Frederick Running Festival
Frederick, MD
- Half Marathon, Half Marathon Relay, 5K, Kids Run
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
Tucked away in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., the Frederick Running Festival is one of the hidden gems of the running community. The festival features four races, which all finish at the Frederick Fairgrounds. Runners can experience a big time race with small town charm with the added value of … MORE
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Fun, fun, fun!
This is my second year in a row participating in the Frederick Running Festival. I ran the "Nut Job Challenge" where you run the 5K Saturday at 5pm and then … MORE
This is my second year in a row participating in the Frederick Running Festival. I ran the “Nut Job Challenge” where you run the 5K Saturday at 5pm and then run the half marathon Sunday morning. I like this option because I already half to be there Saturday for packet pick up so why not do a little shake out 5k.
Packet pick up is easy and there is plenty of parking for both the expo and race. There are plenty of bathrooms as well! The expo is rather small so you can quickly be in and out if you want. You can buy shirts/gear from previous years at the expo. Charm City Run always has a section and they always have Maryland themed merch and other running supplies.
Frederick is a very cute town with lots of shopping and restaurants. Our tradition is getting to the expo around 2 (stay for about 30 min and get pictures), go out to eat at a local Italian place (many to choose from, yay for carb loading!), then head back to the fairgrounds for the 5k.
Due to construction the course was different from last year and included a challenging hill in the last mile of the 5k and half marathon. The end hill was manageable as long as you train on hills.
Although it was rainy, there were people out and cheering on the course. The course has some rolling hills that are very manageable. The race ends on the horse track at the Frederick fairgrounds and the after party is in the infield on the track.
The after party is fun and there is always a great band playing. You get 2 complimentary drinks with your bib and can purchase more for $5.
This is definitely a half marathon course you can PR on as I paced my mom to a 2 minute PR and my MIL to a proof of time for RunDisney 🙂
Nice race in a nice place
Glad I found this race. Set up was at the fairgrounds which was nice. The weather was overcast and somewhat drizzly but I think it was better than being hot … MORE
Glad I found this race. Set up was at the fairgrounds which was nice. The weather was overcast and somewhat drizzly but I think it was better than being hot with the sun bearing down on you. I kinda felt like I was either running slightly uphill or slightly downhill most the time. There was a long gradual uphill around mile 5-6 which was a grind but overall if I lived in the area, I would definitely run this race again.
Awesome race
I knew nothing about this race going into it, but I loved it. It is pretty much flat the whole way until about mile 11, then one big hill. The … MORE
I knew nothing about this race going into it, but I loved it. It is pretty much flat the whole way until about mile 11, then one big hill. The neighborhoods were beautiful. Made me want to move there. The race organization definitely had it together and they were very friendly. I thought things went very smoothly. The shirt and medal were great and finishing on the horse racetrack was pretty cool. I would definitely repeat this race.
Rolling with the hills
This was my first time running this race and I enjoyed it. Frederick is a cute, little city with a lot of history. It's a nice place to spend the … MORE
This was my first time running this race and I enjoyed it. Frederick is a cute, little city with a lot of history. It’s a nice place to spend the weekend exploring.
The expo is held at the Fairgrounds, where the race starts and ends. It’s very efficient and simple – one area for your bib and another area for your race shirt and a couple booths to explore. The race shirt is great – it’s a thick long sleeve and great quality. It’s not something I would personally run in because it’s too thick for me but I appreciate the quality and Maryland theme to it.
I ran the half marathon the next day. It was a beautiful day for a race – started in the low 50s. It was a tad humid but not overbearing where it was miserable. The course goes through all of Frederick so it’s the best way to see the city. There are rolling hills throughout majority of the race but they are small enough so it’s not too tiring and the uphills are paired up with downhills so you can easily recover. Majority of the course (except for the final 1/3 of a mile) is on road which was overall in good condition – no cracks or uneven areas. The last part of the race ends on the racetrack which is gravel like – almost feels like a light layer of sand which makes you feel a little sluggish after all those hills but it’s a cool way to end.
The race is on the smaller side, no more than 2500 runners this time. It never felt crowded. I felt there was enough port-o-potties along the course and good amount of water/gatorade stations. There was a good amount of crowd support that is scattered over the course – even the smallest groups had the biggest energy.
Overall, a great race. I’m happy I chose this as my MD race.
Awesome Organization
This race is part of the Frederick Running Festival and has a 5K on Saturday night and the Half Marathon on Sunday. Doing both makes you a "nut job" and … MORE
This race is part of the Frederick Running Festival and has a 5K on Saturday night and the Half Marathon on Sunday. Doing both makes you a “nut job” and you get a really awesome Nut Job Challenge medal besides the 5K and Half medals. This race is really well organized with great courses for both races. Very festive atmosphere with a lot of energy and great volunteers. I was very impressed with the amount of porta potties both at the race start/finish area and on course. Aide stations were plentiful and had porta potties at each of them. I would highly recommend this race for a great weekend away. Frederick is a beautiful town to meander through with a wonderful river walk.
Nice small race
This was a fun race. Perfect weather, enough small rolling hills that you feel like you’re doing something but not terribly fatigued. The spectators were great, loved the swag. MORE
This was a fun race. Perfect weather, enough small rolling hills that you feel like you’re doing something but not terribly fatigued. The spectators were great, loved the swag.
Its a good for training for a marathon
The course isn't too difficult although it feels like a low grade incline the entire time. You finish on a horse race track which is okay unless you had storms … MORE
The course isn’t too difficult although it feels like a low grade incline the entire time. You finish on a horse race track which is okay unless you had storms overnight the night before the race then it can be a little mucky to finish on when your legs are spent.
If the race continues to be held in July and with only water stops every 4 miles, I won’t be running again. It is way to hot and humid for only 3 water stops in July in MD. I was cooking by the end of the race and I drank four handhelds of water when I normally only drink 3/4 of one in a race of a half marathon distance.
A very wet race
I ran the Half Marathon as part of the Nut Job Challenge (Running the 5K Saturday night then the Half Marathon Sunday morning). The Premium was a very nice Camo … MORE
I ran the Half Marathon as part of the Nut Job Challenge (Running the 5K Saturday night then the Half Marathon Sunday morning). The Premium was a very nice Camo Sweatshirt with a Maryland Flag Design in the hood. The medal was the same as last year which I was not thrilled about but nevertheless it was a sweet medal in the design of the Maryland Flag and a place to put a race photo. The Nut Job medal is also very nice. Race Day went fairly smoothly considering it had been raining/storming since late Saturday night. The parking lots were half flooded so the race had to change plans to avoid people getting stuck in mud. This caused huge lines when parking and trying to get to the race. I waited in traffic for probably 30mins to get a parking spot. Thankfully I made it to the start line in plenty of time. Race organizers were very understanding of the traffic delay and kept the start line open for 30mins after the start to allow late arrivers to start and even offered to add runners start times manually to the results if they start after that. It was slightly raining nearly the entire time except for probably 3 miles of my race including the very start where it started pouring down rain as they started playing the national anthem. Despite the rain there were a ton of spectators cheering for us and all the aid stations seemed to be fully manned. I highly suggest running this race sometime and I plan on running it again, hopefully it won’t be as wet though.
Great 5K
I ran the 5K as part of the Nut Job Challenge(Running the 5K Saturday night then running the Half Marathon Sunday morning). The shirt was a nice short-sleeved shirt and … MORE
I ran the 5K as part of the Nut Job Challenge(Running the 5K Saturday night then running the Half Marathon Sunday morning). The shirt was a nice short-sleeved shirt and we got a nice small medal for finishing. Parking was very easy to find. Packet Pickup was very quick despite the long line. I had to wait a little bit at the premium pickup because they were looking for the correct sizes. The course was very easy and I believe there were some hills but I did not even notice them.
Good race that needs some improvemnt
Good challenging race with great volunteer support. However... two suggestions. The number of porta-potties near the starting line were not close to being adequate. There were twice as many in … MORE
Good challenging race with great volunteer support. However… two suggestions. The number of porta-potties near the starting line were not close to being adequate. There were twice as many in the finish line area with no one in line. So I would reallocate more to the start. Also the finish area food was not what one can expect to see based on other area races. I had a bottle of water, a banana, and a granola bar, and that was it. I may have missed something but seriously ?
Hard hilly but nice
This was my second half marathon in a week. I am part of the Big Freakin Deal (BFD) and King Crab Challenges and I also did the Nut Job at … MORE
This was my second half marathon in a week. I am part of the Big Freakin Deal (BFD) and King Crab Challenges and I also did the Nut Job at this race, which is the 5k the night before then the half on Sunday. The race was very organized. Small expo, but it was at the fair ground, which made parking easy and Corrigan gave a wonderful discount for those of us involved in the challenges. You get a button that says “I earned an F today” if you are part of the previously mentioned BFD challenge (run an event in the Delaware marathon, the Frederick Running Festival, and the Baltimore 10 miler for an extra medal) which gets you $5.00 of your total purchase at the expo. They also give a button with a Game of Thrones theme that said “game on king crab challenge” and was worth $5 off as well. The cool thing was that you could use them together, so I purchased a half marathon shirt and a race sticker and got $10 off! Warning, their apparel, including those given as race swag, seem to run small. Even for the Delaware Half, my shirt fit too tight, especially on the arms, with the size I normally get. You get a lovely hooded sweatshirt for the half with the Maryland flag design on the inside of the hood. I had to exchange my medium female for a men’s medium because no women’s large was available, but there were many women’s mediums given back and watching the exchange area, it seemed to be the main issue.
The 5k started on the race track, which is gravel because it is a horse track, and it was a nice course with a couple of hills, but 81% humidity! The next day for the half was cooler, but RAIN! I have trained before in rain, so that was not a huge deal. The only thing was that Mother Nature decided to give us a downpour right before we went to line up to start. So some of us were hold up in one of the buildings, but when it was time to go out as we started to see the line moving at the start, the walking area was a river, so your feet started out wet before you even ran…lol! My Brooks and Balega’s held up well, along with me doing some extra lubing up with Body Glide on my toes and pads of my toes to try to keep blisters from forming. I thought that with the rain, constant drizzle and down pours around my mile 4 and somewhere around 9 or 10, there would not be spectators, but there were some brave souls out, including children. They were on their covered porches and out on their lawns cheering and even giving high fives.
Along the course were many,many water stations with Gatorade, there was a munchkin mile with Dunkin’ munchins, one had pretzels and Starburst candy, another had chips and energy bars. The volunteers were awesome! To say the least. They were friendly and encouraging and I never heard one complaint. Now, the HILLS…so I said earlier I did not mind the rain so much, but throw in the brutal hills and that course was challenging beyond words, especially for me because I had run a half the previous weekend and was undertrained then, so of course I was not going to be trained up in a week! The scenery was nice, mountains in the distance, lovely homes, etc., but the hills were brutal! I do run/walk intervals and after being steady in the 5k and feeling so proud of myself, I had hoped to do the same for the half…no such luck! I mostly walked the last half because my legs got really heavy, I was having a shin problem (besides wearing my normal knee brace to help support my knee), and during the last 5 miles, I felt light headed. It was silly to keep going, but I just kept telling myself I had gone that far and was not going to willingly quit, especially with my challenges on the line. By the time I got to the finish, I gave a thought to going to the medical tent because I really felt bad and had to take the 45 minute ride home. But I decided to get some Gatorade, which I normally do not,like and makes me nauseous during runs, but seemed to agree with me on this day, and have some orange slices and potato chips to help me recover. I actually felt like I was somewhat out of my head. I even got confused about how to get out of the finish festival and walked back into the area of the finish chute and was asked what I was looking for, I said the exit, and it was pointed out with a smart remark about how I should not be coming back in that way after leaving out (this was security, not a volunteer) and I sternly let him know that I was trying to get my mental faculties back. The field where the finish festival was being held was very muddy, so I did not walk across to the beer, which I hate, or the wine, which I would have liked to have tried. I really did not need the alcohol though with my state after the race and with driving. Parking was on the fair ground lots, but I decided to park in a garage that was about a .20 mile walk as suggested by the race coordinators. They provide a detailed runner’s guide. I did not want to take a chance on being directed to park on the grass with all of the rain and getting stuck, which evidently did happen to someone who had help to push his car out. They said the garage was free on Sunday, but it was actually a dollar, not bad for the time I was there and the easy in and out. I also met a nice young lady who was walking to her car and was telling me that it had been her first half marathon. Even though the weather was wet, but luckily not hot and humid, the course was really hard, and I was not at my best, I still managed to be only 5 minutes past my normal half time, so I will take it! I am a turtle, so no I am not discussing my actual time…lol…I felt pretty accomplished given the circumstances and those 3 medals were definitely hard earned! I feel like this particular combination of circumstances was harder than my first marathon last year, the Marine Corps Marathon, but it was well organized just like Delaware and I liked the route (I didn’t mention we ran through Hood College). I might do this one again when I am better trained. I would recommend it.
Organized and executed very well
This was my first time running this event. The race organizers didn't overdue it. The expo was small, but still had the necessities. The race swag was awesome...the shirt is … MORE
This was my first time running this event. The race organizers didn’t overdue it. The expo was small, but still had the necessities. The race swag was awesome…the shirt is one of the best I have ever received to date. The course was mostly rolling hills with one bigger hill at mile 12, but none of it phased me as this became my PR. I will definitely run this race again.
Outstanding
I think this race was outstanding! Frederick didn't try to overdo it with gimmicks, crazy innovation, etc. It truly was a classic running festival with various distances, strong support, great … MORE
I think this race was outstanding! Frederick didn’t try to overdo it with gimmicks, crazy innovation, etc. It truly was a classic running festival with various distances, strong support, great medals and premiums, and a lovely course. If you’re looking for a nice midsize race with a small town feel, this is a great option. I am looking forward to returning for another go at it in the future!
Amazing Race
The race had a small expo but was very easy to find your way around. I do wish the expo was open a little later the day prior(Saturday). The race … MORE
The race had a small expo but was very easy to find your way around. I do wish the expo was open a little later the day prior(Saturday). The race started early in the morning at 7AM on Sunday but they recommended arriving by 5:45 to avoid road closures. At the start they had race pace signs so that slower runners did not get in the way of faster runners and it worked great. There were about 4000 people in the race ensuring that there were always people around you. They had water stops about every two miles except for the last 3 miles where they had one every mile. There were also a lot of locals outside cheering on the runners with some offering water and one household even offering strawberries. The course was scenic although mostly through the beutiful city of Frederick. The course was fairly flat and although the elevation shows a few hills they are mostly small and I actually only remember 2 of them with the one being fairly early in the race and the second being around mile 12. The medal was fairly big and the design was the Maryland flag which should speak for itself with how awesome it is. The medal also has a spot on the back to place a wallet sized picture. The shirt is also very nice. The race finished on the track at the Frederick Fairgrounds giving plenty of room for spectators at the end of the race. The race also gave out free race photos taken by multiple photographers at the start, in the middle of the race in various points, and the finish. The race also offered race tracking where you could have the race post or text your time, pace in 3 areas into Facebook which is a great feature. I signed my parents up for the texting and they loved it allowing my mom to know when to go to the track to watch me finish and my dad to keep up to date on how I was doing despite being unable to make it to the race. This feature also sent a picture of you finishing the race. Overall, it’s a very well organized race and is very worthwhile to run. I highly recommend running this race sometime.
Fantastic weekend of running
The Frederick Running Festival is held in a beautiful part of MD. Runners have The chiose of doing a 5k,half marathon,or doing both and earn THE NUT JOB MEDAL. the … MORE
The Frederick Running Festival is held in a beautiful part of MD.
Runners have The chiose of doing a 5k,half marathon,or doing both and earn THE NUT JOB MEDAL.
the swag is great,a half zip pull over for the Half.
The medal was large,and had a spinner section,with a space for you to put your picture.
After the 5k and 10k,there was food and entertainment.
I highly recommend this event.
Fun Fast
Small expo. Very easy to find/park. Great aid stations. Must finish by 3:30 Offered pacing. Finish on the track of the Fair Grounds. Loved the medal. Offer a 5K on … MORE
Small expo. Very easy to find/park. Great aid stations. Must finish by 3:30 Offered pacing. Finish on the track of the Fair Grounds. Loved the medal. Offer a 5K on Saturday. Complete both for the Nut Job Medal.
Ugh! Course was changed.
Course was moved out of the town and onto lots of Highway running. We ran on shoulders with road cones and lots of hills. Wasn't prepared for this change and … MORE
Course was moved out of the town and onto lots of Highway running. We ran on shoulders with road cones and lots of hills. Wasn’t prepared for this change and my performance suffered measurably. This marathon did not survive for too long after this course change for obvious reasons.
First Sub-4 in Frederick, MD!
I'm writing this almost 17 years after the fact, so excuse my attention to detail. This was marathon #2 for me and my first sub 4! Frederick is a cool … MORE
I’m writing this almost 17 years after the fact, so excuse my attention to detail. This was marathon #2 for me and my first sub 4! Frederick is a cool small city with ‘clustered spires’ of 1800s churches and brick sidewalks. In 2007, we ran a good section of the marathon throughout town. Anyway……this marathon is no longer run that i’m aware of.
My Dream came true
I will never forget this race, and it is sad that the Frederick Running Festival no longer has this race - the longest distance now is just the Half. 2007 … MORE
I will never forget this race, and it is sad that the Frederick Running Festival no longer has this race – the longest distance now is just the Half. 2007 was a good year for me – I ran my 1st Boston and had a good run. 3 weeks after Boston, my body was crying out for another run – so, I ran Frederick. Frederick had a series of rolling, steep hills at the end, which made the course very challenging. The night before the race I had a dream that I would come in 2nd in my age group, and set a new PR – BINGO! The dream came true. Must be truth that dreams are often tomorrow’s realities – still can’t get over it.