Walker-Friendly Races

There are a lot of races out there. It's sometimes hard to tell which ones will be walker-friendly. How do I qualify a walker-friendly race? Long time limit, good course entertainment or crowds for all finish times, and a good number of slow folks participating.

First of all, I will list the two races I plan to do within the next year that actually have walking divisions: the Fox Cities Half Marathon in Menasha, WI; and the Cleveland Marathon. These races have awards for walkers. It's all based on the honor system, so don't run at all and don't be a cheater about it. But having age group awards for walkers is extremely rare. I'm going for overall awards, though. ;)

Now, here are a bunch of larger, longer races I have done (not an exhaustive list - I've actually done 24 half marathons and 5 full finishes - 1 DNF) and their degrees of walker friendliness, from least to most friendly.

Des Moines Marathon. They advertised this course as being open for 7 hours, but halfway through, on track to finish in 6:30, I found they were shutting down all the aid stations and opening traffic on the course. I became dehydrated (no water stations, and the course cyclists didn't have ANY LIQUIDS, WTF) and got heat-sick, forcing a dropout between miles 18 and 19. I complained, and they gave me free entry the following year. I did the half marathon instead and found it to be a great time. They may have fixed this problem, but I won't risk the full again.

Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon. Very few slow folks, very few spectators. That said, they have a 7-hour time limit and great swag. GREAT swag. Seriously. And the best finisher medal I've gotten.

Green Bay Marathon. 7-hour time limit is strict for anyone who wants to finish in Lambeau Field. I really wanted to finish in Lambeau Field but I blew it and finished in 7:45. This one was my own fault for aid station closures, but the finish line crew was extremely nice. I expect nothing less in northern Wisconsin.

Chicago Marathon. I have walked this one twice. The first time I finished in 6:35 (6:30 time limit). The second time I finished in 5:44. Both times the race was crowded with participants, had great and frequent aid stations, and lots of spectator support. Chicago is a total party. I preferred when I went faster, though, because it is fun to be one of the only walkers at that pace on the road. You may get tangled up in a pace team, though. I found I was leapfrogging the 5:45 pace group constantly, because they were run/walking and were very annoying about it. Caveat emptor.

Fargo Half Marathon. As an upper-Midwest native, I figured Fargo would be a friendly place to do a race. That is an understatement. The people of Fargo are very proud of their city and are extremely pleasant. The race was an absolute blast. College students were all over the place offering beers and high-fives. Tons of on-course entertainment. Start and finish at the FargoDome, which is about as pleasantly climate-controlled as you can get for hanging out before and after a race. Lots of participants of all speeds and creeds. Every walker or runner should do this one. My running husband (around 3:30 finishes) did the full and loved it equally.

Walt Disney World Half/Full Marathon. I have done both of these, and they are the mecca of walkers. Beware that they have a STRICT 3:30/7 hour time limit, and will sweep you if you fall behind. But if you can keep pace, there are few races as walker-friendly as these. If you are a reasonably fast walker, you will likely finish in the top half of any race at Disney. The medals are awesome, the courses are awesome, and your family won't be bored waiting around for you to come by. The only downside is they start so early that you need to wake up by 3 AM to get to the start. But if you can drag yourself out of bed, you will be surrounded by fellow walkers.

Issues With Walker-Friendly Races

All this being said, there are sometimes problems doing a walker-friendly race that may make you want to stay away. The more walkers there are, the more "newbies" there are. These are people for whom race etiquette is a totally foreign concept. My general advice is to get and stay ahead of such newbies. If you are too slow to get/stay ahead of them, then just go with the flow and try to have fun.

Also beware the "walker-friendly" race. Note the quotes. I did a local half marathon in 2012 that was put on by a local race director. I will not name this guy, so as not to give him any business. Anyway, he claimed his race was walker-friendly and even had walking awards! It was my goal in life to place in this race. To make a long story short, I busted my ass and came less than a second from total victory, but I reassured myself that at least I came in second and I'd actually won an award for the first time ever. At the awards ceremony there were three awards for every division, even age groups that had only 2 finishers. But there was just one overall walker award. ONE. When I asked about it, the race director said I should be glad he even had a walking division. The lesson learned here: some races claim to be "walker-friendly" because they want your money, but they really have no respect for you. Make sure you do a bit of homework on whatever race you plan to do. It might save you an entry fee!