The Whidbey Island Marathon, one of the Pacific Northwest’s hidden athletic gems, is the perfect destination race. On Sunday April 19, Whidbey Island, just north of Seattle, WA, hosts the Whidbey Island Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K, 5K, and 1K Kids Run.

In the past decade, something changed in the endurance recreation landscape. As long-distance triathlon finished its journey from the outskirts of sanity to the firm mainstream, those participants who longed for the hardest, longest, strangest challenges began to search outside the swim-bike-run barriers for whatever was next.

On the first Saturday in May each year, Esther Short Park is filled with the sounds of happy people, families and dogs. It is the most amazing sight to see more than 800 dogs happy to be with their people as they head out for a 5k run or 3-mile walk.

I remember a time when I was a younger and doing a lot of road races, when you simply planned out your racing calendar on the fly as you went through the year. For better or worse, those days are over. Now we’re planning, developing, mulling over, and plopping down big bucks on those race calendars.

The beginning of a new year brings with it plenty of promise and possibility by hitting our internal reset button. While a plan to start anew simmers just beneath the surface, a little inspiration might be the jumpstart you need. Whether you’re looking for the ultimate bike race, ultra marathon or triathlon, we’ve compiled a list of races both old and new that promise to test your mettle for the year ahead.