Today’s theme for the Friday Five link-up is “5 Races to Run in 2015”, so I thought I would share my 5 favorite Baltimore races!
We will go in order from shortest to longest distance; I tried to include some variety in this list!:
1. Run to Remember 5k (9/13/15) I haven’t done too many 5ks that go through downtown Baltimore, but this is a good one. It is a net uphill course though (ending at the top of Federal Hill) so not necessarily a fast course. It can also be hot in early September. But it’s to remember 9/11 and it is always a good time. I just saw on the website that there will also be an 11k this year…which is an interesting distance for sure!
2. Sole of the City 10k (4/18/15) I have only done this race once but it was really fun! It goes downtown through the inner harbor area and it’s where I have my current 10k PR. I’m hoping to return this year and beat that time!
3. Baltimore Ten Miler (6/6/15) This isn’t exactly an easy course but it’s not terrible either…and it’s an out and back so you know exactly what you are in for. It starts at Druid Hill park and takes you through some Baltimore neighborhoods and around Lake Montabello. I think the best part is that they give out watermelon at the finish!
4. Charles St. 12 Miler (9/5/15) I did this race last year when it was held in August and we got really lucky with the weather! Moving it to September should help, but you just never know what you will get in those months. The course is advertised as “downhill” because it starts up in Towson and takes you straight down to the inner harbor area and ends at Power Plant Live. However, don’t be fooled- there are a few uphills in there too! It’s a great, scenic course and the perfect way to see different Baltimore neighborhoods.
5. The Baltimore Running Festival (10/17/15) This is Baltimore’s biggest running event and includes a marathon, half-marathon, 5k and relay. I have done the full marathon once and the half-marathon three times. The full marathon starts earlier and then merges with the half runners shortly after they start, so everyone finishes together. This can make for a hectic finish line, but I think they improved it last year. The 5k goes on right after the full starts and is a pretty flat course. The full/half/relay course is rather hilly. It takes you all around Baltimore and there is great crowd support.
You can read my race recaps for most of these races here (I wasn’t blogging yet the last time I did the Sole of the City). Also, check out Charm City Run for a full list of Maryland races.
Will I be seeing you at any of these races this year?
Have you ever done a race in Baltimore? What is your favorite?
If you have never raced in Baltimore, what is your favorite city to race in?
Thanks to Courtney, Cynthia and Mar for hosting the Friday Five!
I’m also linking up with Jill for Fitness Friday!
Great race pics! I’ve never done a race with a net uphill course. That would be tough! And I’ve never done a 10 mile or a 12 mile race. My favourite city to race in? Boston! Woohoo! Vancouver/Victoria is pretty beautiful too, but I’m bias.
I hope to get to Boston one day!:) And the 10/12 mile races are good distances…you’re still running long enough to get into the groove but it doesn’t take the same amount of taper/recovery as a longer distance race.
Of course I love this post! I need to get back to the Balt 10-miler….it’s been a while. I hate the course, but it’s a fun race. I really want to try the Charles St. race, too–I think I might be in town for it this year for the first time. Great line up!
I always complain when I get to the 10 miler and its brutally hot and hilly! But its always so fun! hope you decide to do the Charles St 12- it was probably my favorite Baltimore race last year!
Hmm…I may have to check out the Baltimore Running Festival this year. I enjoy visiting the city but have yet to sign up for a race. Thanks for the suggestions!
The Baltimore running festival is great since you have so many options to choose from! I also like that its on a Saturday so then you still have the rest of the weekend to hang out:)
Loove this! I can’t wait to do all of these races once I can move back to Maryland. I need to do the Chuck 12 again since I did so awful last year…I will not go to Bateman’s the night before 😛
Are you planning to come back for any races this year?
Oh yea Batemans pre-race is probably not the best idea:)
I’m not sure yet! I’ll be down twice in early summer for my friend’s bridal shower and wedding, but I’m not sure if I’ll fit in a race. I’ve been thinking of maybe doing the BRF 1/2 but haven’t thought that far ahead yet!
All your race photos made me smile! Wish there were more 10 mile races around me, I love that distance but haven’t actually raced it.
I love it too! Im hoping to go to DC for the Cherry Blossom or Philly for Broad St at some point…both of them sound like good 10 milers as well!
I really need to get to Baltimore for some races! I can’t believe I haven’t run up there yet!!!
Yes you do! And I need to get to DC more often. Even though DC and Baltimore are close, its not that easy to get from one to the other…especially when you need to deal with packet pickups.
I ran the full several years ago. It was a great time! And fun running a race in another city, yet it wasn’t too far away. (I am only about an hr and 20 min from Baltimore) Unfortunately, the past several years we have begun to associate Baltimore with Hopkins, so we don’t really go to Bmore for fun anymore as it always feels like “business”, you know?
That makes sense….but maybe as he progresses you will be able to come back to celebrate his recovery:)
The Baltimore full is no joke…I total crashed on the second half of the course will all those hills.
All I remember is hobbling back to my hotel which was like 2 miles from the finish. Then I ate a whole box of wheat thins on the way home in the car. 🙂
Nice take on the theme. I am looking forward to the Charles Street 12. One day I hope to run Sole 10K and the B10.
Sounds great! All good race choices:)
Great minds on this one!! The Baltimore 10 Miler is on my list of races that I really want to do, but haven’t yet. I’ll be signing up for this year!
I love that our 10K PRs were both at Sole of the City! Such a great course. I’m so sad to miss that one this year!
I’m hoping I can actually do Sole of the City this year but we have so much going on in April so I’m not signed up. And I’m pretty sure I lost all my speed that I built up last fall and a PR is probably not in the cards right now anyway. But if I can get there I know it will still be a fun event!
I won’t be at those races but I think you need to come up here for one! I was just thinking this morning that you need to come, if not for a race, for the Roosevelt Field food court! Please?!
I am planning to be in NY the last weekend in June! I’ll be kind of busy with a wedding and a HS graduation but maybe we can at least meet for a quick run or food or something! Or if theres a local race Saturday morning I would be up for that too! I’ll keep you posted as it gets closer:)
I haven’t run in Baltimore but all these races sound like fun. I won’t be racing a lot this year, but I’m enjoying getting back to running.
It can be really nice to just run without the pressure of races! I am trying to learn how to participate in races just for fun and not to try to run a certain time:)
Lisa, these ALL look like great races! I love racing through cities, downtown areas, etc. I’ve not run a race in Baltimore, but it sounds like a great place to run; I look forward to it, one of these days. Thanks so much for sharing these; hope you have a great weekend!
I feel the same way about races in cities! Especially different places that I have never been to. It would be great if you decide to run a Baltimore race at some point!
You have some great races around you. I love the ten mile distance, and I’ve never raced a 12 miler before. I’m getting excited to line up some shorter races for the spring and summer!
This was my first 12 miler and it was definitely a weird distance! But mentally it was nice to know that it was shorter than a half-marathon!
WOooo I love that Charm City Run sponsors most of them! I want to do the Baltimore 10 miler this year but I won’t be doing Baltimore marathon. Unfortunately it falls the weekend after my marathon and I’m not sure that would be the best idea 😉
Yea you probably won’t want to run in the BRF the weekend after you marathon but you can still come hang out! The Baltimore 10 miler will be really fun!
You have a busy schedule girl! No Baltimore races…or any races for me for that matter…I WISH! I have a tiny bit of hope that I’ll be able to trot…just spoke to someone with a total ankle fusion that ‘sort of’ ran a half. I am praying that is in the cards for me. Haven’t been able to run for 9 years. Boy do I miss it!
Best of luck in all of your races!!!
Wow well I hope that you can get the chance to run a little bit again- that would be so amazing!!
Baltimore looks like it has so many great races! I’ve only raced in my town in Indiana, but I’m really excited to run a half marathon in my hometown (St. Louis) in April!
We do have quite a few good races here! As a runner its great, but for those who don’t run and have to deal with the street closures I’m sure they find it very annoying:)
I’ll be seeing you at 4 of these races at least! With the exception of Baltimore Running Festival, these will all be first time races for me. Depending on my training schedule this fall, the Run to Remember 11K sounds like an interesting addition. Not that I’ve raced around Baltimore much, but I really enjoy running here. There is so much variety in scenery and terrain…I won’t ever get bored!
I agree! There is such a difference between racing in downtown Baltimore vs more suburban areas. It’s nice to be able to get different experiences without driving too far!
I love visiting Baltimore, one of these days I really need to get up that way for a race! Maybe I’ll look into the Baltimore Running Festival, if Marine Corps doesn’t pan out…
And, by the way, great race pics! I think every one of yours is better than any of mine! 😉
Haha thanks, but I chose the best race pictures I could find…most of them are not very good!
I hope you decide to make your way to Baltimore for some races!
I have never done any races in Baltimore. They sound like some good ones. And it’s within driving from Philadelphia which is great. I may have to consider one.
Philly isn’t that far at all! There is also a train option which we like to do for races since we never feel like driving with sore legs:)
These sounds like great choices!
I’m going to be honest – I don’t know if I’ve ever spent much time in baltimore, much less raced there. Sounds like the city has a pretty impressive running schedule.
Good luck!
There are quite a few races here! While there are definitely cooler cities to visit, there is some great sightseeing here as well!
I want to some day come down to Maryland and do some of these with you! I love that you live there and there are SO many races! My hometown has ONE and its only a 5k! I’m jealous!
You should definitely come race here! Its nice to have alot of local options. While its fun to travel to races its also so nice to actual be able to run to the starting line from my apartment! (That won’t be the case once I move though:/)
I’m so jealous that you have a 10-mile race in June! What is the weather usually like for races in the summer? Doesn’t it get pretty warm up there too?
Oh its usually pretty awful to race here in the summer! We sometimes get lucky with races starting early enough that its not too hot yet. Usually for the 10 miler its close to 70.
Looks like a great race lineup! I’m ready for spring 5Ks!
Thanks! I’m ready for anything to do with spring!:)
I should do more Baltimore races! I’ve heard such good things. The only one I’ve done so far is the Maryland Zoo Zoom one–it’s around my birthday so I use it as a celebration race 🙂
I’ve heard good things about the Zoo Zoom too! Maybe I’ll look into doing that this year! You should definitely try out some other Baltimore races:)
An 11k is is an interesting distance! Sometimes I like odd distances that like that because I feel like there’s less pressure to want to get a certain time, if that makes any sense at all.
It sounds like you guys have some great races in Maryland! While I’m really grateful for our weather most of the time and the great races we do have in the winter where it’s freezing everywhere else, I do wish we had some more half marathons at the tail end of summer and beginning of fall. We would have to start really early because it’s so warm, but I just don’t like waiting all year for those long races! Maybe I’ll have to make it up to Baltimore sometime for a race :).
An 11k is pretty strange but maybe not much different than a 10k. However, when I ran a 6k it felt alot longer than a 5k!
Its really hard to find a good time of the year to race around here. In the winter you never know if you’re gonna have to deal with snow or ice, and then we transition so quickly to summer and all of a sudden you’re racing in the heat! But usually we will have some decent running weather in March/April and October/November.