How to find an inaugural race (Read 655 times)

I was just thinking about this the other day. When I was down at the Disney marathon a few years ago (it was the 10th Disney marathon) they had a little ceremony for a group of people that had run in all 10 of the Disney marathons. I always thought that would be cool - to have run in every one of a particular race since the first one. Anybody know any good way to find new (inaugural) races that might be coming up in a particular area? Or does anyone in Mass know of any that are coming up? Unfortunately I missed the Salem 1/2 marathon in the Fall, but that would have been cool. Thanks in advance Jeff

There are a few ways to find out about them. First, join a local club or team and make sure you get their newsletters and are on their email lists. You'll get notifications about new races and requests to volunteer pretty consistently. The Maine Track Club is pretty good about it anyway. Keep an eye on your local USATF chapter. I keep track of both USATF NE and Maine USATF's websites. Go to current races and always peruse the table set out for fliers belonging to other events. Any race director worth his salt is going to get his race onto the tables at as many other races as possible to drum up some interest. Subscribe to a local magazine (in your case, New England Runner) and keep an eye on the race calendars listed in the magazine. You can also check their websites. Look on sites such as MarathonGuide, Runner's World, etc to see what shows up near you on their calendars. Subscribe to google alerts for keywords about races in your area. Keep an eye out in your local newspaper for articles about new races. Last but not least - ask fellow runners what they've heard of. As for new races near Boston, I know that the Cox Rhode Island marathon is happening on May 4. I'll be running in that, it takes place in Providence. I don't know of any other new races down there. If you want to travel up this way, there's a few in the Greater Portland area and in Southern Maine that I know about. 2 new races at Bradbury in Pownal, the Summer Solstice in June in Yarmouth, and 1 or 2 others.

You can do what I did. Start your own.

I think I found one for this weekend, "Half at the Hamptons" - an inaugural half marathon run at Hampton Beach, NH. Hopefully I can make it - but the kids have been sick so it kind of all depends on how they are feeling Sunday.

Jeff, Providence,R.I. Will be holding an inaugural marathon on May 4,2008. It's co-sponsored by Johnson and Wales University and Cox Communications. I've heard that the people who are organizing this event are the same ones that run the CVS 5K. Great event but it run hot and cold. I've finally seen a course map and it looks like one hilly bugger. Good Luck on your hunt.