You guys – guess what?! I’m so excited to be doing a giveaway for one of my favorite events coming up – the Cleveland Marathon!

As a Cleveland Marathon Ambassador, you’ve probably noticed I’ve been sharing my training schedule and how my weeks have gone. One of the perks I get from being an ambassador is that I also get to give away a race entry to one of you! You could receive one complimentary race code for the Rite Aid Cleveland Marathon 10K, Half-Marathon or Full Marathon events that will be on May 17, 2015.

Last year, starting line with Mary and me!

But first, why do I think you should register?

• I like the course! I’ve only run the half but in my opinion, it’s a good view. Cleveland is a city of many neighborhoods and running the race (half, full and 10K) allows you to get a glimpse at some of these. The course is great – while there are some hills (including one near the end … ugh), it’s relatively flat and offers a variety of scenes. Whether you’re downtown or by the lake or in the nearby Ohio City neighborhood or near westside suburban areas of Lakewood and Rocky River, there are different things to see so you don’t get bored.
• The spectators! The spectators are great. Just as our neighborhoods are diverse, so are the spectators – but they’re all cheering you on, excited to see you, holding signs, water, snacks and even beer for the runners. I remember local high school bands playing for us along the route – that was also something great.
• The history: The Cleveland Marathon is one of the 50 oldest marathons in the country – while I’m sure the course (and scenery) has changed throughout the years, it’s great to run in a race that you know has so much history.

Did I persuade you to run? If you haven’t registered, you can win registration. 

Here’s how to enter – these are all worthy of separate entries so – please leave a separate comment for each way you choose to participate!

1. Leave a comment on this post. You can explain why you want to run the race OR if you’ve run before, your favorite part of the race. OR just tell me your favorite running mantra. What keeps you going?
2. Follow @koskim (me!) on Twitter and leave comment telling me you did.
3. Follow @koskim (me!) on Instagram and leave a comment telling me you did.
4. Follow @clevemarathon on Twitter and leave a comment telling me you did
5. Tweet the following: “I want to run the @clevemarathon with @koskim!  http://bit.ly/1y5y1mS #runcle #clemarathon” and leave a comment telling me you did. You can do this once a day for the entire contest time, just remember to leave comments for each time you do it!

The giveaway will run through midnight Eastern Time on Thursday, April 9 – I’ll announce a winner Friday, April 10.

Post-race brunch last year with Erica and Nicole – my lovely lady running buddies!