2024 Racing Schedule

This is such an exciting time of year! I absolutely love reflecting on the past season to celebrate my successes and to identify ways that I can do better. It is also the time of year where planning for the next season begins. Below is my tentative racing schedule for 2024. 

• January 28 - Tri for a Cause
• An indoor triathlon at the Walnut Creek YMCA as a fundraiser for Girls on the Run
• 400 yard pool swim, 7 mile spin bike, 2 mile treadmill run
• I did this race for the first time in 2023 and love it
• February 17 - YMCA Red Flannel Run 5k
• Put on by the downtown YMCA and run on the streets of downtown Des Moines
• Walk, run, or a little bit of both. I will be doing this race with my wife
• March 2 - Time to Paddy 10k
• The race starts and finishes at Big Creek Creek State Park
• I did the 5k last year and enjoyed the smaller early season race
• March 16 - St. Paddy's Day Half Marathon
• This race is held in downtown Des Moines
• I ran my current Half Marathon PR at this race in 2019 (2:08:14)
• April 13 - Live Healthy Iowa 5k
• Held on the bike trails in Bondurant
• I ran this race in 2021 and enjoyed the flat and fast course
• April 21 - Drake Road Races 10k
• I absolutely love racing at the Drake Road Races, this will be my 7th time racing and my 3rd time racing the 10k (2019, 2023)
• My first primary/A race of the season
• I ran my current 10k PR at this race in 2019 (59:49) and have a goal of setting a new PR this year
• May 11 - Market to Market Relay
• I'm still working on putting a team together, so this one is definitely tentative at the moment
• 75 miles from Jefferson to Des Moines divided between a group of 6 - 8 runners
• May 19 - Des Moines Corporate Games Triathlon
• Held at Big Creek State Park
• Sprint triathlon - 400 yard swim, 20k bike, 5k run
• This will be my 3rd time competing at this race (2018, 2023)
• May 25 - Clear Lake Triathlon
• Held in Clear Lake, I've wanted to do this race for several years
• Olympic Distance - 1.5k swim, 40k bike, 10k run
• My second primary/A race of the year with a goal of setting a new Olympic Triathlon PR (current PR is 3:09:46)
• June 2 - Pigman Triathlon
• Held at Pleasant Creek State Park just north of Cedar Rapids
• Sprint triathlon - 500 meter swim, 25k bike, 5k run
• I competed at this race in 2018 and didn't race well, looking for some redemption
• June 8 - Iowa Trail Run - Ledges
• Held at Ledges State Park, this will be my first ever trail run
• Although there is a 10k available, I think I will be sticking to the 5k course as I'm sure that will be more than enough of a challenge for my first time
• July 13 - Des Moines Corporate Games Cross Country Race
• Held on the Iowa State Cross Country Course in Ames
• This will be my 3rd time competing (2018, 2023)
• I'm unsure if I will run the 8k, 4k, or both!
• July 20 - Des Moines Corporate Games Road Race
• This 5k race is run in conjunction with the Clive Running Festival and is held on the Clive Greenbelt trails
• I also ran this race in 2018
• July 27 - Bix 7
• 7 mile race held in Davenport
• This will be my 6th time running and I will be hoping to improve on my time from 2023 (1:29:44)
• August 10 - Adel Sweet Corn Festival 5k
• Held in Adel
• I also raced here in 2022
• August - Hero Hustle Triathlon
• Held in Manchester
• I raced here in 2023 and absolutely loved the course and the community support
• Sprint triathlon - 400 yard swim, 16 mile bike, 5k run
• September - Gateway Challenge Triathlon
• Held in Marengo, which means I get a chance to visit my friends, Maureen and Nick (along with their adorable girls and dogs)
• I raced here in 2023 on a very foggy morning
• Sprint triathlon - 500 meter swim, 16 mile bike, 5k run
• September 22 - Quad Cities Marathon
• Starts in downtown Moline, but crosses the bridge and includes portions on both the Iowa and Illinois side (including a run through Arsenal Island)
• This will be my third primary/A race of the year
• I have run the half marathon twice before (2015 and 2016)
• My second attempt at the full marathon distance with a goal of setting a new PR (current PR is 5:57:12)
• October 6 - Iowa Trail Runs - Annette Nature Center
• Held at Annette Nature Center in Warren County
• I'm unsure if I will do the 5k or 10k
• This will be my 2nd trail race of the season
• October 20 - IMT Des Moines Half Marathon
• Held in Downtown Des Moines
• This will be my fourth, and final, primary/A race of the year
• I have raced the IMT 6 times previously, 2 of those were at the half marathon distance (2015 and 2023)
• My goal for the race will be to set a new half marathon PR (current PR is 2:08:14)
• November 28 - Turkey Trot
• Location and distance TBD as I'm not yet sure where we will be next Thanksgiving

21 races in 10 months may seem a little ambitious, but I have put a lot of thought and planning into this race schedule. I wanted to continue to build on the success and enjoyment that I found in 2023 but I also wanted to challenge myself. I had 2 primary concerns when planning this schedule. 

1. I didn't want my racing to completely disrupt my family life
2. I wanted to find a good mix races to really challenge me as well as provide the opportunity to race often without worrying about injury or burn out

I was able to accomplish the first by scheduling mostly local races that will allow me to race on either a Saturday or Sunday morning but keep the rest of the weekend for family time or trips to the cabin. Of the 6 races that aren't local 5 are in locations that allow visiting family or friends as part of the trip. The only exception would be the Clear Lake Triathlon which we will probably turn into a mini family vacation for Memorial Day weekend. 

The second was accomplished by scheduling a couple of races each month to keep me engaged and working hard. I have an early half marathon in the schedule to help me get my mileage up early. A fall marathon will keep me busy all summer and by following it up with a half marathon again a few weeks later, I will be taking advantage of the fitness I've already gained. I also added a couple of trail races to the schedule. Nearly everyone that I know who has run a trail race absolutely raves about them. Several have completely switched to trail runs over road races because they enjoy them so much. It will be a good challenge and change of pace throughout my season. 

I also want to touch briefly on what isn't in my schedule. I spent a lot of time thinking about signing up for the Des Moines Ironman 70.3 in June along with a full Ironman in the fall. I still really want to complete a full Ironman at some point. I remember just how grueling the training for the 70.3 in 2017 and 2019 was and my heart just isn't in it enough right now to go through that without risking burn out. I have no doubt that my body would be capable of taking the abuse, but there isn't a point in doing it if I can't mentally commit. 

Now let's talk a little about what IS in my schedule. I learned this year that I love to race a lot and that I can fit frequent shorter races into the training schedules for my longer races without being too disruptive. Just like this year, I want to gradually progress throughout the year so that I'm at my best when those late season races hit. In the spring, I am hoping to set a new PR at the 10k distance as well as the Olympic Triathlon distance. Both are attainable if I continue to work hard and build some speed over the winter. I think the hardest part of these early season goals will be in good enough shape swimming in the open water as well as on the bike. Late season I'm going for some redemption at the full marathon distance. I've got a new training program to use and am confident that I will be able to better my time from 2019. Originally I was going to try for a sub-2:00 half marathon at the IMT in October, but I've changed to going after a new PR instead. If sub-2:00 happens, then I'd be good with that but it seemed just a little too ambitious at the end of a long season. 

I think the hardest stretch of races for me will be May - June when I race on 5 straight weekends. It does seem like a lot, but most of the races are modest distances and due to some family obligations in June, I needed to fit my June races in early. I will have a full week off of training after finishing up that cycle before diving into training for the late summer/fall races. 

I'm super excited to get after it again! In season training starts on Christmas day and I'm looking forward to it. 

Thanks for reading!