Planning my '19 race calendar

For the last month, I have been looking at my spring '19 race calendar. Two races that I wanted on this calendar were the Hot Chocolate 15k and the Start 2 Finish Trail race When I started lining up the dates, I suddenly realized that when the Hot Chocolate 15k shifted their race date to January, they overlapped with the Start 2 Finish/Charlotte Running Company Trail races at the Whitewater Center. This was a major disappointment to me since I wanted to do both races as I had done in '18.

So I had a decision to make. I could run either the Hot Chocolate 15k or the Start 2 Finish Trail race. I really liked doing the Hot Chocolate race but equally, I enjoyed knocking down the trail miles at the Whitewater Center.

Ultimately, the decision came down to who do I want to support. Do I want do support a local business vs. visiting business? Jenn and Donny are huge supporters of our local running events so my decision was a no brainier.

I signed up for S2F Trail race. I feel like that I would be remiss as a responsible runner if I didn't support businesses that provide us with so many opportunities to race.

I am still disappointed that both races ended on the same day and hope next year, they will figure out a way to separate them out to different weekends. For now, I am happy with my decision.

For those facing this same dilemma, please consider supporting those businesses that support our local running events. Without these business, either the entry feeds would be enormous or these events would not be possible.

Happy Holidays

The Cool Down Runner