Our Top 6 Running Races in Orlando
The Top 6 Orlando Running Races
If you’re looking for some races in Orlando, besides the RunDisney races, we have some outstanding picks for you. These races are all less expensive and less crowded than the RunDisney races. If you want to see Orlando and Central Florida instead of a theme park, we hope you’ll enjoy some of these events.
Here are our favorite races to run in Orlando, in no particular order.
1: Echo Half Marathon & 5K
Beautiful course in Deland. This is a point-to-point race, so your finish is in a different location than the start. Also, we discovered this is the only race we could find that offers no deferral or refund if you are unable to run. We felt the course is enjoyable enough to warrant inclusion in the list, despite the glaring flaw in handling race deferrals or refunds
2: Masters of All Terrain
This is for the off-road runners. Don’t write it off if you’re used to racing on city streets. People who run this race have a great time and it isn’t a technically difficult course. It’s available in Sorrento in July and Geneva in October. You can run a marathon, half marathon, and a 5 Mile (not 5K). Follow them on social media for more.
3: Race 13.1
This is a national series of races that is fairly new, as races go, but rapidly growing in popularity. The Orlando course is fast and flat and a great place to run a personal best if you’re chasing a time goal.
4: Best Damn Race
Your choice of 13.1, 10K, or 5K race. Best Damn Race has quickly become very popular. The range of distances, beautiful courses, and post-race parties are just a few of the things that are drawing more and more runners to this event.
Save money by signing up early. Some of the distances have been known to sell out so don’t leave it to chance in the hope of a race day sign-up. They have a very flexible transfer, deferral, and distance change policy to accommodate the things that life sometimes unexpectedly throws at us.
5: OUC
A half marathon and 5K race. As Orlando races go, this is one of the bigger ones and attracts a few thousand runners every year. You have the option of shorter distances if you aren’t up the full 13.1 miles.
6: The Riverside Dash in Sanford
Held annually in early April along the St Johns River in Sanford, just north of Orlando, this fast, flat race is becoming very popular. There is a 15k and a 5k race.
Runners enjoy a pretty course along the river around sunrise at what is arguably the best time of the year for running in Florida. A well-organized event with a festive post-race party, runners socialize and enjoy a beer and pancake breakfast after the run.
Our Physical Therapist Recommendation
The best find we ever discovered is Dana Dambrauskas of Transition Sports Physical Therapy. Lee was in extreme pain after her latest marathon. We went to doctors, chiropractors, and other specialists who never could identify the problem. We spent a lot of money treating the systems. These folks never found the cause of the problem.
When we learned about Dana from another local runner, we decided to give her a shot. It turns out that she ran the same marathon and had a bunch of clients who suffered injuries from that course.
She got right to the heart of Lee’s issues immediately and had her back on her feet with some running drills in a couple of weeks. Not only is Dana incredibly proficient as a physical therapist, but she’s also a lot of fun! We love Dana’s passion for her work and excitement to see a client’s progress.
We happily give Transition Sports PT our highest recommendation.
W: http://transitionsportspt.com
P: 407-446-2328
E: [email protected]/
A: 145 Middle St #1121
145 Middle St, Lake Mary, FL 32746
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