Fall is Here, What Are You Running?

OK, fall has officially arrived.

Well, no, there are still a couple of weeks until the autumn equinox. But it’s Labor Day, and summer has ended. And, gratifyingly enough – the temperature was a super 59 degrees as I moseyed out for a 10-mile run this AM.

It’s also time for those procrastinators, who are stalling as to what kind of races and training to do this fall. If you’re thinking about a marathon, and you don’t have a decent base and have put in some quality training – think about next year. If you’ve got that base, Philadelphia is a mere 11 weeks away, and there are some races in December and January (check out the calendar here from the folk at Marathon Guide.)

So, here’s the first of many lists this week that will spell out some options for races/training etc. Want to focus on Brooklyn? There’s easily a half dozen quality races – and I’m pretty sure I’ll find more. Cross-country? A local calendar is forthcoming, though in the interim, check out this. (This is a cached version, I'm having a problem linking to Chuck's X/C calendar).

If you’re thinking about running New York next year, make sure you’re prepped to do so *now* rather than getting inspired by the race on Nov. 1. It’s easy enough to do: Be a NYRR member, run 9 qualifying races by December *and* volunteer at 1 (during the 2008 qualifying cycle, this could be done through January). And it's still possible, even if you have run *none* so far

Some caveats:

** The Sept. 12 4 mile race is almost sold out, so register quickly. And, while the NYRR Marathon on Nov. 1 is a qualifier, it is sold out (unless you want to pony up some money for the various charity slots that are kicking around). None of the NYRR-run X/C races are qualifying races.

** While you can’t wear the same number at the Grete’s Gallop and the Norway Run, there doesn’t seem to be anything stopping you for signing up and paying for both races, if you really need to be getting those qualifiers (if anyone tried that last year and was stopped, please let me know). It’s not a loophole I particularly want to ask anyone at NYRR about, in case it exists and they stop it.

Remaining NYRR qualifying races:

Sept. 12: Fitness Mind, Body, Spirit Games (4M), Central Park

Sept. 20: Queens Half Marathon, Queens

Sept. 26: Fifth Avenue Mile, Manhattan

Sept. 27: ING New York Marathon Tuneup (18M), Central Park

Oct. 3: Grete’s Gallop Half/Norway Run (1.7M), Central Park

Oct. 11: Staten Island Half, Staten Island

Oct. 25: Poland Spring Marathon Kickoff (5M), Central Park

Nov. 1: NYC Marathon

Nov. 22: Race to Deliver (4M), Central Park

Dec. 6: Joe Kleinerman 10K, Central Park

Dec. 12: NYRR Holiday 5K, Prospect Park

Dec. 19: Ted Corbitt 15K, Central Park