January 6, 2015

3 Swag-filled Spring Half Marathons You Should Run with Me

It's a new year and while I'm a little late on planning my spring race schedule, I do have 3 half marathons set in stone so I better get running! These three half marathons also have awesome swag and medals so you should totally join me in running them if you are looking  for some fun east-coast races to motivate you through the winter. 

Last year I ran the inaugural Philadelphia Love Run and while the race was lovely the pouring rain weather was not (you can read last year's race recap here).  I'm determined to have a less miserable day to conquer this half marathon so I'm running it again this year on March 29,2015.  

The perks sound even better this year with a free Phillies baseball home game ticket (first 10,000 runners), commemorative mug, spinner finisher medal, and vanity bib. 



Last year's medal was almost the size of my face, and I still managed to give a thumbs up at the finish line despite the conditions. The course reminded me of the Philadelphia Half Marathon course with an Art Museum start and running along the river.  

Register here  ($92 through 1/31/15) for a great early spring half marathon in the City of Brotherly Love! 


Secondly, I'm proud to be an ambassador for the ZOOMA Annapolis Race Series on May 30,2015 in Annapolis, MD. 

I'll be talking more about the race series, but in short, it's a women's race series event (men can run if they choose) with a half marathon and 10K around beautiful, seaside Annapolis.  



Since it's all about the swag, this race's bag includes a women's tech tee, pair of Feetures! performance socks, ZOOMA journal, reusable bag, and awesome medal. 


The charm at the bottom is removable and can be added to a necklace or bracelet! 
Pair this fun race with the awesome after-party and it makes for a great girls weekend! The 10K gets a slightly smaller medal, but all the same swag and fun so it's a great event if you aren't up to training for the full 13.1 miles yet as well.  

Register here (Half-$105, 10K-$75) and use my ambassador discount code LAUREN15 to save 10% off your registration!


Pay attention to this third race because I'm really excited about this one.
The ODDyssey Half Marathon in Philadelphia has been on my radar for a while but totally became a must-race after it made Runner's World list of coolest medals in 2014.  They just revealed the 2015 medal, and it doesn't disappoint! It mounts to the wall, opens a beer, and the ribbon can be used as a lanyard!  



It also is in my beloved Philadelphia and most of the course focuses on the beautiful Fairmount Park. The race is June 14, 2015 and has great perks such as FREE race photos (I hope this trend continues), a costume contest, awards, and a free pint glass and beer garden at the end. You know I'm always up to run for some beer! 

I'm not sponsored by the race or anything but signed up to make a team because I love running with groups. If enough people register, we'd even get our own reserved spot on the field at the finish party. 

 Registration opens today here  (1/6/15 at 10 AM) and is only $69 through the end of the month but is sure to sell out fast as it has in previous years

When registering and it asks " are you participating with a team/ambassador?" choose Breathe Deeply and Smile and join me! 

"I am running the @ODDysseyHalf this June with @BreatheBlog"  [tweet me you joined my team].

I swear it'll be super fun, probably a little sweaty, and not super awkward to say hello and grab a beer with me after the race. 

So know that I've got a few half marathons planned for the spring, I just need to figure out the rest of the year's races.  Let me know if you are running any of these half marathons!

What races are you looking forward to in the spring? Do you like collecting medals or could you care less?

20 comments:

  1. Fun spring schedule! I will be running the LOVE half again - curious to see how I will do in non-mon soon conditions :)

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    1. FOR REALS. I don't want to run in a cold monsoon.

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  2. I'm intrigued by ODDyssey. I'll have to see if I can fit it in.

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  3. I think I'm going to run Zooma! The other ones both intrigue me too...

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  4. I'm finally running the Cherry Blossom 10 miler this spring so that's totally exciting and I have a local 5k in May. I'm also hoping to run Iron Girl Columbia Half if they host it this year because mile 8 is right in front of my house (aka best pit stop ever)!

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    1. I love the Cherry Blossom 10 miler. It's a really great race. That's awesome about Columbia!

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  5. Super awesome schedule! I would love to run the LOVE race, but it conflicts with a few others I have going on.

    This spring, I am looking forward to my second crack at the GATE River Run 15K. I'm also planning on a cupcake 5K. We shall see what else I pick up as time goes on. I've got three races this January so I'm taking planning easy.

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    1. There are seriously too many races, and I want to run everything! Your schedule sounds fun.

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  6. I didn't do Love Run last year, but heard about that crazy weather! I was actually considering doing Zooma this year. I didn't last year because it was the week after my full and I was concerned about not being able to walk. (I probably could have done the 10K.) I may have to take advantage of your code!

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    1. Definitely consider ZOOMA, it's going to be a fun race!

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  7. I ran the ZOOMA 10K last year and was thinking about running the half this year. That second Philly race sounds SUPER fun, but I don't think the timing will work for me. I definitely need to figure out a Spring half for some time in the month of May, though. Congrats on your ZOOMA Ambassadorship. It is definitely a cool race series. I love women-centric running events!

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    1. Thanks so much-I'm really excited to see how the ZOOMA race is. I'll be posting a half and 10K training plan for Zooma next month so think about it!

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  8. I had no idea Philly had a half marathon the end of March. And I even live in the area. I will have to look into this. And Phillies tickets, can't beat that. -L

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    1. Definitely look into it and maybe I'll see you there!

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  9. If my race calendar wasn't already so full I would look into the Zooma race for sure! I am excited to try some in their series! Good luck!

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