Very scenic point-to-point course with memorable start running across Shasta Dam, descending steeply to Sacramento Rail Trail, a nicely maintained paved trail for runners and bikers alongside the beautiful Sacramento … MORE
Very scenic point-to-point course with memorable start running across Shasta Dam, descending steeply to Sacramento Rail Trail, a nicely maintained paved trail for runners and bikers alongside the beautiful Sacramento River. Race is organized by local running organization and although a low-key and small race, it’s well organized and the volunteers are friendly and helpful. There are not many spectators, but the runners seemed to be more experienced than in the big city marathons I’ve run and there was good camaraderie among the runners and volunteers. This is an ideal race (or supported long-run) if one is looking for a beautiful and peaceful run through lovely scenery and with little fanfare. I was caught off-guard by the frequency and steepness of some of the hills, somehow expecting it to be milder than it actually was, but I’ll know better next time. My Garmin Fenix 6 estimated that the total ascent was 750 feet. My other two marathons (Cincinnati and Kansas City) were both over 1,000 feet, but I knew those were going to be hilly. I run along the river trails in Sacramento frequently and somehow thought this course wouldn’t be as tough as it actually was, so I’m rating the Difficulty as 4 / 5 as a warning to others! The finish line was at the iconic Sundial Bridge, and had some fun amenities for the runners–including vegetable soup, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and apple pie. There were also medical volunteers and massages available. I ran the race about 15 minutes slower than I expected and went to my nearby hotel to shower, before realizing that I had forgotten to pick up my drop bag. It turned out the finish line amenities were still available then, so even runners finishing about 6.5 hours later will find support, which is nice. The hotel at the finish line (Sheraton Redding Hotel at Sundial Bridge) was very good and has a nice restaurant. The shuttle bus to the start was also a good deal and comfortable, and the Shasta Visitor Center was a nice warm place to wait until the 8 am start. All and all, a really wonderful and well-organized small marathon, even though I ran it slower than I had expected. Course swag includes a beautiful finisher’s medal and a useful shirt.
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Scenic solitude
Very scenic point-to-point course with memorable start running across Shasta Dam, descending steeply to Sacramento Rail Trail, a nicely maintained paved trail for runners and bikers alongside the beautiful Sacramento … MORE
Very scenic point-to-point course with memorable start running across Shasta Dam, descending steeply to Sacramento Rail Trail, a nicely maintained paved trail for runners and bikers alongside the beautiful Sacramento River. Race is organized by local running organization and although a low-key and small race, it’s well organized and the volunteers are friendly and helpful. There are not many spectators, but the runners seemed to be more experienced than in the big city marathons I’ve run and there was good camaraderie among the runners and volunteers. This is an ideal race (or supported long-run) if one is looking for a beautiful and peaceful run through lovely scenery and with little fanfare. I was caught off-guard by the frequency and steepness of some of the hills, somehow expecting it to be milder than it actually was, but I’ll know better next time. My Garmin Fenix 6 estimated that the total ascent was 750 feet. My other two marathons (Cincinnati and Kansas City) were both over 1,000 feet, but I knew those were going to be hilly. I run along the river trails in Sacramento frequently and somehow thought this course wouldn’t be as tough as it actually was, so I’m rating the Difficulty as 4 / 5 as a warning to others! The finish line was at the iconic Sundial Bridge, and had some fun amenities for the runners–including vegetable soup, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and apple pie. There were also medical volunteers and massages available. I ran the race about 15 minutes slower than I expected and went to my nearby hotel to shower, before realizing that I had forgotten to pick up my drop bag. It turned out the finish line amenities were still available then, so even runners finishing about 6.5 hours later will find support, which is nice. The hotel at the finish line (Sheraton Redding Hotel at Sundial Bridge) was very good and has a nice restaurant. The shuttle bus to the start was also a good deal and comfortable, and the Shasta Visitor Center was a nice warm place to wait until the 8 am start. All and all, a really wonderful and well-organized small marathon, even though I ran it slower than I had expected. Course swag includes a beautiful finisher’s medal and a useful shirt.
A fabulous small town race
tl;dr - A fantastic, well organized, low key small town race with amazing river views and just enough hills to keep it interesting! The race website is somewhat short on … MORE
tl;dr – A fantastic, well organized, low key small town race with amazing river views and just enough hills to keep it interesting!
The race website is somewhat short on details, but I found pretty much all I needed to know from reviews on this site. I signed up for the Redding marathon to run as a supported long run and am so glad that I did!
Logistics: Compared to some of the SF/Bay Area races, this is very competitively priced and you get pretty cool schwag for it – a long sleeved tech half zip, a really pretty coaster and a solid medal. Packet pickup was a breeze at a local running store, and bib pickup is available on race day morning as well. You get bussed to the start from the finish, and there was plenty of parking on both ends. The race starts by running across the Shasta Dam and best of all runners are allowed to wait for the start in the warm visitor center.
The course: Most of the course is on paved trails along the Sacramento River with beautiful river views for company. The race website provides an excellent description of the course. There was a pretty short section along Hwy 299, but the shoulders are wide and the volunteers were great about slowing or stopping traffic. The course felt hilly especially in the second half. The short but steep rollers between miles 21 to 24 had me cursing out loud at times. But I guess at mile 21, everything feels steep! The view of the river more than makes up for the course grade and the finish on the Sundial bridge is pretty epic! The race size is pretty small, 135 marathoner in all in 2020, and I ran alone for about 90% of the race. I enjoy solitude, so I quite welcomed this.
Organization: Excellent organization overall. Packet pickup was a breeze, the shuttle buses were super comfortable, there were plenty of aid stations with amazingly enthusiastic volunteers along the way, and the finish line was fully stocked even for back of the pack finishers like me. Here’s a heartwarming story. About 10 mins into the shuttle ride to the start, the runner sitting next to me realized he’d forgotten his shoes in his car. Every runner’s nightmare, right? We talked to the driver, who called the RD who assured the runner someone would get him to the start line somehow. The runner went back in the shuttle, and since he passed me somewhere around mile 20, I assume he was delivered to the start! I loved the support from the organization in a situation like this.
Overall, this race gets a strong 5 from me. I would definitely consider running this again.
Nice small town race.
This is a small marathon, marathon relay, and 5k event. There were about 185 marathoners. No chip start. Only chip at the finish. The race is a point to point. … MORE
This is a small marathon, marathon relay, and 5k event. There were about 185 marathoners. No chip start. Only chip at the finish. The race is a point to point. We are bussed to the start which is at the Shasta Dam and then finish at the Sundial Bridge in Redding. There was major damage to a bridge that is used for the usual route from the Carr Fire, so they had to reroute the course. The regular course runs along the Sacramento River on the paved trail which is pretty flat according to some race veterans that were complaining about the hills from mile 12 to 16. They took us out on country roads, Highway 299, and then back to the river trails. The course was enjoyable. We had rain the first five miles and then with a mile to go, it started to rain again. There were three water crossings because of rain runoff. One was around mile 16 and the others were on an out and back portion around mile 21.5 and 24.5. I have a blister on the pad of my left foot from the wet sock friction. 😫😫😫 I never get blisters, except today. ☹️☹️☹️ All in all a good day even though I question my sanity around mile 18. Why do I do this to myself? It’s so hard. I would run this race again.
Beautiful race
Beautiful course, but don’t let the elevation chart fool you! There are some major ups and downs they refer to as rollers. The first two miles is a fast downhill … MORE
Beautiful course, but don’t let the elevation chart fool you! There are some major ups and downs they refer to as rollers. The first two miles is a fast downhill and a flat gorgeous run next to the river. You get to run through an old railroad tunnel which is fun!
I guess it usually rains but our race was sunny and in the 70s. You run right into the sun and there isn’t a lot of shade so that can be challenge if you are used to running in normal January weather.
The rollers from mile 10-14 are the tough ones. There are a few minor hills later on, but these ones killed my energy. There were aid stations but they only had water, watered down tailwind, and chocolate GU so bring your snacks if you can’t do GU. The end was actually a whole half mile off so you end up running a little extra. They do have tons of food at the end including pie and chocolate milk.
The race swag is awesome! Great shirts, HUGE medal, and great age division plaques. Because this is a small marathon you might place in your age group even if you don’t normally.
Overall amazingly gorgeous course following the Sacramento River, three bridge crossings, and paved trails. A few hard hills, but as long as you train for some hills it’s definitely worth doing.
Redding race
The race started with a bus ride up to the start, the time to board the bus was from 6:30 -6:45 so it was not as early as I am … MORE
The race started with a bus ride up to the start, the time to board the bus was from 6:30 -6:45 so it was not as early as I am used to so I enjoyed the extra sleep. The race started at 8 AM from the Shasta dam and went down hill for the begining miles. the course then had a gradule uphill from mile 7-13 then againg from 14-16; that was more than I expected. the last 10 miles were rolling hills with a short and steep hill at mile 23. the finish going over the Sundial bridge was nice. The volunteers were great, the aid stations spread @ 3 miles apart, but the toilets were the fixed ones from the parks and they were few and far between. Overall a nice smalltown race and I will prabaly run it again next year.
"Dam" fun run
Ok, ok, first. I am stealing the "Dam" part of this title from my friend, Shanna, who put that in her title first. I loved it, and I stole it. … MORE
Ok, ok, first. I am stealing the “Dam” part of this title from my friend, Shanna, who put that in her title first. I loved it, and I stole it. 🙂 Thanks, Shanna.
This is a really fun run. I decided super last minute to sign up for this run and run with some friends. It starts at the Shasta Dam and ends 26.2 miles later on the beautiful Sundial Bridge. It is a pretty simple run, but for someone like me that does so many more trail runs, running the pavement for that long made it a little tough on me.
Ok, let’s talk about what I liked about the run… here we go.
Easy to register, even just a couple days before the race.
Beautiful start area. You start right next to the Shasta Dam (see my title is making sense now, right?). You can see the amazing Mt. Shasta and lots of other great sights.
It’s a rather low key race. Only a couple hundred marathoners, and some that are doing the relay. It was a little cold in the morning (not that bad though), but the Dam visitor center was open to us. That part was really nice, and much warmer. They do drop bags at the start, so I bundled up with a sweatshirt till the start of the race.
There were a few aid stations. Just with water and electrolytes, and some had GU and Gels. For someone like me that doesn’t use either of those, I just brought my own Tailwind.
There is an AS you pass three times. My friends call it the bermuda triangle. I’m not sure if that’s an official name, but hey, it worked for me. They were BBQing at that one. And on my third pass through (around mile 22, someone offered me a couple small pieces of tri-tip. Not having eaten for a few hours, it was the best food I had ever ate. 🙂 Thank you nice BBQing man.
You finish on the super cool Sundial bridge. That part was pretty fun.
Lots of snacks (chips, etc) at the finish, and lots of hot soup. I had about 3 big cups worth. Mmmm
This race has great views. You are basically running alongside the Sacramento River the entire time. With all the rainfall we’ve had lately, it was really cool to see how high and fast that river was moving.
You cross over a couple bridges during the race as well.
The first two miles is basically all down hill. Fun way to start a race. 🙂
The rest of the course just had some rollers. Nothing really more than that. Total course gain for me was just under 800′.
This entire course is on a pedestrian paved trail. Not a lot of other runners/cyclists. The ending is through a little park for the last mile or so, which was a nice change of scenery.
The people. Everyone I met was super nice.
This course is BQ course (Not that that would ever matter for me) 🙂
I actually feel like I had an ok performance at this race. I don’t do a lot of flat road halfs, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I wanted to keep a 10 min pace the first half, then an 11 minute pace the second half. Well, I kept the 10 minute pace exactly (or just ahead of) for the first 19.5 miles. Then I just got a bit tired. It was smooth sailing for me, the first 20.
Cool medal, bag with strings, and long sleeve quarter zip shirt.
Couple points to keep in mind.
There is no chip start. That means everyone has the same start time. Not a huge issue because there aren’t a ton of runners, but something to definitely consider. If you are looking to BQ or PR (etc), just get up in the front. I stayed way in the back and started with my friends. This cost me my BQ, as it took us 1.75 hours to get to the actual start. OK OK, that’s just a joke. Honestly it only probably took 30 seconds off my time.
As I mentioned above. There really isn’t food on the course per se. I don’t know if the bbq is actually for the runners, or not, but I got some, and I loved it. If you are like me and eat real food during races, just keep that in mind and bring your own.
Overall, I really enjoyed this race. Just wish it wasn’t 3 hours away. 🙂
Till next time….
Dam it
This is my third year doing this race. I like it because it's small. Usually under 200 participants. They give a nice quarter zip jacket. The bus ride to the … MORE
This is my third year doing this race. I like it because it’s small. Usually under 200 participants. They give a nice quarter zip jacket. The bus ride to the dam this year was not fun for me as I had to sit in the back of the bus (car sickness is real). I would advise to bring your own food if you will need the intake. They have water, Gatorade and some gels. The aid station that we call the Bermuda Triangle (mile 15,17,21) do have hotdogs. You gotta be in the know and ask them to have ready for you when you pass by at mile 15. Come back and eat it at mile 17. Best hot dog EVER!! They always win for best aid station. Super fun people their every year. You are next to the water and cross several bridges which I think make for some fabulous pictures. If you can get some shots while there. Also, highly suggest hitting the Sundial Bridge the night before race. Its beautiful.