Big Kahuna Running Races

I am purposefully oversimplifying this point, but the majority of running road races fall into either a 5K or not a 5K classification. (5K = 3.1 miles) Many small towns have adopted a 5K race as a means for generating funding for a cause which directly benefits the community or a local cause. The most difficult part of running these races is finding them via local newspapers or on the internet.

Many of these 5K races are catered by local businesses, such as Turkey Hill markets and Rita's water ice. A few even have disc jockeys playing music for the event. Most all of these races have less than 300 racers with the most prevalent field size being less than 150 runners. These are low stress events which end rather quickly, less than a half hour. Post race activities include awards presentations and occasionally a raffle for prizes. I enjoy training for 5K's because a decent training session for this race length consumes less than 45 minutes.

The big kahuna races are the marathons and half marathons. These are often featured in the monthly Runner's World magazine issues. Most of them are located in large cities and have thousands of entrants. Medals are typically awarded to every finisher of these races. I have heard of a commemorative coin being issued for some races. There are bands playing along the race route and the city's residents are providing a several thousand spectator base.

I have two big kahuna races on my schedule for September. I anticipate a plethora of unique challenges associated with these big city races. Beginning with finding parking near the event, moving toward a dearth of port-o-pot toilets, picking up half empty cups at water stations, slipping on a pile of discarded plastic cups at a water station and falling, and finally the dreaded being expectorated upon by another runner.

I typically do not run big kahuna races because the entry fees are three to five times more expensive than a typical 5K race fee, require a substantial commute and are generally longer than I typically like to run. A marathon requires nearly five hours of continuous running. However, as I have run nearly 300 miles this summer I feel I am in a position to slay these two dragons next month. It won't be pretty though.