Before I get to number one, here are some races that would have made the list if my list had been longer. In no particular order, races shorter than 10 miles, excluding 5 km.
Frostbite 15km – Richmond, VA, 1995, 1996, 1998, best time 1:05:13 in 1996, was the only race within 50 miles of Fredericksburg in January. I learned what it felt like to run at a constant pace for 10 miles.
Rudolph Red Nose 10 km – Fairfax, VA, 1997, 44:42, run on the roads I trained on in high school without cars.
St Patrick/Shamrock 4 Mile – Fredericksburg, VA, 1996 to 2004, best time 26:16 in 1997, kick-off race for Coldwell Banker Elite Grand Prix, finished on JM track.
Armed Forces Day 15km – Quantico, VA, 1982, 1:14;25, I was working on base that the time. Start and finish in front of Lejeune Hall with a loop around the base’s main side, including the hill up to the High School.
Antisocial 7km – Fredericksburg, VA, 2021, 38:27, if 6 feet is social distancing, seven must be antisocial distancing. It was a PR race, even with two times up the switchbacks.
Run through History 10 km – Spotsylvania, VA, 2011 to 2014, 2020, 2021, best time 51:59 in 2011, beautiful course through the Spotsylvania Courthouse Battlefield.
Shamrock 8km – Virginia Beach, VA, 1997, 33:39, they used to hold an early heat for master runners starting an hour before the general field. There was a headwind on the boardwalk, and you could see the snaking runners in front of you with nobody wanting to take point.
J Brian’s 15km – Fredericksburg, VA, 2010 to 2014, best time 1:18:28 in 2010, good course, good food, good beer, good sponsor.
Veterans Day 10km – Fredericksburg, VA, 2020, 2021, best time 54:05 in 2020, multiple passes on River Road and going down the switchbacks.
Steamboat 15km – Peoria, IL, 1998, 1:17:00, started at the same time as the Steamboat 4 Mile and shared the first two and last two miles of the race course. I used four milers to pace in the first two miles, ran the hills in the middle 5 miles, and chased down the 4-mile stragglers in the last two miles.
Over the years, I’ve run 146 different races and finished some of them multiple times. To some, this is not a large number of various events. Over the years, I’ve had some memorable races and have been able to rank my favorite races. If I couldn’t visualize the course and remember how I felt, I moved a race down my rankings.
Other races on my list
#6 Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon
Honorable Mention: