2014 race awards
For this post, I’ve linked up with Montana at Pretty Lil Mudder and a few other fab fitness bloggers – be sure to check out their posts. Here are my 2014 race awards… drum roll, please…
Most Scenic Course
For me this award has to go to Lanhydrock parkrun It’s in a beautiful location, but as the course profile shows, it’s not an easy route:
The event takes place on a National Trust property, which is a stunning old country house. This photo of the gatehouse shows just how magnificent it is.
Most Challenging Course
This was a difficult award to decide on. The profile of Lanhydrock parkrun made it a runner-up, but overall, I decided to present it to Adidas Thunder Run. This event is a 24-hour relay on a 10k cross country course. It has lots of different sections: uphill, downhill, short grass, compact ground, mud. The weather conditions were also quite warm. I ended up running 50k as part of a 7-person relay team.
Best Expo
This was a tough choice as the only races that tend to have expos in the UK are marathons, and I only ran one this year (Brighton). In the end, I decided to award it to the Triathlon Show with Primera Tri Expo as runner-up.
Best Post-Race Food/Beverages
Braishfield 5 mile beer race – beer, cake and water – what more can I say?
Best Swag
This was another tough category to judge. The goodie bag at Brighton Marathon was good, but the prize has to go to Good Fri Tri, where finishers were not only given a medal, some dried fruit, a drink and their choice of free gift (mug and coaster; bike bottle or buff), but also a lovely Cadbury’s Easter egg 🙂
Most Unique Medal
I loved the ribbon on my Brighton Marathon medal, but probably the one that I liked most was from Eastleigh triathlon:
TryTri have custom medals for every race 🙂
Favourite Race Shirt (tech tee or reg)
I’ve not received many t-shirts from races this year. I quite liked the Wiggle Spring Sportive t-shirt, but the one that I’ve worn the most is the Gu Energy Classic t-shirt from Bustinskin. It’s a wicking cotton t-shirt that was produced in both men’s and women’s sizes 🙂
Favourite Overall Race
I really enjoyed taking part in Weymouth Half. An advantage of taking part in triathlons is that the order of the disciplines is the same as my confidence levels. I started the day feeling nervous, but my confidence soared when I was on the bike and although my run didn’t go quite as I’d hoped, the crowds were brilliant. The whole event was amazing and I would recommend it to anyone.
Best Course Support (aid stations, volunteers, people cheering you on, etc)
I loved the crowd support at Weymouth Half… but there wasn’t a huge amount of support out on the bike course. I’m awarding this one to Brighton Marathon as I desperately needed the crowd support during this race and it didn’t let me down!
Race You Are Most Proud of Yourself for Completing
This has to be Weymouth Half – as someone who couldn’t swim 18 months before the race, it has taken a lot of hard work and determination to get to a stage where I could take part in this race. I also had various health battles this year, so I was proud to make the start line and even prouder to finish!
I’d recommend checking out which races my fellow Girls Gone Sporty Ambassadors have presented their awards to:
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- Jeanette: Fit In Louisville (http://www.fitinlouisville.blogspot.com)
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- Amy: Running Escapades (http://runningescapades.com)
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- Melanie: Runner Girl in a Rocking World (http://runnergirlinarockingworld.com)
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- Erika: MCMMamaRuns (http://mcmmamaruns.com)
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- Andrea: Once Upon a Run (http://www.onceuponarunfairytale.blogspot.com)
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- Krystal: The Runner Within (http://therunnerwithin.com)
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- Erin: Love for Running
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- Sammy: Peace Love & Ice Cream
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- Sarah: How My World Runs (http://howmyworldruns.com)
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- Sue: This Mama Runs for Cupcakes
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- Lara: Uptite Mamas (http://uptitemamas.com)
- Kristin: Kristin’s 5k (http://www.kristins5k.blogspot.com)
Which events that you took part in this year would you give prizes to?
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I love that gate house! That’s what I love about Europe…such classic old buildings that look so cool. I’d love to try a triathlon…ha ha. I can’t swim though I’d need coaching for that.
I only started learning to swim last year. I’d definitely recommend having lessons – it can change your life! 🙂
Your pictures are great. You look like you have so much fun at your races! Congratulations on your accomplishments this year!
Thank you. I’m also so appreciative of friends who’ve come out to cheer me on – it’s so much easier to finish a race when you know there are supporters there!
Your pictures are awesome!! What an amazing year you had! I run a 24 hour event every year and love it. Some of the best memories with friends. 🙂
Is it a Ragnar relay that you do? They sound like so much fun. I’ve already signed up for Thunder Run for 2015, as it’s such an amazing weekend.
I’ve not done a Ragnar Relay yet. We have a local one here in NC, Blue Ridge Relay. The 24 hour event we do is Crooked Road. A one mile loop that we just loop around for as long as we can. It’s individual vs a team.
That sounds fantastic.