I have no idea how common golf course races are elsewhere, but it seems to be a semi-popular thing to do around here. I’ve been doing one (The Glow Run, which hopefully I will write about sometime) out at the golf course at the Encanterra Country Club for several years now, and the Illuminations half marathon (which was awesome) was on the course at the JW Mariott in Scottsdale. I know of a couple others that I haven’t tried, but I should sometime, because I love them. You do races that run up and down city streets, and you’re looking at a lot of long, straight, mostly-flat miles. Golf course races are mazes that curve and twist and cross each other over and over again. It’s a lot of fun.
This is on top of the fact that they’re beautiful. Water features, bridges, perfectly-manicured grass–I’m not a golfer and likely never will be, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate how much care goes into those courses. They’re lovely.
And finally, as someone who used to sneak onto a neighborhood golf course at night illicitly, there’s something about using a golf course for a purpose for which it was never intended that makes me feel both privileged to be there and like I’m getting away with something at the same time. It’s just fun.
Desert Runaround 