Bill DeGideo's Staging Area

Nice small race. Sneaky hard with over 1,000 ft of elevation change. The costal views of Rhode Island were great, however a driving rain and 40 mph winds made things difficult.

I found out the hard way I should keep running and the woods separate. The park was beautiful, but running 50 K in July was not as enjoyable as my trail running friends tried to tell me. I think 10 miles is my trail running limit, I’m more at home on the roads.

Never running a 50K, I thought it would just be a marathon with 5 extra miles tacked on. Wrong. Around mile 18 it hit me, I still had a half marathon to run. The course itself is flat, and it’s a trail I have run thousands of miles on during training. None of that prepared me for running 50K in one shot. The aid stations were great, however it did seem like the race was focused more on the relay aspect instead of the ultra. It is demoralizing to get passed by so many fresh legs when yours are giving out. Still a good experience for an ultra marathon. The logistics were good, and it was definitely a party atmosphere at the finish.

Great start in the dark with fireworks. Best scenery is in the beginning of the race. The downhill nature of the race hurt the next few days. The finish line was great, so was the french toast. Way better than the usual banana and stale beagle.

Really well run race. The shuttle buses back to the start ran smooth. The start is nice cause you are inside a high school gym with heat and indoor toilets. After the start there is a steep down hill, but hold back, cause it is followed by an equally steep up hill. After that, smooth sailing. Be prepared to run alone for long stretches, which is fine by me.

Cool small town marathon with varing views and terrain. Things get congested at the finish with slow half marathoners walking 4 abreast to the finish. Great atmosphere afterwards and the post race party at Grottos Pizza.