Jill Conklin's Staging Area

I’ve run this several times and I’ll probably run it several more. For an inexpensive race, this really is a great event. The run consists of one loop around gorgeous, flat Presque Isle peninsula. At about every mile, you are greeted by enthusiastic volunteers giving you water, electrolyte drinks, & encouragement. Somewhere in the upper miles, you’ll be given a cold, wet cloth, which is a godsend on a hot day. At the finish this year, they had not only water, but also EXCELLENT watermelon, apples, and bananas. Although they used to have a big, wonderful picnic afterward, they did provide hotdogs & cookies this year. The Pros: Easy parking- Get there early & you’ll have no problem. Excellent course- Flat as a board. No way to make a wrong turn. Lots of water stations. Super-friendly volunteers. Excellent fruit afterward. The Cons: Definitely not enough portapotties at the start. Lines were super long and many people were still in line when the race started. The electrolyte drink on course is Gu Brew, which is very chemically tasting/horrible. The picnic afterward seems to have gone by the wayside. If you had never done this race in past years, you wouldn’t miss it. It was a good one, though. While the fruit afterward was TOP NOTCH, the hotdogs were so lousy they should have just been skipped. The shirt is a men’s tech shirt. It doesn’t have the race name on it, just sponsors on the back & 13.1 on the front. If you’re a woman, it probably won’t fit, anyway, so it doesn’t matter what’s on it. There was a problem this year & no medals were given out. Instead, we got plastic “Fast Finisher” license plates without even the name of the race on them. I don’t think anyone was happy with this. I don’t care if I don’t get a medal if I am not told when I signed up I’d get one. I guess they should have given a heads up that there was a problem rather than just making the weird substitution. That said, when I have gotten medals from this race, they have been pretty generic. All in all, I’d say if you don’t care about a nice shirt or medal, but you want a top of the line course with excellent support, do this one. You won’t be disappointed.