On October 25, 2015 I had the pleasure of participating in my 3rd Biggest Loser Half Marathon north of Seattle in Lake Stevens, Washington. The Biggest Loser Run Walk Race Series is a special one and always a ton of fun! All 3 years I have participated in this Seattle area race the location has been different. In 2013 the event took place in north Seattle starting at Gas Works Park. Click HERE to read my recap of that race. I wrote that post in 2 parts with the Expo in Part !... Read about the Expo HERE. In 2014, because of construction in Seattle, the event was moved to Everett, Washington. I wrote about that race too...read all about the 2014 event HERE.
My 1 EXPO shot... My daughter with Dan from Season 5 of the Biggest Loser
For 2015 the event was moved to Lake Stevens, Washington which is even farther north of Seattle. Good for me because it meant a less then an hour drive the morning of the race. I definitely took less pictures this year... thank goodness for the FREE photos that the Biggest Loser Run Walk offers. YES... that is right... they have photographers on the course and at the finish snapping tons of photos and they are ALL yours for FREE!
The medals for this race series are awesome! Themes to each city they come to... even medals for the 5K Finishers too!
Half Marathon Medal Biggest Loser 2015
Lake Stevens, WA - Oct 25, 2015
The pre race area for this race was set up great... vendors, tons of port of potties and a scenic setting there in Lake Stevens. I did pay a little extra for the VIP Tent experience at this race... I had never done that before but thought the access sounded great and the snacks both before and after the race were included. I was not disappointed about the food options... they had TONS of food both pre race and after... BUT the porta potty... the VIP one was a Handicap (a really big one) located right there in the VIP tented area. I did enjoy the extra room but it would have been nice to have a couple more available at that location. Just sayin... if you are going to take the extra time to change clothes or whatever I shouldn't feel like I am holding up EVERYONE else from just going potty... I felt badly but oh well.
I will say that this race series is the MOST welcoming atmosphere for beginners and/or new runners (or walkers for that matter)... the generous time limit to finish is awesome and they CHEER you in at the finish! Not to mention the BLING! They have awesome medals!
Here I am showing off with ALL 3 of my Seattle Biggest Loser Half Medals and the Legacy Medal I received this year for completing all 3 Half Marathons in Seattle.
Pictures really tell the story...
I had so much fun doing this race... I was hoping for an under 2:30 time but oh well... with just a few hills (which I do not enjoy) and I was happy with just finishing! My chip time was 2:37 and I finished 6th in my age group!
I would definitely do this race again... I began doing this race thing in 2013... with my first Half Marathon in January of 2013. I have now completed 19 Half Marathons to date and the Biggest Loser Half has been 3 of those. My weight loss and fitness journey is ongoing but in a nutshell... I lost about 75 pounds between 2010 and 2012... with Weight Watchers... not really introducing much of a fitness plan. I needed something to help me stay active and help me maintain the weight loss I had worked so hard to achieve. I was introduced to the Run Walk Run program though Jeff Galloway and I was sold! I complete all of my races using intervals... and use a little timer called a gymboss to alert me when to walk and run. It works for me and I have never felt better!
The Biggest Loser Race Series is a great one and I would HIGHLY recommend it to any runner/walker... especially for newbies and or people who feel like they are slower then your average racer! I seriously would have NEVER predicted I would be doing this 4 or 5 years ago... me a runner? Really? Yes - I am! Get out there and participate... you won't regret it!
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