Run, Karla, Run!

The 2103 Marine Corps Marathon got off to a hazy start after a registration snafu. (Photo: Cpl. Bryan G. Lett/US Marine Corp)

Race directors, take heed. Everyone expected the Marine Corps Marathon in Arlington, Va., and Washington, D.C. to sell-out fast. All the race’s entries were gone in record time of 2 hours, 27 minutes.

But what frustrated thousands of runners, and no doubt the race organizers as well, was a massive failure of the race’s registration system run by the Active Network via Active.com.

Consecutive registration snafus with the Bank of America Chicago Marathon last month and the Marine Corps Marathon yesterday, due to intense demand, have many runners chanting L-O-T-T-E-R-Y.

When it comes to the most popular races that expect registration to sell-out in a matter of hours, lotteries are simply the way to go, whether it’s the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, the Marine Corps Marathon or any other race facing this type of registration stampede. Read the rest of this entry →

Cupid’s Undie Run in NYC (Photo: Daniel Pagel/dpstudios.org)

Calling all exhibitionists! Have you always wanted to run in your underwear for a good cause? Well, now’s your chance.

Cupid’s Undie Run is bringing “hilarity to charity” in 17 cities nationwide just in time for Valentine’s Day. The PG-13 underwear run is a national fundraiser for The Children’s Tumor Foundation. Run for fun or run to help raise $1 million to fight Neurofibromatosis.

All you have to do? Strip to your skivvies and run like a kid again—while they’re not looking, of course. Read the rest of this entry →

The 2013 Disneyland Half Marathon sold out in record time. (Photo: runDisney)

We all knew that Disney races were popular, but this is a new record. The Disneyland Half Marathon, Disneyland 10K and Dumbo Double Dare sold out in 26 hours.

It’s the fastest any runDisney race has sold out. In 2012, it took a month for the Disneyland Half Marathon to reach capacity. But in 2013, the new 10K and Dumbo Dare sold out in less than a day, with the half-marathon closing just a few hours later.

The Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend from August 30 to September 1, 2013 at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., has now joined events like the Marine Corps Marathon and Boston Marathon, which reach capacity within hours, instead of days or months. Even the 2012 Chicago Marathon took a full six days to fill up.

What gives? Read the rest of this entry →

Photo: Flying Kites

Are you looking for a 10K in New York City this weekend? Flying Kites is hosting the first annual Dash for Dreams, a 10K run/walk through Central Park on Saturday, December 1 at 9 a.m.

Flying Kites in an international charity that runs a home and leadership academy for orphaned children in the Aberdares Mountains of Kinangop, Kenya. According to Unicef, there were 2.6 million orphans in Kenya as of 2011, representing over 6 percent of the country’s entire population. The Dash for Dreams 10K will raise money for Flying Kites’ scholarship program and allow them to take in more children.

The race begins on the 72^nd St. Terrace Drive and runs one counter-clockwise loop around Central Park finishing back on Terrace Drive. Packet pick-up begins at 7:30 a.m. on race morning. Flying Kites will also be accepting non-perishable food and clothing donations for Hurricane Sandy relief at packet pick-up.

Registration is $40, and goes up to $50 on Friday. Register at Active.com.

Crossing the finish line. (Photo: brightroom)

In just four days, I’ll be staring at the starting line of the Philadelphia Marathon on November 18, 2012. It will be my fifth marathon in five years.

To honor the occasion, I thought I’d take a look back at my very first marathon and first stab at a race recap of the 2007 ING New York City Marathon. I finished the race in 5:54. I aim to finish Philly in 4:15. I’ve come a long way in the last five years. Little did I know how right I was when I proclaimed, “I think I may have a new addiction.”

This race report was first published on TheSportsBank.net in November 2007, but I thought I’d finally put it up here at RunKarlaRun.com too. After all, it’s the marathon that started it all. You can read about what brought me to tackle my first marathon in Because You Only Get One First Marathon.

Don’t Stop Believing

First published November 2007

My first marathon: 26.2 miles, 5 boroughs, 5 bridges, 39,000 runners, and more than 2 million spectators on the mean streets of New York.

My first-timer’s tiara. (Photo: Christy Hourihan)

I did it. I ran the 2007 ING New York City Marathon. And I did it in a tiara. It was the brainchild of two friends who jokingly—I thought—floated the idea past me and then provided the crown. How could I not wear it? Seriously, my roommate bought it off of a drag queen in Manhattan’s East Village. Come Sunday morning, after six months of training and anticipation, there was only one thing to do: put the tiara on my head, shoes on my feet and run like I’ve never run before. Read the rest of this entry →

One Team Hope For The Warriors runner finishes her marathon.

Scroll down for a slideshow of the unofficial marathon in Central Park.

Some called it the unofficial New York City marathon, some called it the Run Anyway marathon. But no matter what they called it, thousands of runners spontaneously took to Central Park on what would have been Marathon Sunday, November 4 in New York City.

In the wake of the canceled 2012 ING New York City Marathon, many runners tried to make the best of a terrible situation. In addition to running, thousands of marathoners volunteered on Saturday and Sunday in some of the city’s hardest hit areas. An estimated 1,300 alone went to Staten Island on Sunday to drop supplies and help residents clean up. Others helped out in Brooklyn’s Red Hook neighborhood, the Rockaways in Queens, Newark in New Jersey and parks all over the city.

Thousands of other runners took to Central Park, dropping donations for hurricane relief near the “official” finish line and running a flash mob of sorts. It was like a scene out of “How The Grinch Stole Christmas.” The Whos of Whoville didn’t need the trappings of Christmas. It seems, neither do marathoners. Read the rest of this entry →

Photo: Phil Hospod

The Staten Island Half-Marathon on October 7, 2012 was my 50th race. In my transformation from loather to lover of running, I have culled a fair amount running wisdom as both a runner and a running reporter.

The running life is like any other life—fraught with pitfalls and challenges, but also rewards and joys. And I’ve experienced them all. Some lessons I learned the hard way and others were pleasant surprises. Some are obvious, but not necessarily if you’re a new runner. Some are humorous and some are serious. But all of them are worth heeding.

I hope to keep adding to my trove of running wisdom over the course of my next 50 races and beyond—which begins with the Philadelphia Marathon on Nov. 18. But for now, here are a few nuggets from my running wisdom treasure trove, in no particular order. Read the rest of this entry →

Runners pose in front of Cinderella Caste. (Photo: runDisney)

Disney lovers, it’s not too late the run the 20^th Anniversary Walt Disney World Marathon presented by Cigna on Jan. 13. The Marathon, Half Marathon and Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge may be sold-out, but there are still a few ways to get in on the runDisney action.

A record 58,000 runners have registered for the event, with 27,000 toeing the line in the half marathon and 25,000 in the Disney marathon. A whopping 10,000 participants will tackle both races as part of Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge, which dares runners to complete the half-marathon on Saturday and the marathon on Sunday during the Walt Disney Marathon Weekend. 

If you’d like to be one of them, you still can by registering through a group, charity, or the Runner’s World Challenge, which give runners access to training advice from Runner’s World editors along with other VIP amenities. Read the rest of this entry →

Photo by Billy Alexander/SXC

You’ve got questions. The Running Nerd will find the answers.

Question:

I have a few friends who are not sure about whether or not they want to get involved in the races, but were wondering if they could just come out for some of the walk/runs and do it with the crowd without registering? Is that a possibility to potentially get them interested in signing up for the next one?

~Anonymous

Answer:

Well, running a race without registering for it is called running as a “bandit,” and the Running Nerd, along with race directors all over America, strongly discourages it. Why? Read the rest of this entry →

It was bracingly cold as the temperature dipped below freezing, but the giggles of two hundred grade school girls filled the courtyard outside of Asphalt Green in Manhattan on Saturday morning. Some of the girls were getting their hair spray-painted at a “Happy Hair” stand, others were sipping hot chocolate and many more were socializing with friends and family. But nearly all of them were excited to run—and no short distance at that—3.1 miles.

Back in grade school, I loved to run. Mostly because it was the best way to get from point A to point B. But also because it was part of so many games I liked to play—Freeze Tag, Flashlight Tag, Ghost in the Graveyard and all the other neighborhood romps. But also because I was on swim team and “dry land” practices often involved loops around the indoor track at my local YMCA; jogging the track gave my teammates and me a chance to socialize that we didn’t get with our faces in the water.

But I never had a chance to be part of a formal running program back in elementary school. So when I heard about Girls on the Run, I was excited to help out. Read the rest of this entry →