Selfishly, part of my little corner of the internet is just for me. Yes, I love to write about my my current running escapades with the Cruisers and MRTT friends, and about when I meet another blogger. I write about what’s going on in my community, what I’ve eaten, and what races I’m training for because that’s fun and what we bloggers like to do. I also write educational running articles like Finding or Starting a Running Group, or my four-part Race Preparation series that are hopefully helpful to other runners. But one of my favorite things to write are race recaps.
Recently I added a Race Recaps tab to my website to keep all of my recaps organized. If I’m ever in a funk, I just have to open up one of the recaps and read about a morning spent with friends to bring a smile to my face. I ran every single one of these races with a friend (or hung out with friends before and after the race).
It all started last spring when I wrote recaps leading up to the Boston Marathon about my experiences when I ran Boston in 1998 and 2010. Writing those recaps made me think back, dig through old photo albums, reach out to friends to help me remember events, pull old race shirts out from our closet (and throw away pile), and research online to pull the stories together. Every walk down memory lane is therapeutic to me.
After writing those first few throwback recaps, I pulled out this folder! I knew that it was in my filing cabinet, but didn’t realize the wealth of information that it would open up for me.
- Here are just a few things I found in my running folder:
- Race photo proofs and purchased photos
- Race bibs
- Copy of race application for 1997 Marine Corps Marathon with $35 registration fee (this year it’s $110) signed and not mailed until July 20
- Postcards with my finishing times from old races before we could check race results online within hours after the race
- Map of my community with running loops highlighted (pre Garmins and RunKeeper)
- Article in the Washington Post about one of the runners I coached
- A Fitness Magazine article entitled “Sexist Bunk!… Medieval!… Outrageous!” about the 1995 warning from the New York City Marathon about the dangers of running with a heavy menstrual flow
- Race course maps
- Copy of my race application for the 1998 JFK 50-Mile Ultramarathon with $40 registration fee
- “Miles’ Ten Commandments on Running a Marathon” written by my friend
- Sample marathon training schedule that I used for my first marathon
- My goal paces and actual paces for several of my early marathons
Now that I have sorted through my running folder, I have race bibs laid out with coordinating pictures, maps, postcards, etc. neatly stacked under them. Our bedroom floor looks quite similar with race shirts sorted in piles. My goal is to have everything documented and put away by Eater when we’ll need our dining room table!
Since I try to publish my recap on the day the race is run, and with lots of spring races happening about now, I feel like I’ve been looking back more than looking forward these last few weeks. Thanks for putting up with my throwback madness!
- Questions:
- Do you keep your old race bibs, shirts, etc?
- How often do you order pictures from races?
- Tell me something fun you’re doing this weekend!
I have kept all of my race bibs! I do not know what to do with them though, so they are sitting in a box!
Aly recently posted…Bad Peanut Butter Experience
I write the date and my time on the back of my bibs which sure has come in handy for my recaps.
I keep all of my old race bibs and write the time on the back and how u felt about the race. I like to go back and compare
I do the same and having the date and my time sure did come in handy! I also spent a weekend a couple of years ago and created an Athlinks account. I was able to claim all of my old races except for about four of them, and having the old bibs helped me remember which races to search for.
That’s so cool! What a treasure trove! I have all my bibs & medals and I have a photo album of old race photos (before you could get the downloads). I’ve been searching for my old training diaries, but I can’t find them, because I want to see what my pace for long runs used to be. Um, the heavy menstrual flow warning was 1995??? Holy cow, that’s terrible.
Carly @ Fine Fit Day recently posted…Fit Mama Friday – By the Numbers
I did not keep my training logs and really regret that!
Yes the warning was in 1995, NOT 1959 as one might expect!
You are SO organized! I am going to put my race bibs into a folder this weekend and I think I’m gonna by a thing to hang my medals on too!
Cheri @ Overactive Blogger recently posted…Things you do when you’re broke.
My medal hanger is a $10 cafe rod from Home Depot!
How fun that must of been to look at all of that stuff! My husband ran his one and only marathon years ago, and I had his bib framed with a photo of him. I bet you could cover all the walls in your house if you framed all your race bibs!
Dana recently posted…Painting interior doors black
It has been a blast for me! Just not so sure how exciting it is for my readers except for those that ran the races with me.
Does your husband still run?
How cool to have come across all this! I have a bin of old running stuff from college, but we have more for my husband than me. I’m a thrower. If I had my old race bibs I think I would make a bag with them from Mile 22 bags.
Michelle @ A Dish of Daily Life recently posted…There’s a Spring in my Step: Friday Faves and Ladies Only Blog Share #LOBS
I had never heard of Mile 22 bags, so I just googled them. Thanks for the tip! I just might look into that…
What a neat thing to go through! I bet it brings back so many memories 🙂 I’m looking forward to the wealth of throwback race recaps that folder is going to bring! I never thought about how you would get race results before the internet. I kind of wish races still sent post cards with your official finish time. That would be neat!
I have never bought an official race photo before. Maybe someday 🙂
Meagan recently posted…Beating boredom on the treadmill
When I first started running marathons I bought a few of my race photos, but these days so many races provide free pictures that I haven’t purchased any for years. Carrying my camera during most of my races makes a big difference, too!
I write my time and the date on the back of my bibs… a habit I got into before race results were posted online.
What a great find!! I bet you loved the walk down memory lane when you found the folder and started flipping through!
I love reading your throwback recaps and am looking forward to whatever you write about from your folder!
When I first started running longer, my big race was Bloomsday in Spokane, WA. They’d send postcards after with all the race stats. I loved getting it in the mail!
Abby recently posted…Wednesday web links – warmups, race transfers, beaches & the office
Thanks, Abby, I’m glad you like my throwback recaps!
That’s crazy how cheap registration fees were. Now the prices are ridiculous! When my husband ran the Rock n Roll Las Vegas marathon a couple years ago, it cost him $200!!
Yes! I keep all my bibs, race shirts and medals! I was just going through all of them last week, I have a story for each of those.
I have never bought a race photo. I should because the last 5k I ran there was one that actually turned out really good.
Lindsey @ OneMotherofaDay recently posted…Running 101: Getting Started
Isn’t it fun to reminisce about past races? I don’t buy race photos anymore, but I sure am happy that I have the ones I do! Most of the races I run these days are run by PRR and they are the company I’ve mentioned before that take pictures along the course and then post them for you to download for free!