what is the best road race in the world

I might go with Bloomsday on this one. They have more women than men in the race, surely more appealing than getting dragged around while latched onto 12 guys.

franky c and franky k wrote:

4. Fresh Pond. One day you run against Peter Brook. Next week it could be Steve Jones. Can't beat entry fee.

Well I don't know Steve Jones, but I do know Peter Brook...

Vato wrote:Did you mean the Cherry Blossom 10 miler? It's got my vote.

Yup, that's the one

The Lake Atwood 10 mile in Atwood, KS.

This race is a blast...About 18 different divisions, and at the end of the day (around 12 noon) they run the Elites. The course is packed with cheering folk, and you sit and soak up the San Diego sun....of course, it seems like every year some record gets broken there. To watch Sammy Kipketer go through the 1 mile marker in 3:58--now that is just unbelievable!!!

The Bay to Breakers is the largest race in the world and they have clocks there too.

Its not a very competitive race at the front and its pretty easy to get a seeded entry and get into the elite corral with the Kenyans....which is pretty cool in itself...warming up in downtown San Francisco with 70,000 people penned in side streets behind you and all around.

The centipede race is always good for a laugh too.

I agree the Olympic Marathon RULES!

1.) Olympic Marathon

2.) Chicago Marathon

3.) London Marathon

4.) Boston Marathon

5.) Carlsbad 5000m

6.) Cresent City Classic 10k

There are alot of great one but those are my favorites!

Frankie C and Frankie K? Sounds like two former Eagles I used to run midnight Kenmores with. Any chance?

The Olympic Marathon is definitely not the best road race in the world. You can only have 3 people from each country and how many Kenyans would have a good shot at winning? Therefore it does not produce the best quality field and furthermore it is not nearly as fun to watch or compete in as the big marathons. The London marathon is far better.

My vote goes to a race called the Meltham Maniac Mile in Yorkshire, England that was a downhill mile. I believe the record was 3:23 and is the fastest mile ever recorded on foot. Shame the race is no longer run. The worst race ever is the Meltham Murder Mile - a 1 mile uphill race!!

1. weltklasse 500om in Zurich

2. Golden Mile in Oslo

3. Woburn ( MA ) Ymca Bruegger's Bagel 5 miler

4. Ivo Van Damme Memorial 10000m in Brussels

5. Hengelo 10000m in Netherlands

6. Olympic Marathon

I would have ranked Ivo higher, but very tough to leave Europe and be fresh for Woburn race and Cape Ann 25k.

road races dude...road races.

laissez-faire wrote:

Rumor has it they have people dressed funny every mile marker reading various excerpts from Joyce's work; however, I suspect if you're actually racing the bloody thing you'd be too focused and/or incoherent to appreciate it, as was the case with me.

The rumor is true, but as you suggest, the readers may as well be reciting prose from the Penthouse Forum for all of the literary influence they impart to those in the race field. Hell, maybe they are.

Syracuse Festival of Races 5K---FAST FAST FAST

Great organization also.

1. People's Beach to Beacon 10K, Port Elizabeth, Maine - run where Joanie Samuelson trains at the beautiful rocky Maine coast.

2. Virginia Ten Miler, Lynchburg, Virginia - the hills are real ball busters but the old lady shaking the cowbell rocks.

3. Utica Boilermaker 15K, see previous comment

4. Star City Half-Marathon, Roanoke, Virginia, race with a little bit for everyone in a very cool town

5. Ausherman Memorial 5-Miler, Chambersburg, PA, fast small town race with cool prizes. I won a Coors Lite basketball.

Anything with a subway nearby.

Ditto Virginia Ten Miler and yeah just did the Roanoke event...hard course but time is legit

Manchester Road Race on Turkey day is great over 10,000 run and over 30,000 come out and watch and party with bands and beer flowing freely. 2nd oldest race in country behind Boston Marathon. Unique distance of 4.778 miles with a mile long uphill 2nd mile. Nothing like a Thanksgiving in Manchester with the famed Irish Connection. Past Irish winners include John Treacy, Eamon Coghlan and Mark Carrol to name a few.

1. Boston Marathon (did it in 2002 and it was amazing).

2. Carlsbad 5000 (never done it, just seen results and heard from people).

3. Run To Feed The Hungry 10K (My sleeper pick, this is in Sacramento, CA, yes I am from Sacto, but it is expected to have 11,500 people this year and growing. The field is getting deaper and deaper with Richie Boulet, Giddaboties (spelling problem), Janko Bensa, and many more expected to attend on Thanksgiving).

Manchester sucks. Too many people out there just walking who don't even care about running. Good course, but you have to bring your own beer.