$45 worth of motivation.

If you're in the greater Annapolis, Austin, Denver, or Atlanta areas and need some motivation to get yourself outdoors, check out the ZOOMA race series. I found this online the other day in my quest to find another road race before October's Baltimore Half-Marathon, which I do every year with my sister, mom, and Godmother. Last year my mom and I walked/ran together and finished the race in 2 hours and 56 minutes. Here are some pics of me and my mom (from MarathonFoto) for your viewing pleasure:

I'm in the dark blue shirt, and Deb (my mom) is in the light blue shirt. I'm not sure who the sketchy guy in the black, open chested shirt is, nor do I know where one would even purchase a shirt like that.

Anyway, I was looking for another race to do in the mean time, and came across the ZOOMA series. From the website:

ZOOMA Women’s Race Series presented by New Balance is an exciting new concept in women’s running that celebrates the power and beauty of all women.

• Purpose is to promote women’s and girls’ health and fitness by encouraging them to participate in a challenging and fun running event.


• Pampering amenities and exciting entertainment with a “girls’ weekend” atmosphere .


• Inaugural event held in Annapolis, MD on June 1, 2008 attracted over 1,600 runners.


• ZOOMA welcomes both men and women to participate in all ZOOMA events.


• 2009 events will be held in Austin, TX, Annapolis, MD, Denver, CO, and Atlanta, GA

A "girls' weekend atmosphere"?? Upon further reading, I found that each finisher receives a finishers necklace (in lieu of a medal), mini spa treatments at the finish line, and wine tastings instead of beer! Sign me up!

ZOOMA Annapolis is offering a half-marathon and a 10K on Sunday, May 31. Both races start at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium and finish at the Jonas Green Park (with a shuttle for all finishers back to Celebration Village at the Stadium), which means the course should have some beautiful scenery. I'm all signed up for the 10K, and you could be too if you click the ZOOMA logo above!

I find that I'm more apt to exercising if there's a direct benefit - like beating last year's time in the Baltimore Half. In my head, I know that a direct benefit of exercising every day would be wearing smaller clothing. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be strong enough motivation. Hopefully the $45 registration fee (it's $55 now if you want to register, too) will kick me into gear, though!