Amber Hughes's Staging Area

The Hapalua is an incredible race! I’m so glad I chose it for my Hawaii half marathon. It is low-pressure with no time limit, very inclusive and walker-friendly. All ages and abilities were enjoying the course together. It is a massive race, over 10,000 runners, but well-organized and the course never felt overcrowded to me. The Expo was great, packet pick-up was smooth, they provided really nice reusable shopping bags, the shirts are a high quality technical fabric and have a beautiful design. There were plenty of photo ops and merch and vendors. The logistics are very easy (besides actually traveling to Hawaii, which is involved/expensive). I stayed in the Marriott Waikiki Beach, which was directly on the race course with the corrals right out front. It made it so easy for my family to cheer for me at the half-way point and finish line. The corrals were loosely defined, so finding my place in the rolling start was somewhat confusing, but it didn’t matter too much once we all got moving. The course is flat and fast for the first 8 miles, then it climbs up Diamond Head crater. It is a big hill, that you get to enjoy twice, but the views are worth it and distracting enough that I didn’t mind it. It’s a lovely downhill cruise into a fun finish line festival with fresh local snacks! It is certainly more hot and humid than I prefer, but running in Hawaii in April I was mentally prepared for it. We lucked out with overcast skies and a gentle, refreshing rain in the final few miles. Highly recommend for a Hawaii race!

This is a really awesome race which highlights the incredible natural beauty of Arizona. It feels smaller and a little remote, but I appreciated that it was really well-organized and well-supported. For being remote, it was logistically very straightforward to get to from Phoenix. Plenty of easy parking at the start. The sunrise at the start was awe-inspiring. The course is out and back with rolling hills. Plenty of aid stations with enthusiastic volunteers. Highly recommend!

I traveled to Biloxi, Mississippi for this race with my mom. We had the best time exploring! We enjoyed a lovely pre-race dinner with the 50 States Half Marathon Club group at the Half Shell Oyster House. We stayed at the Double Tree by Hilton, which was very convenient to the start line buses and the finish. Logistically, this race was very well organized. The Expo was small, but had merch and photo ops. Bib pick-up was straightforward and quick, the volunteers were very friendly and helpful. We had opted to rent a car for this trip so it wasn’t a huge deal, but I would have preferred to have bib pick up in Biloxi near my hotel. The start line buses ran very smoothly on race morning. The course is flat and fast, straight along the coastline from Gulfport to Biloxi. The scenery is beautiful, but it is the same for the entire race. I found it to be a bit daunting to be staring towards the finish the entire time! It was cool and windy, most noticeable as we climbed the highway ramp hill in the final mile. Tough to be able to see into the finish line fun and not be done yet! The finish line festivities are awesome! Yes, you have to climb the stairs to get to the fun, but I had 6 (!) food and beverage tags on my bib so we enjoyed warm gumbo, pulled pork sandwiches, and drinks. The swag is top-notch. The race t-shirt is super soft and my new favorite. The medal is beautiful, beachy, sparkly, and features the iconic Biloxi lighthouse. The race is back-of-the-pack friendly, with a long time limit and so many well-stocked aid stations. This is a perfect choice for Mississippi, I would run it again!

I enjoyed this race weekend experience because of the friends I traveled with, and it checked off New Jersey for my 50 States journey, but Atlantic City is a little rough and I don’t think I’ll be rushing back. The race is well-organized and they did a great job with the support and swag. The shirts and medals are really nice! We stayed at the Claridge Hotel, which I recommend as it felt a little bit nicer than Bally’s, somewhat removed from the casino craziness (but still attached for easy Expo access, and steps from the boardwalk start/finish). The weather was beautiful and the course was interesting, my first time running on a boardwalk. It felt a little strange to me, as a back-of-the-packer, to be running along the boardwalk amongst the tourists. I also did not love having to run past the finish line festivities when I still had four hot, sunny, out-and-back boardwalk miles to go! I wouldn’t call this race back-of-the-pack friendly, as they expect you to stick to a fairly strict time limit. But, if you can make it to mile 8 or so, once you’re back on the boardwalk, then you can take your time. All in all, if this race works with your schedule, it would be a solid option for New Jersey, but it’s most likely a one-and-done for me.

This is my favorite half marathon experience to date! Please run the Missoula Half Marathon, I promise you will not be disappointed. I went for a long weekend adventure with my daughter and we had the best time. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Missoula, which is in a great location right next to the Expo/Farmer’s Market/Finish Line. They provided a shuttle to/from the airport as well as to the start line bus loading area on race morning! They were incredibly welcoming to the runners. The race itself is so well-organized. Buses to the start line ran smoothly. The course is beautiful, which made the time fly by. It felt flat and fast. The crowd support is top-notch, complete with someone playing the grand piano in his yard! The town really turns out for this event. This race is very back-of-the-pack friendly with a long time limit and plenty of well-stocked aid stations. The medal is beautiful! After the race we walked the trail along the Fort Clark River outside the hotel, explored the U of Montana campus, and enjoyed huckleberry ice cream at the Big Dipper. I hope to come back and run this race again!

I chose this race at the last minute because it was within driving distance for me and fit my training calendar well. I stayed at a La Quinta Inn & Suites in Winchester, VA. It was about 35 minutes from the start location at the Hill School in Middleburg, VA. I always prefer picking up my packet ahead of time if possible, so I did go to the packet pick-up location at PR Run & Walk in Leesburg, but that ended up being out of the way in a shopping center with challenging parking. In retrospect, I wish I had just waited for race morning packet pick-up, which it looked like many people were doing with no problem. This is a smaller race, but was well-organized with enthusiastic volunteers. The course is the hilliest I have ever encountered! Whew! It is gorgeous running past horse farms, and the design of the course means you are always around other runners on various segments of their race (a full, a Merikos (19.65 Miles), a half, a 10K, and a 5K are all running together, which is nice. Even though I had trained well on hills, I had to walk way more than I planned on, so I just enjoyed the morning. I am proud of myself for finishing and it was a nice Virginia race for my 50 States goal, but I won’t be rushing to do this one again.

I highly recommend the Columbus Half Marathon! It is such a well-organized and inspiring event. From the start line fireworks to running past the Children’s Hospital, it is a “cream of the crop” event for sure. The logistics are seamless, communication is abundant and clear, swag is on point. The course is flat and fast, runs through several different Columbus neighborhoods and past the Children’s Hospital. Great crowd support, the neighborhoods really come out to cheer and spectators line the entire course. It is back-of-the-pack friendly with a generous time limit and plenty of well-stocked aid stations. This was my second time running this race, and it absolutely lived up to the high expectations I had from the first time I ran it. I’m embarrassed to admit I like this race more than my big hometown race, and I will for sure be back to run it again!

This is my hometown race, and my second time participating. It is a huge event, well-organized, and has a lot to offer. I think it is a challenging course with so many bridges and hills, but it provides a very nice scenic tour of Pittsburgh!

I ran this with my friend Jessica, for her first half marathon because we trained for Pittsburgh together and she ended up not being able to run that race. This was my second half marathon. I felt pretty well-prepared, although this race is at the beach in July, so it is HOT. It is also as flat as can be. It is an interesting course in that one loop through the Presque Isle park is 13.1 miles. You finish right at the beach so we jumped right into the water with our kids after we finished. Special memories! They gave out a great boxed lunch, so we just made a really nice day out of it. All in all, a smaller race, but a very well-organized event.