As the Summer scorches on heading into July, my thoughts are on Fall racing. I think many of us train hard during the Summer months in hopes of at least one awesome race in the Fall.
I love race planning. Planning though, for runners, often is months in advance of a race. My Fall schedule is already in place and includes several first time races, and some old favorites. It gets the heart pumping just thinking about toeing the line at some of my choices this Fall. Big Cottonwood Marathon in September, Chicago Marathon in October, City of Oaks in November. I have a great line up.
I recently looked up some info on the best Fall marathons, and I have to tell you, there are some amazing races to run. A few that made the list of the top 15 Fall marathons are- Anthem Richmond, Chicago, Steamtown, Jackson Hole, NYC, and Las Vegas. The only race on the list that I have run is Rock ~n~ Roll Las Vegas.
My question for you today is this….. Do you have a favorite Fall Marathon or race that is a must run? I ask because it’s never too early to start planning. My race calendar is full this Fall, but I need a few suggestions to start looking at for next year. Which ones are your favorites?
Running Wild 
I’m not one for training in the summer in the south, so the only fall marathon I think I’d go through that for is Chicago! It’s pretty high on my list of marathons to run.
I will let you know how it is. Really looking forward to that one.
The Richmond Half was my first half marathon, and I loved it. I definitely want to go back for the full one day. Beautiful time of year in Richmond with amazing course support. And the town was ALL ABOUT its marathon all weekend, not just during the race.
I’ve heard its just an incredible atmosphere.
Wineglass (Corning, NY) is amazing! It’s really pretty and it’s an extremely fast course! Also, the Empire State Marathon (my hometown marathon) because I set my PR there LOL.. I also like the NYC marathon 🙂
Yes, Wineglass was on the list of top 15 Fall marathons. It’s near where I grew up, so I would love to run that one day.
I’ve only run the NYC Marathon so far so I can’t really compare it to others. However, what I can say about it is that the crowd support was the most amazing support I’ve ever experienced. The course is tough with the hills and bridges, but the crowd really carries you through the race and lifts your spirits even when you’re hurting. There’s nothing quite like being cheered on for the entire 26.2 miles by thousands of people.
I bet NYC is amazing. I hope that Chicago, and willing to bet, will be just as epic as NYC.
I’ve never run a fall marathon – I’ve run some halves, but the thought of training for the fall in the middle of Texas’ summer hasn’t been too appealing.
I’m not working at present due to an I on-going shoulder injury. I think at this stage in life just being able to run is a bonus and competing against others is an added bonus. I’m having to re-think my training as I’m suffering with an old IT band injury. I guess just being able to think about running a half or full marathon knowing that I could in the future is good enough for me 🙂
I wish you well. Heal quickly. You’ll be on the race courses again before you know it.