Best Non-Marathon/Half Marathon Races in America

did wrote:

What are your and your wife's goals - great race + great tourism opportunity? How long will you spend travelling in total - just a weekend. or more?

Probably spend a week in the area afterwards. I'd like a competitive race most of all. That's most of the reason I do Carlsbad every year. It's cool to actually race a large group of people. I don't want to show up to a race where there might be 1 or 2 people in the 17's for a 5K as an example. That's boring and I could do that any weekend anywhere.

Some of these have already been mentioned, but deserve another vote:

Broad Street 10 Miler

Gate River 15K

Twin Cities 10 Miler

Virginia 10 Miler

Crazy 8s

I've raced B2B - great race and great event / party as you noted.

From the above mentioned races the only other one I've participated in is The Utica Boilermaker 15k (which was my recommendation). But imho all of the races mentioned are worth the trip - based on what I know they are all high quality A+ races. So I would base your trip more on when you can travel and what you want else you want to do in the trip (urban VS rural, hot VS cold, etc).

Fwiw the boilermaker is within striking distance of the Adirondacks and Finger Lakes of upstate NY. And is 4 hrs from Boston, 4 hrs from NYC, 3 hours from Buffalo / Niagara Falls, and 5 hrs from Toronto.

Juice Springsteen wrote:

Broad Street 10 Miler in Philadelphia. Largest 10 miler in the country, 35000 finishers usually.

This race is also the CIM of 10 Milers. Net downhill and straight (so little time lost on tangents).

Two best races in Michigan:

Crim Festival Of Races, 10 Miler, Flint

Riverbank Run, 25K, Grand Rpaids

My take on the best races and others mentioned so far:

Would recommend:

- Cherry Blossom 9.95 miler: agreed this is a great race and great time to be in DC. Fast course and normally good weather, too

- Army 10 Miler: also a good DC race, though not quite as good as Cherry Blossom

- Gate River Run: race itself is great if you're ok going to Jacksonville

- Shamrock Shuffle: good race and fast course. Pretty cold in Chicago in March. Didn't like how they held us in a pen for 20 minutes before the race and didn't let us do strides, but other than that was good

Don't recommend as much:

- Crazy 8's: another one that's a good race but then you're in Kingsport TN, so not that fun and hard to get to

- Virginia 10 Miler: not a great location, really tough course. Wouldn't recommend

- Crim 10 Miler: seems like something goes wrong here every year - in 2018 a bunch of people didn't know where to go, this year Chris Derrick broken his ankle on a pothole

Others not mentioned yet:

- Richmond 8K. Really fast course that is net downhill with massive downhill the last half mile, always cool weather, and Richmond is a great town - you can hit up all the great breweries afterwards.

- Bix - I haven't done it but have heard great things

Mt. Marathon in Seward. End of thread.

Red Rose Run: 5 miler in Lancaster, PA on the first Saturday in June.

Downhill for the first half and back uphill for the second half. Small enough that you can race without stumbling on crowds. It could be hot.

I would have said Broad Street Run, but that’s a total pain in the rump in terms of dealing with the crowd, relatively.

Parkersburg half marathon in WV. (Wild and wonderful). It was a national championship at one time.

Disney has the best ‘thons in the country.

Glow/Foam Run. Pacoima, CA.

Boilermaker 15k!!! Biggest, best, insane crowd support!! It’s got the best post party race in the country

Gasparilla Weekend in Tampa. 15k/5k Sat Half/8k Sunday

A couple others have mentioned the Bix 7 in Davenport IA. I'll recommend it too as something different and a little unconventional at 7 miles. It's not an easy race -- the course is hilly and the weather is usually godawful hot and humid -- but it's competitive and well supported and I've always had a good experience there.

Working Stiff wrote:

My wife wants to travel for a race or two this coming year. Anyone have any suggestions?

I live in California, so something not here.

Seaside 1/2 Marathon (Florida). It just doesnt get better than this.

Also agreed with posts above on Crescent City Classic (NOLA) and Peachtree 10k (ATL).

He said races that aren’t marathons or half marathons.

The Bix 7 in Davenport, Iowa is a good one, challenging course (though big downhill finish), attracts some fairly big names some years (Meb and Joan Benoit were in it the year I ran it), unusual distance, lots of atmosphere. Somewhat out of the way part of the country (Quad Cities, Iowa and Illinois, on the Mississippi River) that you might not see otherwise.

Mt. Washington Road Race - 7 Mile - New Hampshrie

Falmouth Road Race - 7 Mile - Cape Cod

Beach 2 Beacon - 10k - Maine

U.S. Mountain Running Championship - Traditional Course (Waterville Valley this year) - ~10k - New Hampshire

Covered Bridge Half Marathon - Woodstock, VT

Newport, RI Half Marathon

The Devils Chase - Salem, Ma - 6.66 Miles

Whiteface Sky Race - Lake Placid, NY

The Kismet Cliff Run "Beast of the East" Half Marathon - Madison New Hampshire

The Yankee Homecoming - 10 Miles - Newburyport, Ma