heading into 2021:
Virtual Disney Princess Half Marathon Weekend
February 19-21, 2021
I had such a blast at Princess Weekend in 2020 that when it went virtual for 2021 I knew I had to participate! Obviously running around my neighborhood will not be the same as running around Walt Disney World, but I am so excited to dress up and earn my medals! I'll be participating in all 3 races this time around - the 5K, the 10K, and the half marathon - which means I'll be getting 4 medals - one for each race + one for the Fairy Tale Challenge (10K + half marathon)! As a bonus, my mom will be virtually running the 5K with me, so I'm sure we'll try to coordinate and run it at the same time!
Yeti Ultra 24 Hour Challenge
March 13-14, 2021
5 miles every 4 hours for 24 hours. You can't complete the miles all at once and you have to complete the miles within 24 hours. I saw so many of the runners I follow on Instagram take this challenge on back in May and I am so intrigued by it! When I saw folks signing up again for the 2021 challenge, I knew I had to hop on board. This will be my first ultra (!!!) and because it's virtual, I have anywhere from January 1st to April 1st to complete the challenge. I'm thinking I'm going to shoot to run it the weekend of March 13 & 14 because that it the weekend I have to complete my longest run for Milwaukee training anyway. May as well do 30 miles in 24 hours instead of 20 miles all at once, I guess? ๐
Milwaukee Marathon
April 10, 2021
As y'all know, I'm signed up to run the 2021 Milwaukee Marathon with Team BibRave! It sounds like the race organizers feel fairly confident that the race will be in-person for this year and that the City of Milwaukee has been supportive in letting it remain that way. Of course, anything can change at any moment, but I'm hopeful that I'll be heading to Wisconsin this April for marathon & state #15!
(If you'd like to join me, head over to runmilwaukee.com and use code "BR10" for 10% off your registration!)Rock n' Roll Savannah Marathon Weekend
November 6-7, 2021
This is a race that I was supposed to run in 2020 that - of course - was cancelled. I'm hoping that Rock n' Roll is able to host some of their events in 2021 because I really did enjoy my time in New Orleans in February! The Rock n' Roll Savannah race weekend also has a 1 mile race which I may sign up for in order to snag a Remix medal as well (every RnR weekend offers a Remix Challenge which is completing 2 races in one weekend).
Rock n' Roll San Antonio Marathon Weekend
December 4-5, 2021
This is currently the last race I have on my calendar for 2021, and it actually came about it a really weird way. I was singed up to run the Rock n' Roll Seattle Marathon in 2020, which of course was cancelled. We were notified a few months later that Seattle would no longer host a full marathon as part of their race weekend, so we were offered to defer to a number of other cities in 2021. Almost all of the options were either states I've already completed, or dates that I knew were incompatible with my work schedule. The Rock n' Roll San Antonio Marathon Weekend, however, was both in a state I hadn't completed yet AND on a compatible weekend, so that's what I ended up picking! I'll (hopefully) be in Texas next December running another 26.2! Like Savannah, I'll probably end up doing a Remix challenge for funsies (and extra race bling!) ๐คฉ
Other Races I'm Considering...
It's really difficult to commit yourself to a race during a pandemic, because you're just not certain if they will be happening or not. It's kind of like gambling your money! But here are some other races that I'm looking to potentially shoot for in 2021. Hopefully I can do at least some of these!
#RunNH Challenge
Summer - EOY 2021
I've been having such a great time doing the #RunMA Challenge this year that I would love to do another one of
Millenium Running's virtual distance challenges! Because I grew up in New Hampshire, I'd love to take on their signature #RunNH Challenge in 2021 (if they're offering it!). There isn't any information available on whether or not this will be happening in 2021 yet, but if it is, count me in!
Baltimore Marathon
October 9, 2021
The Baltimore Running Festival will be celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and this is a race I've been eyeing for a while. In 2019, I said if I didn't get into Chicago that I would attempt the Baltimore Marathon/Atlantic City Marathon Double in 2020. Well, I
did get into Chicago which was the original plan, and then the pandemic hit and everything got cancelled. Currently I've planned to defer my Chicago entry until at least 2022 (and possibly 2023) to hopefully give me a better chance of running the race without COVID cancellations putting that in jeopardy, so now I have a free October in 2021 and now seems like the perfect time to go for the double! ๐ฑ This would be my first double, but as it's relatively close (Baltimore is ~6 hours driving, AC ~5 hours) I think it's a great one to start with!
Atlantic City Marathon
TBA (Likely October 10, 2021)
The second half of the double! This race has not put out any information about 2021 yet, which I hope is not a bad sign for the fate of this race, but if it works out and it lands on the same Sunday that it generally lands on, then I'll probably sign up for this marathon as well and knock out 2 states in one trip. Obviously it all depends on COVID developments (as all of these races do), but I'd love to see the AC Marathon go off in 2021!
These races are probably not the only things I'll be running next year. I'll probably have a few more virtuals added to my list, as well as some things for BibRave to plan for, but for now this is what my 2021 race calendar is looking like. My hope is to have many more in-person races (as I'm sure it's the hope for runners everywhere!), but if that's not the case next year, I'll still make the best of running in 2021 the same way I have in 2020. Wishing all of you runners out there many more happy and healthy miles in 2021! ๐ฅ