Good luck Terry&GF! I did the Rockstar series in 2007. Three fulls and two halfs = ugh! The inaugural San Antonio race in 2008 will be the 6th jewel in the crown. I'll have to run the series again sometime, but not in 2008. Heck, it may be up to 7 or 8 races by the time I'm ready again. lol You may want to consider running the Nashville Full instead, as running just one Full will "short" you two medals (Golden Note for running San Diego + Nashville Fulls, and Silver Note for running any two Fulls). If you're into it just for the challenge and not necessarily for the bling, then five Halfs will be the most-efficient way to accomplish it. Nashville and San Diego are a challenge because they're five weeks apart (hence the Golden Note medal), but I treated Nashville as my long training run (normally a 20miler) then tapered down to prepare for San Diego. Your mileage may vary.
Notes for these RnR races: Phoenix is quite flat, a great course. We started out at an unheard of (for Phoenix weather) 30degrees, but I thought about ditching my sweats by mile 22. The Half is on a separate course, and so should be less-crowded. Nashville was very hilly,so be sure to include hill workouts in your training regimen. Half and Full runners share the road for the first 11miles = VERY crowded. I expected San Diego to be hilly in the first ten miles, but they weren't as dramatic as I was thinking (the banking of the highway was the pain in the butt part, constantly trying to find a flat spot to run). The "heartbreak hill" was actually a waterway overpass at mile 19.8 (it may as well have been straight UP!!). I still managed to run a personal best time! Virgina Beach was ok, pretty flat, but a little warm for my running tastes (Labor Day
weekend). San Jose was nice and flat, and quite cool two days after having rain showers.
For now, I just have my eyes on 1/13 Phoenix Full (earns me the Desert Star medal for running any 2007 RnR Half + 2008 Phoenix Full) and the 11/16 San Antonio Full (just to be able to say I ran in the first one). I'm also considering the 6/21 Grandma's Full (Duluth MN), as my family will be moving to the Minneapolis area around that time, so I'm thinking that'll be a "different" way to be welcomed into the neighborhood. lol The 2008 season will end actually in January 2009, as my next midlife crisis will be to run the Goofy's Challenge at Disneyworld (a Half on Saturday, followed by a Full on Sunday). No, I'm not crazy...but I am a carrier...:D
Good luck to everyone in 2008!!
Message was edited by: Rockstar Bill (edit due to formatting)
