Friday 5: Races to Run

Ok, so I really need to check ahead on the Friday 5 schedule, because it turns out Mar, Courtney, and Cynthia have some great topics.  Last week a ton of bloggers wrote about their 5 races to run (or that they want to run!)  and it made me sad that I missed out.  So officially catching up...

1. Shamrock Half Marathon:  Guys, it's getting so, so close!  I'm really excited! It's a fast, flat course, and J&A does a fantastic job with race logistics (think porta potties at every corral).  Read my recap from last year here. One day I might shut up about this race.  But probably not any time soon.

I will probably wear this for a month straight.
Source.

2. Crawlin' Crab Shell Yeah! Challenge: This was my first ever challenge, and I LOVED it.  One of my favorite parts was that after the 5k I actually wanted to drink my post race beer! (A lot of times after halfs I'm just not feeling it right away).  For all you craft beer lovers, this is your race!  The course is amazing, too.  Read my recap of last year's race here.

3. Mud in Your Eye XC Series: I really wish I lived in the Hampton Roads area still, because I loved running these races when I was in high school and college.  My dad and I would run them together and they were a blast.

4. Boordy Vineyards 5k:  Guys, you run for 3 miles and then get bread, cheese, and fruit plates, and WINE.  Best idea for a race ever.  You can read my embarrassing recap here.  (I think I'm destined to be embarrassed with this race. I had a moment registering for the 2015 race....totally freaked out because I thought it was sold out and Charm City Run kindly sent me the link to register since I was looking at last year's link.  Oops.)

5. Surf-n-Santa 5 Miler: I loved every minute of this race.  I'm a big fan of evening races and the fact that you get to run under the boardwalk lights was amazing.  The post run party has Samuel Adams beer and a delicious bread bowl.  I realize it sounds like the only reason I run is to eat soup in bread bowls and drink good beer after this post....  Only partly true!  You can read my recap here.

A couple other runner up races that deserve to be in here are the Tower of Terror 10 Miler at Disney, the Scarecrow Classic 5k, and the St. John the Jogger 5k.  I love the last two because they are small, laid back and it's nice to just have an easy race morning.

What are the best (stress free--like I can park at the race site with ease.  I'm not all about the metro.) races in the DC area? I need some more local races!