Whether you are new to the sport or well immersed into the scene, most of us like to test our fitness against a distance or course.  When an athlete asks for my opinion on which races they should sign up for throughout the year, my suggestion is to start with their “A” race and work backwards from there.  An “A” race is your most important race of the year and the one that you want to show up to the start line in the best shape possible for.