What's the best DC area race bargain per mile?

As the year comes to a close, a lot of registration fees go up at the end of the month, so it makes sense to take a look around and see where the bargains (as well as extortionate prices) are before the annus horribilis 2016 is a thing of the past.¹ (Prices quoted are as of 12/28/17). 

Not surprisingly, the most expensive race right now is July 8th Great American Naughtical Beer Mile. What a ripoff -- $32 dollars per mile!² But it comes with 4 beers, so its almost like they are paying you to run when you subtract the cost of the tasty Bluejacket beer. (Plus you get a medal/bottle opener if you finish)

Talking about expensive... The March 11 DC Rock n' Roll Half Marathon is quite pricey. Yes, the series is often discounted if you keep an eye peeled to their social media, but the closer you get to the race, the more unlikely that is. Right now the half marathon is a grotesque $105.99, which comes out to $8.10 per mile. You do get a forgettable t-shirt and medal as well. To be fair, you also get a well-run race (at least last year) with some decent course support.  But compare a similar race later in the year - The September 17th Navy-Air Force Half Marathon at $80 comes out to $6.10 per mile (based on last year's pricing) for a nicer shirt and a smaller less crowded race experience (they also have race coupons online later in spring/summer). In comparison, the DC Rock n' Roll full is a veritable bargain at $115.99 -- $4.42 per mile, and it comes with a finisher premium jacket in addition to the shirt and the medal.

A good spring half marathon bargain is the B&A Marathon and Half Marathon on March 26th put on by the Annapolis Striders running club. At $65, the half is a little pricier at $5.34 per mile, but it has some of the best looking race premiums and medals out there. Register for the full at $70 and you pay a mere $2.67 per mile.

A big half marathon bargain is the Parks Half Marathon thrown by the Montgomery County Road Runners on September 10th, run on tree-lined asphalt trails in Montgomery County, MD. When registration opens on New Years Day, the fee will be $59 -- a mere $4.50 per mile, also coming with a nice long sleeve shirt, race medal, and additional premium. Another bargain is the October 28th Potomac River Run Half or Full Marathon run on the C&O towpath, at $60 or $4.58 per mile for the half and $2.79 per mile for the full (math!). That race has substandard premiums, but its hard to find a faster half marathon course out there (the full gets a little tedious, I've heard).

If you are feeling extremely cheap or poor, definitely look at the longer distances. The Mid-Maryland 50K on February 11th (run by local running legend and all-around nice guy Coach Phil Lang) is $60/$1.93 per mile. The Farm Park Challenge on May 6 is priced at $44 for the 10 hour race (51.8 miles). That comes out to an outrageous 85 cents per mile! (There's also a 6 or 3 hour race, as well as a marathon)

Another ultra bargain is the Seneca Creek Greenway Trail Marathon and 50K on March 4, also in Montgomery County and put on by the Montgomery County Road Runners. The 50K is $35 for non-club members, $25 for club members. The undiscounted race comes out to $1.12 per mile for non-members, so join and get the cheapest ultra (or any kind of race) around at 80 cents per mile (you also get a free half marathon -- Riley's Rumble -- and tens of other no-cost timed races thrown in as part of Montgomery Road Runners Club membership).

¹ Of course, this doesn't count some of the free fatass races like Redeye 50K put on by the Virginia Happy Trails Running Club on January 1 or Eternal Winter 50K on January 28th, thrown by Annapolis Striders. And it goes without saying, the wonderful free weekly DC Parkrun 5Ks at College Park, Roosevelt Island, and Fletcher's Cove.

² JK

My Year in Shoes 2016 - from Altra (Instinct 3.0) to Altra (Torin 2.5)

My Year in Shoes 2016

the uphill road to 1700+ miles and countless sneaker purchases

January

I started the year ensconced in the Altra Instinct 3.0.  They had been a great shoe for easy to run trail races like the Rosaryville 50K in November of 2015. And I was running 5Ks in them as well - starting the year with them on my feet at the Montgomery County Road Runners Club New Year's Day 5K.  I upgraded to the Instinct 3.5, and was pretty dissatisfied with the update. The harder more structured upper was much less comfortable and even began to cause a bit of foot pain on the top of my foot. Plus, they were uglier than your average Altra, which is saying a lot.

I did some trail running in the Altra Lone Peak 2.5, a nice shoe but which I found a little too sloppy over rocks and roots. I now use them as a walking around shoe, and haven’t tried out the 3.0 yet.

Instinct 3.0

Instinct 3.5 fugly

February

Challenger ATR 2

I ran some trial mileage in the Hoka Challenger ATR 2, wearing them for an uncomfortable soggy 24K at St. Mary’s Frozen Heart and for the relay at the Mid Maryland 50K. The ATR 2s were nearly perfect except for being a bit too tight in the toebox. I have read that the ATR 3s remedied this issue, but haven’t had the chance to try them on yet either.

Breakthru 2, Breakthru 1

As I didn’t have a good road shoe after tossing the Instinct 3.5 asides, I experimented with the Saucony Breakthru 1 and 2.  Neither was wide enough for my foot, but I enjoyed running in both shoes on shorter and faster race courses.  It is at the bottom of the line for Saucony, but they did well on that model.

I ran in the Breakthru 2s mostly during the March-April-May timeframe.

July

Clifton 3

By July, the tightness of the Breakthru’s were starting to wreak havoc on my feet, so I went back to Hoka to give the Clifton 3s a try. They seemed to get the shoe into a good place the third time around - a better tongue and upper material solved a bunch of problems from the first two models. I used the Clifton exclusively through July and most of August, squishing the Strava miles in them through the most unpleasantly hot and humid days of the summer when the material couldn't hold up to what I dished out.

August

At the expo for the Annapolis 10 miler race, I made an impulse buy of the Saucony Triumph ISO 2. It was a cushier and better fitting version of the Breakthru 2 for me, and I do love the ISO sockliner quite a bit. I ran with them for the A10, Larry Noel half, Parks Half, and the National Capital 20 miler. By the end of the run in them, I started to get some pretty severe heel pain which wasn’t going away from alternating some runs in the Clifton 3.

October

I went back to the Adidas Supernova Glide, 8th edition, in October. I put a couple of hundred enjoyable miles in them with no discomfort, successfully running the Howard County Metric Marathon and the NCR Marathon.

November

Once again, I was undone by an update, this time from the Supernova Glide 8 to the next version, simply called the Supernova. The update had a lot of great pluses - more TPU cush in the forefoot, better cushion around the ankle, a more padded tongue. But damn if the shoe wasn’t tighter in the forefoot than its predecessor. After 50 miles, it was clear it was causing pain in my right foot.

December

Altra Torin 2.5 penguin shoes

What goes around comes around. I started the year happy and comfortable in the Altra Instinct 3.0. And so I decided to come home to Altra, relying on roadtrailrun.com ‘s review of the Torin 2.5. And I swallowed my pride, putting function above style.

25 miles in, and I’m pain free and putting in comfortable daily runs. I think if I know what’s good for me, I’ll stay put.  As a sneaker geek, I always want to upgrade to the next model in the line, but as my experience with the Instinct 3.0-3.5, the Breakthru 1-2, and the Supernova Glide 8-Supernova shows, newer is not always better.  In fact, it's usually a step down.