Becky Elliott's Staging Area

As advertised, this is an extremely flat course. The majority of the course takes place out on the airport runway, and as a result, there isn’t much in the way of interesting scenery nor on-course “pizzazz”. In fact, the race can become a bit monotonous (a real challenge for one’s mind). If you are thinking about doing this race, you will need to decide if the benefits of a flat course are enough of a draw to outweigh the “blah-ness” of the race. On the plus side, the race was well organized, the participant jacket and finisher medal were nice. One suggestion: Add more porta-johns on the course – especially out along the runway.

This was a wonderful, small-town race in Battle Creek, MI. It was extremely well-organized, and the atmosphere was phenomenal. As the race started, the hot air balloons were launching into the air, creating a magical display of color! It was an exciting way to start a half marathon! The course led us out onto the airport runways, then through the nearby neighborhoods. Support along the course was great (lots of fluids and porta-potties), and the finisher medals were quite nice. Additional bonus: Runners received admission tickets to the FIELD OF FLIGHT Air Show & Balloon Festival. Overall, this was a delightful experience! This Ohio runner gives this Michigan race two thumbs up!

The Urban Bourbon is a great half marathon! The course is fun (except for the whirly-whirl curvy ramp that seems to go on and up forever, leading up to the ‘walking bridge’ that crosses the Ohio River into Indiana!). The volunteers are friendly, the finisher medals are top quality, and the celebration bash afterwards has a FANTASTIC band! The only drawbacks are as follows: the packet pick-up process was not as organized as other races I have run, and they did not begin the race with the National Anthem.

This event is organized by the same group (M3S Sports) that arranges the Capital City Half Marathon in Columbus, OH (and the previously held Emerald City Half in Dublin, OH). The event offers two race distances: a Quarter Marathon (6.55 Miles) and a 5k. The start and finish is located in the Grandview Yard, which is a newly developed section of Grandview Heights. Overall, the race was great. The course is a mixture of road running and bike trail running. The climb “up” from the bike path to Goodale Blvd just before mile 6 is a bit challenging for tiring legs.
Unfortunately for more competitive runners, finishing stats are tallied by the race for which the entrant registered, not which event the person actually ran. As a result, participants who registered for the Quarter, but ended up only running the 5k, were credited with finishing the Quarter, leaving the age group finishing order details in a bit of disarray. An additional timing strip for the Quarter Marathon might have helped to eliminate that issue.
Other than that, this race has some nice perks which include free race photos and a nice finisher medal.

This race is so FUN!
The race organizers do a fantastic job! It is a non-traditional race distance (4.6 miles), but there is a valid reason for that… the course takes runners around Mansfield, OH to visit the filming locations for the movie, “Shawshank Redemption”. The race starts and finishes at the “prison” (aka Ohio Reformatory). All racers are assigned either “Guard” or “Inmate”. The Warden runs the race as well. The theme is great! The organization is FANTASTIC! Runners are treated to a private showing of the movie INSIDE the prison the night before the race. Also, the finisher medals are THE BEST I HAVE EVER SEEN!! The entire experience is top notch!!

This race course follows a rails-to-trails path and crosses several bridges.
The bridge surface can be quite slippery, so be careful about your footing on the bridges. Also, there is a tunnel that the runners go through twice (once on the way out, and again on the way back); it is a long and dark tunnel, a headlight might be helpful.

Decent Race. No Finisher Medals. Not really sure whatever became of this race. It was a Premier Sports race (www.premierraces.com), but that website does not appear to be active any longer. The motto for the race was, “Have the Distance… Twice the Fun”