Nebraska State Fair Marathon

This is a 5K, Half Marathon or Full Marathon that is located in Grand Island Nebraska (about 2.5 hours from Omaha) and is run in conjunction with the big Nebraska State Fair. I chose this race mostly due to convenience as it worked perfect as a double with Sioux Falls the next day. Pre race communication was adequate with an updated website and enough emails to get all the info you need to know. For the race you can either do packet pick-up the day before or morning of the race. I had Friday off and flew into Omaha and arrived in the early afternoon. While I technically could have made Friday packet pickup I wanted to go to Omaha Zoo and get dinner at Modern Love (an amazing vegan restaurant in Omaha I definitely recommend if you are there) so I didn’t arrive in Grand Island until later in the evening and got my packet race morning. I stayed at the Candlewood Suites in Grand Island which was a short drive to the race. Race morning was east. There is plenty of parking at the State Fair Grounds. Race packet pick-up was also easy and smooth. It included bib, ticket to state fair, drink ticket for soda, water or beer and a red long sleeved tech shirt. The shirt is nice although for hotter, summer races I’d prefer a short sleeve shirt. It was a pretty hot morning for the race but the race starts early at 6:30 so you miss most of the heat. It was a bit hotter than expected for August but it’s August so heat can’t be unexpected. This race did not cancel any distance unlike Sioux Falls which canceled the marathon despite similar weather on Saturday and Sunday. The race was very well-organized for a small race. There was between 200-300 half marathoners and 100-200 full marathoners. The course is a loop through Grand Island and is as interesting and as varied as possible for the area. The first about 2.5 miles I didn’t like much as they were along a busy main road with strip malls and chain restaurants and just wasn’t interesting. It was a 2 lane road and 1 lane was blocked off so it was safe and plenty of space. After that the scenery is better. The next part is around 2 miles on a path that runs through corn fields the iconic view of Nebraska. My favorite part was the next section which was about 4 miles through parks. This part was scenic and had some shade which was nice. There was also a really nice section around mile 7 where you circle around a museum. The rest of the race is mostly through neighborhoods which is fine but a bit generic. The race is very flat, almost too flat. The only difficulty is the potential heat which is why I marked it 2 sneakers. There were a good amount of aid stations. At least every 2 miles some more frequent. I could have used more in the heat but for a smaller race it was a good amount. They had water and gatorade and some had other snacks like fruit snacks. The race was well marked, there was accurate mile marks, lots of volunteers, plenty of course marshals and police to direct traffic. Roads were either partially closed or you were on public paths. There aren’t a ton of spectators but more than expected for a smaller race. Production was really good and about as good as any smaller race this size I’ve done. This race had a long time limit as the half had the same time limit as the full. Sioux Falls had a tighter time limit of 3:15 so I took this race easier. My goal was to finish under 3:30 since that would give me time to quickly visit the fair and still make it to Sioux Falls for packet pick-up and my finishing time was just what I expected. No issues being in the back of the pack other than this being a small race so I was sometimes running alone. The finish line is well set up with a big start/finish arch. The medals are huge and it is one of my better medals. This was the 10th anniversary year so they may be bigger than usual but some people I know who run this race regularly said the medals are alwasy nice. There was plenty of post race snacks like granola bars, cookies, fruit, chips and then tons of food you can purchase at the fair. Overall I thought this was a really nice race and definitely a good choice for Nebraska. The races in the bigger cities may have some more spectators and bigger post race parties but this is a good choice for Nebraska especially if you are looking to double with South Dakota as Sioux Falls is the next day.