The Amateurs' Run Club- How I choose my road races

Welcome back!

This week in the Amateurs' Run Club series I'll be sharing how I choose road races 🎉.

I did my first timed road race I think in 2014 which is one of, if not the largest and most popular road race in Jamaica (Sagicor Sigma Run); the course is 5.5 km and pretty flat for the most part. I signed up only because my sister was doing it and trained probably twice before race day which gave me enough confidence to take on the route. On race day I was completely blown away by the turnout! If you aren't familiar with the race its divided into runners, walkers and wheelchair participants. 

I was electrified by the crowd but all that quickly changed to distaste after the race started. Persons who signed up to run started walking less than 50 metres after the start of the race which caused a HUGE congestion and a WHOLE LOT of dodging! Needless to say my first road race DID NOT go as planned and my time was HORRIBLE! lol (looking back now I can laugh). After that experience I decided that I'll do a few checks and come up with my own little criteria on how I would choose which road race to participate in.

My Top 5 questions for choosing road races:-

1. Does the race have a participant limit? If so what is it?
2. What is the terrain like and can I find somewhere similar to train?
3. How many training days will I be able to get in before race day?
4. What is the start time?
5. Will I be doing it with a goal in mind or just for fun?

If I have favorable responses for all 5 questions then I go right ahead and sign up. If I only have favorable responses for 3 questions then I'll think about it a little more and in most cases I end up signing up for the race but less than 3 is a definite NO for me. 

Personally I enjoy doing road races; you'll find its a great way to socialize and find persons with whom you share similar interest(s) all while exercising and having a good time.

Have you done any road races recently? How do you go about choosing your races? 

Feel FREE to share your experiences!

See you soon and don't forget to SUBSCRIBE!