David Archibald's Staging Area

This is a great race. If you are looking for small town West Virginia, this is it.

I drove in from Tennessee (about 5 hours). Packet pickup was super easy. You get an email with your bid number in it a couple of days prior. Just walk in and tell them your number, they confirm it’s you, and they give you everything you need. Packet pickup is in a church gym. There is a small expo- but Expo size is not something I worry about.

I stayed in a hotel I had booked on Hotels.com. There are 4 hotels just off the interstate and all about 2.5 miles from the start. There wasn’t anything right at the start as you’re on the Marshall University campus. Additionally, downtown hotels are quite a bit more money.

But you don’t need to stay close. The start is in front of the football stadium and the entire parking lot is open. Get there a little early. I arrived just after 6 (races starts at 7) and the parking lot was maybe a quarter full. By 6:40, it was getting tight.

The stadium is open and there are dozens of bathrooms- real ones, not portapotties. The concourse also is a little warmer. The sun came up about the same time we started, but it was dark and about 40 degrees when I arrived. So the stadium was a nice area to walk around and warm up.

The full and the half start together. There is a 3.25 mile race but it starts later. Even with the combined two longer races, there wasn’t really any congestion. I started near the 1:45 pace guy and didn’t need to really dodge anyone. The race isn’t big enough for corrals. The race started right at 7.

Now this is a FLAT course. There are a few incline/declines that are not big enough to call hills. I counted 3 total hills throughout the half, and they were all short- nothing to worry about. The first two miles are a two mile loop East of the stadium and back. You will pass your parking spot about the end of mile 2 so if you’re regretting your decision, you can bail. 🙂

Mile 3 takes you along the campus. This entire route is greatly separated from traffic. Most of the course is on Huntington roads. Cops work the whole course. The running lanes, which are separated from traffic with big orange cones, are still at least a whole lane wide, instead of a sidewalk with like some other races I have run.

After the campus, you run briefly through a park along the Ohio River. This was one of my favorite spots. As it was still early in the morning, there was a lot of mist coming up off the river. The sun was behind us and the view was awesome. But it only lasted about 2 minutes. You quickly come out of the park and back on the same road you were on while running past campus but there is a large wall to your right, blocking the view of the river.

After about 5 and a half miles, you make some lefts and some rights before heading south to the first big park. Turn left in the park and run from the first park to the second, although it all feels like one big park. This is a couple of miles of very nice running. A lot of the park running is on a large trail as well, which is a nice alternative to the road.

You finish with the park just after the nine mile mark and head north back to the road that goes by campus. Run along the wall, back through the small riverside park, and back past campus. On the other side of campus is the football stadium.

The finish line is inside the stadium. You enter the stadium, are handed a football, run 3/4s of the way down the field, move over the center of the field, and then run down the middle, finishing in the endzone. That was pretty cool.

There is a tent where they engrave your finisher medal for $20. Name, bib #, time. Definitely worth it if you did well. There also was a tailgate food area right outside the stadium (200 feet from the finish line) grilling cheeseburgers and cooking hotdogs.

Other notes for the course. Plenty of water stations. I didn’t really pay attention to bathrooms along the route but I am pretty sure the parks had bathrooms available (real ones).

There are a number of photo spots along the course. And there are signs telling you a photo area is coming up. That was pretty cool. There wasn’t a lot of crown support outside of the parks.

If you do this race, watch the move We are Marshall before you go. The memorial of that tragedy is the point of the race. Go see the fountain and the campus.

Also, the diner in the movie is a longtime restaurant in Huntington, just down the road from campus. It’s real name is Jim’s Steak and Spaghetti House. If you want to carb load the night before, here you go. Its an old fashion diner, not expensive, and has the best pit in town.

I would run this race every year if I was local. Loved it!

I had heard for years how good the Flying Pig Race Weekend was. I found out firsthand, everyone was right!
We got in on Friday and spent nearly 2 hours at the massive race expo. On top of my half on Sunday, my wife, son, and I were all signed up for the 5K Saturday morning. They got to enjoy the expo as runners as well. We stayed in the hotel across the street from the expo and about 3 blocks from the start lines- VERY convenient but also VERY VERY expensive.

Sunday’s races (half and full) start at 630. It is still dark at as you’re heading down to the start line with over 15,000 of your new best friends. Dawn was just breaking as we started. (It took about 3 miles for me to not be crowded running and I was in corral B. I can’t image how crowded it is the further back you are.)

The course starts next to Paycor Stadium (home of the Bengals) and runs through downtown before quickly heading over a bridge into Kentucky. You run through Kentucky briefly, with its own bridge, before crossing another bigger bridge back into Ohio. This is all in the first 3.5 miles. As a pacer said before the start, the bridges are silently hilly. Yep! The Kentucky side of the race did have great crown support.

Now, the forecast for this race was low 60s. I thought being at dawn and low 60s, perfect weather, right? Well, the humidity was about 96% during the race. The bridge hills and the mugginess broke me off pretty quick.

After you’re back in Ohio, you come around to 7th street which runs through more of the downtown area for a couple of miles. Big time crown support as you cruise down this relatively flat section of the course. Then, about mile 5.5, you get to forget about all of your relaxing running. Here come the hills. From 5 and a half to the end of 8, it is a mental gut check as you climb to the top of the city. About half way through that climb, however, as you are coming out of a really nice park next to the Cincinatti Art Museum, you get spectacular views of the sun coming up over the river and the Kentucky hill side on the horizon: beautiful.

At the end of mile 8 you come through a nice, older part of town. The crown support here is insane! Its also where the half and full split. Miles 9 and 10 have some more hills but they even out with some downhills as well. And then the fun part- mile 11 is nearly all down hill! I was able to open my stride and really move, and it felt great on my muscles after all that hill climbing. 12 and 13 are slightly downhill and mostly flat, but mile 11 got me moving and I ran my fastest 5k of the race in the last 5k of the race (normally I’m dying on the last 5k of a race).

Coming down the big hill, at about mile 10.5, you are on the same road where folks are running up the hill headed out (their mile 6). The crowd of thousands working their way up the hill as you are cruising down the hill is a site to see! And I would be lying if I said I didn’t think to myself I am glad I was headed down the hill and through those hills they were all starting.

The finish “swine” is awesome. The post race party is huge. You finish in the park next to the river right by the stadium again.

It felt like there were water stations nearly every mile. And every station had plenty of Gatorade and water. The volunteers are amazing. I had to run past 10-15 Gatorade folks just to get to the 10-15 water folks at every station. And I drank water at EVERY station due to the heat index. I saw lots of porta johns but am not sure how often they were.

The finisher medal is pretty much the same every year. The shirts are cool. You get a bag, magnet, and poster as well if you are doing the half or full.

Pictures are NOT free. But they take a lot. I think there are 60 photos of me if I choose to purchase them for $65, versus the 8 photos of my son in the 5k that I can purchase for $65. 🙂

Great race, devastating hills. Not a race designed for a PR, but a race that will test you mentally and have you enjoying the last few miles better than I have in most other races.

This race has been around for 60 years! I had run this race three times before and didn’t plan on running again until I saw the swag. 5 inch penny medal, shirt. And then they added a hoodie and a finisher blanket. The folks putting this race together really take pride in it.
There is no other run option. This is a half marathon and nothing else.

You get to run past all of the Lincoln sites in Springfield, IL. You start by the Presidential Library and old capital building. You run past Lincoln’s home, past the “new” capital, and head to Washington park. The route there, surrounding neighborhoods, and the park itself are quite nice to run through.

Then come the hills. You leave Washington park at the 10k mark and proceed directly up hill. You run down Lincoln (of course). The next two plus miles are nothing spectacular. But there isn’t really anything (aside from more hills) between Washington Park and Lincoln’s tomb.

After a quick trip through the cemetery, you head to and around Lincoln Park before heading back downtown. Two more hills in the park. The last mile and a half is flat. You finish one block from the start on the other side of the old capital.

A local brewery made a special brew just for the race. And it was quite good.

This is not a PR race. I went out to fast and paid for it on the hills. But if you don’t want to mess with a city like Chicago, then Springfield is definitely a worthwhile option.

I’ve ran it enough times, only because there a lot of other races the same weekend I want to do. Maybe when it turns 75, I’ll be back.

This race was much smaller than I expected. There were about 1000 runners combined for the half and full marathons. We all started together. The race director implemented an ad hoc wave start, due to construction on the course. There were no corrals, just a couple of guys with their arms up telling people not to start when others did. It caused a little confusion for some, but also separated folks from pacers.
It was about 36 degrees at start, but not windy and the sun came up quickly which was nice watching the sunrise while running.
You start downtown by the capital building, which is an awesome backdrop. There is an overpass you run over at the beginning of mile 2 which isn’t bad as the race has just begun. But you get to come back over it at the end of mile 12 and it can make you sad.
After the first 5k or so you enter LSU. We had spent the day exploring the campus the day before, so I was familiar with the surrounding area while I ran. You run around the football stadium as well. There is decent lake section that the campus sits on that you get to traverse. That was nice. There are some unexpected little hills here and there. Afterwards, I spoke to a local runner who said that the route was different due to construction areas and that a lot of those hills weren’t normally on the course.
Shortly after mile 10, you come back to the route you started on and run back to the capital building.
There were plenty of water stations with both water and power aid and porta-potties throughout the course. As it was quite cold for Louisiana, there wasn’t a ton of crown support, although I did see a few made up stations with mimosas, shots, beer, and donuts for runners to derail their race with. 🙂
Finish line was fine. Medal is pretty cool, although I wished they had their older version that was in the shape of the state. This year was just round. The t-shirt is quite soft and the design is cool- I love soft race shirts.
Very glad I ran this one for my Louisiana Race. Would definitely run again if I were nearby.

This is a pretty cool race. 99% flat. There are a couple of small hills but it seemed like a lot more downhills than up which is nice. The race starts early, at 7, with the sun not quite up yet. The real feel was 38 degrees at start, so don’t let Texas fool you.
Only real wrinkle for me was the starting arch was somewhat narrow so it slows everyone moving forward to start.
The first eight or so miles are through neighborhoods. There are plenty of water stations. Being so early and cold, there were not a lot of spectators though, which is okay. I read a lot of reviews complaining about the course markings. I don’t remember any course markings and there were a couple of missing mile markers but the field was so thick, all you have to do is follow the crowd. (Those in the back where it gets spread out may have had more issues).
Running through the Texas A&M campus was nice but relatively short. I would have preferred a little more distance on the campus. But you get a closeup of the football stadium and then you’re headed to the finish line just a couple of miles away.

The medal was normal- not bad but not awesome. The finisher jackets are awesome though.
I’m not big into post race parties but they some food and plenty of drinks. One cool note- your bib has your birthday on it so if you want your beer at the end you don’t have to worry about having ID on you. And they had a number of local beers on tap for those who wanted one.

Overall- a midlevel race. I would run again if I was in College Station. I have definitely ran a lot worse races but also have run better.

Fun little 5K where us 40 and 50 years old dominated. I finished 16th overall and had 8 40/50 year old ahead of me.
It’s slightly hilly but in a good way. Perfect time of year.
Age groups are 5 years which is awesome for such a small race.
Usually the shirt is pretty nice but this year it was not…. going straight to the t shirt blanket pile.

Will definitely run again.

This is a SMALL and SIMPLE race. There were maybe 40 folks for the 10K. Probably triple that for the 5K. The course takes you through and around Austin Peay University. You run three “laps”. The laps are figure eights so you part the start/finish area 6 times. Once I finished, my garmin barely hit 6 miles. I know garmins are exact, but usually my garmin is long compared to actual courses.

post award was horrible. The 5K started after the 10K was over, but runners had to wait until the 5K was complete before the award ceremony.

It was a local race for me but I won’t run again.

We drove from Tennessee for the race and to visit friends in nearby Savanna. They offered mailing out your packet (for an additional $20) which was awesome not to have to worry about making it to packet pickup.
There was a massive rain storm all weekend but it was the lightest during the race. The worst rain we got was waiting to start.

The race begins and ends in a park and there is no parking. So everyone has to park a couple of blocks away and walk in. No biggie, our hotel was a 6-7 minute walk away from the start line. But a lot of folks were still walking in when race time (8am) hit and were on the course. So the race started several minutes late.

The first couple of miles are nice, as you are on a closed road out and back a mile each way. Then back through the park again. But then you get on the highway… Its about a 5K from there to the bridge. I actually enjoyed the bridge- It is a little steep, but not superlong so it breaks up the monotony of the highway. At the end of the bridge, you turn into another park and work your way through. Mile 7 was about the most boring part of the race as it was on a bike trail in a very “meh” section of trees and telephone poles. The back half of this park area had sections not paved and due to the heavy rain all night and the high foot traffic, there were plenty of large puddles and some mud traps (but not the fault of the race organization). It was actually fun leaping over puddles or purposely stomping in them to get rid of mud.

You work your way back to the highway, running past some small businesses, post offices, etc and hit mile 9 right as you go back over the bridge. Once over the bridge, it’s about another 5k back to the park down the same highway.
Lastly you turn into the park for the last half mile or so.

Great finish line party- two free beers! and the low country boil was definitely different and fun and appropriate for the south.

Water stations were plentiful. Very little crown support outside of the park.
Swag- zip up hoodie was nice (my wife stole mine) and the medal is middle of the line.

I enjoyed the race and atmosphere. Definitely have done worse. And rain kept us cool. I couldn’t image doing that race in SC heat!

This is 5K/10K race through neighborhoods on the back side of Clarksville, TN. Very small field. And running in Tennessee in late June is very hot. Mostly flat and what isn’t flat isn’t long enough to worry about. It’s a simple race put on mb the local running club.

It’s my town so I’ll do it again, if anything to challenge the sun to beat me!

Great race in downtown Indianapolis. Start downtown, run to and around the Indy 500, and then back to downtown. Make sure you stop and kiss the bricks at the Indy 500 finish line. Lots of great support. Great race to complete Indiana for those doing different states.

Hot, You start with a massive hill!, Great spectator support. Out and back for a great non-standard race distance. Huge field of runners. Generations of folks who have done it for years. It’s a hometown classic with the hometown feel.

This was a hometown race for me. It was the first year they ran it. It is a mix of roads, gravel, and sidewalks. They didn’t have technical timing or anything really official, BUT, it was the first race. It has the capability of becoming awesome. This is definitely hills- be prepared for the hills.

Shirt ended up being one of my favorite shirts. Medal was small and cheap.

Moved away but would run again if I go back.