Three Great Reasons to Run...

1) Chocolate!
2) Champagne!
3) Sister-Bonding Time!

A half-marathon that weaves these three wonderful incentives together beautifully is the See Jane Run Half-Marathon Series.

The See Jane Run races are amazing events where women get a high quality race designed just for them in four fabulous cities across the country...this year, the Alameda, CA race is on June 3rd, the Boise, ID race is on June 16th, the Seattle, WA race is on July 15th, and the Austin, TX race is on October 7th.  And along with getting to run the race with a bunch of other amazing ladies, each finisher gets a sweet finisher's shirt...

...an awesome medal...

and probably most important of all, a champagne glass with the race logo inscribed on it, that gets to be filled with lots of yummy champagne at the post-race expo...

...where there will also be plenty of yummy chocolate to sample, and other tasty post-race food as well.  I can't think of better swag after a race than chocolate and champagne, can you?

I'm looking forward to the Boise race in particular this year because, for all the races I've completed in my running career, I haven't as yet been able to run one with my sister.  She's a nurse and has an extremely busy schedule, so this is the perfect solution since I'd be coming to her neck of the woods for the race.  So not only would she not have to worry about traveling to get to the race in Seattle, but she'd only have to get one day off for the actual race, as opposed to trying to get multiple days off for the race and travel time.  And after the race, did I mention that we'd get to celebrate over champagne and chocolate?!?!  Because I believe that warrants being mentioned again!

As if all the incentives to run these races weren't enough, the wonderful ladies at See Jane Run are sponsoring a 5 Days, 5 Ways to WIN! contest and are giving away 2 free slots in one of their races.  One of the 5 ways to win is through mentioning See Jane Run in your own running blog...so I'm hoping after reading my post, they'll agree that my sister and I are the perfect candidates for those two slots!

I'd like to end the post today with a little running poem to my sister (I'm coming up with this on the fly people, and I'm a math teacher, not an English teacher, so don't judge my rhyming skills too much!):

Ode to Running Sisters
As the race draws near, we'll all toe the line,
many sisters to run with, one of them mine.

When the gun goes off, away we will run,
giggling, singing, laughing, and just having fun!

Now 13.1 miles is a long way to race,
but with my sister by my side, I'll keep up the pace.

We may face some hills, and be tired a bit,
but with her running with me, I won't want to quit.

For a sister's the best friend one could be,
and the only one I want crossing the finish line with me!

Well, look at that, I'm a poet and I didn't know it!

Have you ever run a race with your sister?