Michael Straley's Staging Area

This is a small race produced by people with a passion. The race is at a moderately high altitude and is gradually uphill for the first half so you must pace yourself so that you can have a strong finish. Prior to the start, you get to experience the Star Spangled Banner sung in the Navaho language and a Navaho prayer in addition to their own song dedicated to their nation. The scenery was quite a spectacle to look at and I found that I was meditating and appreciating God’s creation and the blessings of being able to run throughout the race.

This marathon will spoil you with swag. The course was easy and well marked with pace teams and frequent drink stations. If you run the marathon don’t use the portapotties until after the half-marathon separates.

This was a last minute race organized by Silver Circle Sports Events in order to fill the void of all of the marathons cancelled due to the pandemic. The course was not spectacular but is was very safe. It was also a certified course. The course consisted of four out and backs. Silver Circle Sports Events is passionate about what they do and very competent in organizing and timing racing events. I would run any event they produce. Their finisher shirts are of great quality and cleverly designed. For this race, the medal was as simple as the course design, but for the cost of this event, you cannot complain. The town of Oconomowk is the most amazing and friendly small town I have ever visited. It was the site of the World Premier of The Wizard of Oz.

I hope they continue the marathon; this year the marathon was a special, one-time only deal due to the Boston Marathon being cancelled. The race was capped at 150 for the 42K. The scenery was awesome, rural/agricultural for 80% (with plenty of room for local traffic and runners) and 20% small town right out of Back to the Future. I would do this again in a heartbeat. Oh ya, the course was difficult but not brutal.

This was a great race. From the expo to the start of the race, nothing was confusing or out of order. Weather (rain/thunderstorms) threatened the race every step of the way. Organizers had to change the course last minute due to flooding. They did so in a manner that was easy to adjust to. Having never been to Grand Island, I was not confused once because there were abundant volunteers and signs. This is a small but very well organized race. Grand Island is passionate about their race. The only downsides I can think of are that the course is 95% on concrete and the Red Coach motels is very unkempt.

This is a very nice small race; fairly new. Cool medals and cool race shirts. For a newer race, Ft Smith offers the nicest volunteers you’ll find anywhere. There was plenty of support on the course from volunteers to police directing traffic. The course was pretty interesting. It ran through town and the half marathon took is through their golf course. That reminded me of my days in high school cross country which I totally appreciated. The only thing I can mention to beware of is the uncertainty of weather this time of year. Last year they said it was 17 degrees with ice on the course. It was twice as warm this year (lol) but it rained the whole time. I appreciate the good challenge that comes through this tough course during a tough time of year. I’ll be racing this more in years to come.

This is a good race to run in Mississippi. The downtown area is easy to negotiate with plenty of parking. The city waives parking at all metered slots. I really enjoyed the Hilton Garden Hotel known to locals as The King George. The Blues Marathon offers a unique medal and nice runner’s shirts. The course is very hilly and you really have to watch your step for potholes, cracks, uneven surfaces and all kinds of things to trip over. A man behind me skuffed the ground and fell. I wore bright colors because the course occasionally went through traffic.

This race is organized by the Trail Nerds of Kansas City, and those folks know how to produce a race! The location is very easy to get too, plentiful parking and lots of Pumpkin Pie at the finish! The scenery is awesome to take in with the beautiful glimpses of nature giving you a taste of what KC looked like before the city moved in. I really enjoyed the BNSF trains that regularly passed by. The course is a challenging course so you’ll have something to be proud of upon finishing. This is a small race but very well done.

The ImT DesM full marathon was spectacular. They had the most aid stations I’ve ever seen. A lot of crowd support considering the size of DesM. The race was well organized and we loved how friendly everyone was. The city was very easy to navigate. The Resistance Inn was only two blocks from the start/finish and the rooms were super cool. This is the race to sign up for in Iowa!

This was a very cool course. I was skeptical of moving the race of Fayetteville, but the city of Springdale really works hard to provide support and security for the runners. The race displays the trails and the streets via this course so there was a lot to take in. We even ran inside of the Arkansas Naturals AA baseball stadium. Post race swag and food was the best I’ve ever seen.

Tulsa was a nice town. It was easy getting into downtown and I loved how close The Aloft hotel was to the start. Parking at the hotel was secure. The expo was top notch. The course was the most difficult I’ve done so far, but I only missed my PR by 40 seconds. This is a great course to prepare you mentally. The course was fun with a lot of community support. The industrial scenery was not as good as KC but the residential neighborhoods were awesome. One thing I didn’t like was all of the concrete. This is a great race. Oh ya, Bart Yasso said my name at the finish! 🤓

The Garmin Marathon is a race that has had many changes to its course. I’m glad I ran it because I’m a loyal supporter of Garmin running watches and they develop unique race swag. The scenery was a bit boring, but the elevation changes were not that hard to handle. I set my PR for 2017 here and the pacers I ran with were expert level.

This is a low key race with a lot of perks. It’s an out and back course where the out and back is run two times (once for the half) along the White River. The scenery of the river is beautiful, but the wind can really circle around in the valley. After the race, showers are available and a truly awesome all you can eat pot luck is put on for the runners by the locals at no charge. Plus, they give you the best running shirts I’ve ever seen and the medals are classy.

There is a shuttle bus to take you to the start line; you park at the finish line. Score a unique distance with this race. The mullet of races; rock on!