Weekend of the Half Races...and More

I've admitted before that I have an unhealthy obsession with race results, especially come Sunday afternoons or Monday mornings. Blame it on my old job where I had to update a website every Monday with a few race results and upcoming events, which later developed into a freelance gig highlighting Chicago-area winners at the races. And I attribute it to my outside-Illinois friends and family who are running--naturally I want to follow their progress.

So between events that I already knew were taking place this weekend, a few more I forgot about until a newsletter reminded me, and friends who were racing half marathons in Chicago, Cleveland and D.C., I had race-result radar on come Sunday. And of interesting note: There were a lot of big-name races of the 13.1 and 70.3 variety occurring. We're talking the weekend of the half-marathon and half-Ironman distances, with a few marathons, 10Ks and 5Ks mixed in. The highlights? Read on...

Rohto Ironman 70.3 Florida. It's flat, it's fast, and it's Florida. And not just any part of Florida: Walt Disney World Resort's Fort Wilderness Campground is the start site for this half Ironman. And you'll see portions of Disney World on the bike and run. I doubt that these scenic stars were on the minds of winners Timothy O'Donnell and Leanda Cave. O'Donnell leapt from fourth to first on the run to win while Cave went from third to first to repeat as champion. Read more about the day here and check the results here.

Rite-Aid Cleveland Marathon. You could run a 5K, 10K, half marathon or marathon at this Sunday race. Perfect for anyone who can't decide what their legs are up for on race day--you can upgrade to the full marathon or downgrade to the half. And you get a tour of Cleveland on this course that's been deemed flat and fast enough for BQ seekers. Yes, it's a huge draw for Ohio runners but there's plenty of out-of-state runners, too. My favorite find was checking the half-marathon leaderboard to see a Chicago name in the top five. Wendy Ploegstra finished fifth--first among 25- to 29-year-old women--in 1:26:09, and I had the pleasure of interviewing her for Competitor's Winner's Circle in March (expect to see an excerpt from the interview soon). Check race results here. Also, registration is already open for 2011--race day is May 15.

Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon. This race landed on my radar in December for two reasons: a calendar of events I was compiling, and my brother- and sister-in-law running it. From what my sister-in-law reported, it was a fun event, too. Filled with locals cheering--and wearing colonial garb--including a spectator who brought mini ponies with them. The only problem was the biodegradable bib that could be planted to sprout wildflowers: between all the sweating, some runners watched their bibs disintegrate. Oops. Check the results here.

Magellan Corporation Chicago Spring Half Marathon. Until last year, Chicago was known for its half marathons in August and September. Now spring has just as many--possibly more if you count the suburban races--with the first city installation yesterday. The Spring Half Marathon features a course that loops around the Lakefront Path twice, plus a 10K for runners who don't want to run 13.1. Check the results from this sold-out race here.

ING Bay to Breakers. Tradition trumps all at this San Francisco classic. At 99 years young, it's easy to say that this race is one you have to run at least once in your lifetime. And not exactly for the speedy portion of the race. The fun factor might be more the draw, especially for out of towners--you get a lot of costumes on the course. You can check the time results here, but I think the more interesting part is learning more about the costumes. So, if you participated in Bay to Breakers, what did you wear on race morning?

Kaiser Permanente Colfax Marathon, Half Marathon and Marathon Relay. So I forgot about this race until I was paging through my Tweets and seeing how @halfmarathons spent their Sunday. They tweeted from this Denver race--even taking pictures of the bongos that serenaded them near the finish, the nuns cheering and a monument in City Park. Check out their updates here and find the race's results here.

That's all my highlights for this past weekend, but if there's another race you're looking for, head to active.com for more results. And stay tuned for next weekend--everyone around the Midwest tends to get excited for Memphis in May, and that's just the start of things. Photo grabbed from davitydave from flickr and CreativeCommons.org.