I’m not going to review the Nike Women’s Marathon again because I’ve already done it enough. Earlier this year I wrote THIS POST all about the race. And the original review is here.
Part of me likes the whole “women runners only” vibe and part of me is super annoyed by it. Guess it’s probably time for me to hang up the ‘ol NWM hat.
I’ve ran the race for the past 3 years and not a whole lot is changed… the Tiffany necklaces are cuter, but the expo and website are still a complete waste of space and time. They ran out of corral tags, bags, and necklaces, just like in past years.
So what I am going to talk about is why you SHOULD run it and how you should go about it.
While it’s definitely not a well-managed race, I think all women runners should try to run it once; it is fun and it’s a different experience because it’s all about you… the woman runner. You’ll see more pink, feel more estrogen, cry more tears, and eat more chocolate than anywhere else in the world.
My advice: register with a girlfriend or group of friends, take your mom, walk with your sister. Make it a girls’ day/vacation/weekend, not a “race” race.
DO NOT go into the event trying to race or worse, PR. You will end up being charged with murder.
There’s too many casual walkers, Team in Training joggers, and women who are there to simply enjoy the experience rather than run hard, so you gotta go in with the right attitude and understand the whole Girl Power atmosphere.
Give yourself plenty of time to go to the expo, to get to the starting line, to park your car, etc. This is a BIG race with a lot of newer athletes so have patience with it all. I didn’t….
Being at the chaotic and extremely inefficient expo raised my stress levels and blood pressure so high I swear I could have overturned a car. And then thrown it through the Nike Store window.
I should have had a lot more patience; I knew it would be like that, it’s just part of the race.
Lastly, enjoy it for what it is. The race gets a lot of women out there exercising, raising money, finishing a race, and completing a goal who might not otherwise. girl power, right?
Here’s the link for official race photos, Mom. I knew you’d want to see some. I was all into the waving pose…. (For those of you who want to see Skinny Leg vs Fat Leg pics, check out #15 and #16.)
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{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
i agree, nike is something to definitely do for FUN and do once… twice? ehh. i would like to do it again for that new necklace you got this year – so much cuter!
Crazy, how is that your same leg???
And more importantly, in the thumbnail size of #2 it looks like you’re wearing corn rows! I glanced at it quickly and the headband/lighting combo was just right to freak me out.
That is disappointing to read … shouldn’t Nike be able to figure out a marathon? I would think like any race, you would have your recretational runners as well as hardcore and elite. Do they not have a good corral system in place? The 2010 necklace was really cute and I agree that the website is worthless.
That looks like so much fun. I would love to be able to do it just once. I would love to be able to do a marathon just once. Your blogs have been so insightful and I love how you post the good, the bad and the ugly. And the yummy chocolate!
Interesting view of the race. After reading this I am actually really upset to find out they run out of neclaces every year. WTF?! I ran my first ever marathon on sunday and was rewarded by getting a Tiffany’s neclace from 2007. I do think it was a fun girls day out and appreciate all the pink and chocolate and hoopla. But I was rather dissapointed in Nike as a whole. I do think for my first marathon it was still a fun experience and appreciated the newby experience. I wasn’t there to run for time, but I trained my butt off to run in that race. And run my butt off, I did! And I think it still was a pretty posative experience for me. But after reading your report, it makes me question on whether I would run in it again. I was very dissapointed about certain aspects too besides the running out of neclaces and limited race expo. I guess i will just have to find another marathon to run and compare!
I want to do this race just once with my mom. Mainly for the Tiffany’s swag and that the money made goes to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
-I also have to say not all people who do TNT are joggers. Most of the people on my teams, including myself, though not as fast as you, are runners and do it because they’ve been personal effected.
giveaway? (so selfish)
Good to know about the race. I’ve never run a half or a marathon, but when I was checking my time at a women’s race this Spring (in San Diego) a woman asked me if I wanted to do team in training. Which I can’t, but it made me aware of the race.
I LOVE the idea of a women’s only race, but I HATE the idea of “pink/estrogen/it’s-amazing-i’m-doing-this-because-i’m-a-woman!” business.
I agree with you 100%. Every girl should do the NWM just for fun and not to race. It was a great experience but I’m not sure if it is a do the marathon more than once experience. The tiffany necklace is nicer than a medal though.
Aren’t those pictures crazy???
wow – cool. didn’t know they took pics like that! (non-marathoner that i am) i’m glad you look like you’re running when you run instead of the “happy” “oh this is so easy” “i’m cute even when i sweat” pics that you normally show us. not that you don’t look cute in those pics – but i thot maybe you ran with a goofy smile like a clown on crack or somethin.
That picture is just freaky. So sad to hear that Nike can’t get it together!
What is your personal feeling on Team in Training? I have loads of opinions and my momma taught me if I don’t have anything nice to say then I should not speak. So I won’t.
How can you not have any good things to say about TNT? It raises millions of dollars each year for cancer research. So the people that typically do the events are first timers…so what, doesn’t mean they’ll be walking the race. If you’re really fast you won’t be in a corral with them anyway.
What is that with fat leg vs. skinny leg?! I’ve noticed the same thing with my race photos. I actually broke down and paid the $17 bucks for a race photo from the Philadelphia Marathon last year. It was such a good picture (a skinny leg shot, obviously)…I couldn’t resist!
nice pictures!
I actually watched the video of you finishing too! thats really cool! 
I felt bad for the girl that collapsed at the finish line… her legs just gave out!
I have race pics with the same leg issue. What my face is contorted in the skinny leg one? Who cares I’m ordering that one!
What a shame you decided to depict us Tnt runners as merely joggers. Your attitude reminds me of a lecture I attended where the speaker proceeded to tell me that I wasn’t worthy to run a marathon because I wasn’t running 50 miles a week. Does the way I train make me less of a runner because I didn’t eat sleep and dream in Kenya? I ran honey, I ran and ran and beat my time by an hour. I ran because I raised money for TNT and earned my rightful spot along with those who chose to run 50 miles a week. Are you faster than me? Yes. Are you better than me? No. We are both runners, both women, both living in a country where we can run right along with the men…fast or slow. I forever grateful to Tnt for turning me into a rockstar runner at 4 hours and 27 mins. If you don’t like the fact that Nike gave it’s proceeds to Tnt, and subjected you to slow runners and walkers. Pick another race.