giveaway

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!

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?
Follow @koskim (me!) on Twitter and leave comment telling me you did.
Follow @koskim (me!) on Instagram and leave a comment telling me you did.
Follow @clevemarathon on Twitter and leave a comment telling me you did
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!

Ahh Dirty Dancing. It’s a movie that definitely brings me back. The story (innocent girl meets bad boy and falls in love), the music and of course, the dancing. Oh and the iconic lines – Nobody puts Baby in a corner … I carried a watermelon … and one of my personal favorites:

Me? I’m scared of everything. I’m scared of what I saw, I’m scared of what I did, of who I am, and most of all I’m scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I’m with you.

Anyway, when I heard that Dirty Dancing had been made into a musical AND it was coming to Cleveland, I knew I had to somehow convince B to see it with me – or plan a girls night out. So when Playhouse Square invited me* to their media night, I knew a GNO was in order!

Perfect GNO – flowers, candles, wine (not pictured) and cute coasters!

Goofy before the show

Ali and I got to the show a little early, with enough time to enjoy some delicious food from The District, who was catering the media event. We chatted with some people from Q104 and Cleveland Scene and enjoyed some treats:

Some of the delicious food we feasted on (cupcakes not pictured)

My fave – the fish!

More food. Didn’t try this because of the meat but it looked good!

Then it was showtime! When the lights went down and the music started, I was immediately transported back in time to 1963 upstate New York. The dancing was unbelievable, the singing great (there was one male and one female vocal who stole the show – they sing the famous (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life) and the story just as cheesy and romantic as I remembered it from way back when. Okay, maybe it was cheesier (seeing and hearing the lines from live actors is a little different from on your TV screen) but since I love the cheese I could handle it.

Screen Shot 2015-03-05 at 11.23.05 AM

Overall, the show was enjoyable and it was a great way to spend a Wednesday evening. If you’re interested in learning more, check out the video and more information from Playhouse Square:

The show is in town through March 22! So, want to enjoy a romantic evening? OR Girls Night Out? Or just really wanna see the show? Good news – I have two tickets to give away to the March 17 show! Interested in winning the tickets? Here’s how you enter – there are three different ways and each comment is a separate entry!

1. Leave a comment and tell me your favorite part of the movie (or musical!). It can be a favorite quote or scene.

2. Leave another comment telling me your favorite movie turned musical or vise versa.

3. Follow @Playhousesquare and me (@koskim) on Twitter. Leave me a comment and let me know you did and your handle so I can follow you!

That’s it! I’ll draw winners on Wednesday, March 11.

*Disclosure: I was asked by Playhouse Square to help promote Dirty Dancing in Cleveland #dirtydancingcle. In exchange, I received two free tickets to the media night performance of the show, the pre-show drinks and food from The District and two tickets to give away. I’ll be using random.org to select a random comment.