Benjamin Bushard's Staging Area

This was my 32nd marathon in my 22nd state. This was the inaugural running of this version of the Las Vegas Marathon. a gradual downhill decent from the Red Rock Canyons to Fremont Experience in Vegas (Downtown). The expo was a good size with a lot of excellent free items for vendors. The race packet included a t-shirt, shot glass and a few other items.
The race started in a parking lot in the scenic red rock canyons. Buses took us Marathoners up there early for a 6am start. It was colder and windy at the start. I was up there 2 hours before the race started with not much to stay warm, the did provide mylar blankets and gloves in the race packet. The gradual downhill flattened out around mile 20. The first 6 miles were beautiful in the canyons. plenty of aid stations and enough crown support, after the first 6 miles we traveled through different parts of the metropolitan area of Vegas. The weather was windy but pretty nice other than that (40 to 60).
The finish line and festival was in the Freemont District in Downton Vegas. Cool Medal, free beer, and plenty of snacks and drinks. There is a lot to do in the area as the Host hotel was in the location and also where buses loaded. However, a lot of streets were closed so this caused a lot of disruption for residents. great race and excellent choice for vegas and Nevada.

This was my 20th state and 30th marathon. Race communication prior to race week was outstanding on social media…packet pickup/expo was in the host hotel (cheap rate) in which I stayed making for an easy process…The expo was pretty good especially for the size of the race…I was recovering from a meniscus tear, but the altitude and a slight cold affected me greatly….nice flat course after the first couple miles…good scenery with a mix of park trails, golf course, residential and city…Running the marathon i found myself by myself alot in the second half as there were only about 100 participants…the aid station were plentiful with everything you need. the course was well marked except mile 22 and 23 were 1/4 mile marked short or so short causing some panic, however the next couple miles were fine and accurate….a good after party with pizza, beer, subs, and plenty of other things to include face painting for my kids and some live music… the medal was nice and other swag included a long sleeve tech shirts as well as some other things…overall a well produced race with easy logistics…not large….also, Casper is a fun little town with some cool restaurants, stores, and some free museums. I took my kids to the Tate Geological (Dinosaur ) museum and the Nation Historical Trails museum, both free. The Casper mountain provides some scenery and trails as well….great race for 50 staters…

This was my 28th marathon in 18th state. I utilizing the option of having the race packet mailed to me so I did not attend packet pickup. The race was almost entirely on a paved trail within a pretty nice park, making it pretty scenic. However there was no real landmarks or scenery of the town. There was a choice between a long sleeve shirt and 1/4 quarter zip. These and the medal were decent. Good overall production. Well marked course and enough aid stations. Almost perfect weather. This course was really hilly, especially the first and last 7 miles. Crowd support was slim as this was almost entirely on a paved trail out and back. Finish line included a few snack, derby pie, and local beer. Logistics was easy and the half marathoners started an hour later providing less congestion at the start and plenty of portapotties. There were about 300 marathoners. I went to the Louisville slugger factory museum the day before the race and there was a lot of other things to do in town.

This was my 25th marathon in 16th state….about 10 days before the race there was flooding near the Mississippi River that affected the finishing area of the race…despite this, the race director was able to change the last 3 miles of the course to avoid this potential flooding…there were plenty of email/social media updates in the weeks prior to the race….this race occurred in La Crosse which is a college town near Minnesota and the Mississippi River….There was about 150 in the marathon and 400 or so in the half…This was a point to point along a rails to trails path that started in Sparta, Wi and ended near downtown La Crosse….there was enough busses from the finish to the start that meet at the convention center downtown…the last couple miles where on pavement in La Crosse…there was enough aid stations, enough porta potties at the start and finish….slight downhill course that was well marked….beer, brats, and some other snacks at the end….nice medal and t-shirt, but not alot of other swag…packet pickup was easy and apart of a small expo in the convention center…There where a lot of hotels, restaurants, and things to do near the finish….nice small race that is well ran, easy logistics

I was completing my 20 overall marathon in my 13th state. There was plenty of communication and social media posts prior to the race….I opted for to have my race packet delivered to my home and it arrived several days to prior….There was a expo the day prior to the race that included packet pickup, which i was not able to make it to…The swag consisted of a long sleeve t-shirt, gloves, hat, and socks (all with the Quad Cities logo on it)….race day parking was easy, plenty of porta potties…the race started and ended in downtown Moline, Illinois and went into Bettendorf and Davenport, Iowa and Rock island, Illinois. The start and finish area was near an arena, which included plenty of restaurants, hotels, etc…. there was even some John Deere museum that had some tractors on the outside for kids to play on… The route was nice as it traveled over a few bridges on the Mississippi River, some bike paths, residential area, and commercial businesses…plenty of water stations that included Gatorade, gels and other snacks at some stations….The race was well marked with signage as the half marathoners went a different route…overall it was a well ran production….Medals were pretty nice and had a big 25 logo to symbolize the 25 year of the race….the after party was nice …this included a band, music, and Beer (Unlimitied I think). also there was hotdogs, mac and cheese, fried rice, and other tradition post race items (bananas, milk, granola bars, etc)…I would recommend the race and would run it again

Memorial Day weekend in Rochester Minnesota. A little warmer than average temps. I was not able to make the expo the day prior to the race. a Point to Point race starting at the airport and ending downtown Rochester. packet pickup and parking at the start was easy…enough porta potties. The race was relatively flat with some smalls. Enough aid stations with water/Gatorade etc, the course seemed to be well marked….Unfortunately, around the half marathon mark…a unexpected thunderstorm with rain caused the RD to suspend the race and divert the marathons runners to the finish as they were passing the half way point. Not a lot of information was provided, as I believed at the time the race was over…However, a little while later we were allowed to finish the race, a lot of the marathoners did not receive the word that the race would continue….I ended up running around 27.8 with being diverted to the finish and back to the course…other than that the course wasn’t bad overall as we ran through park, residential areas, and downtown….
The shirt was a hooded long sleeve tech shirt…the finisher medal was kind of plain….Post race food included bananas, cookies, and an assortment of drinks to include a beer truck…..plus a live band playing near the finish….Overall not a bad race…the pre race social media and emails was great….It was nice that we were able to finish after the weather delay but it would of been better if there was a better communication flow on the evolving situation., though my time was severely hampered by the delay

This race was a deferral from 2021 for me. packet pickup was quick but parking was a process in the downtown San Antonio area to get there. Which is a plus if you traveled in and wanted something to do. The swag included a cotton t-shirt and small bag. and included a finisher 1/4 zip at the finish. The finisher medal was large and neat….The day of the race was warmer than usual for the time of the year in San Antonio making a warm and humid day and a more difficult race…. believe it or not the next day would of been perfect weather…It seemed that there was plenty of porta potties at the start…Additionally the race was by the Hempshire park that had a lot of cool stuff for my kids to play on…The course was mostly flat and had more than enough aid stations…the negative part of the course that caused some confusion was the loops in the middle of the course ad well as some lack of markings…I had to yell at someone to turn around at one point and a few times myself and others were briefly confused on where to proceed to…The course was a little scenic while on the Riverwalk but lacked large crowds…..the post race included some good food and beer options…this included fresh fruit, rice and beans, and burritos…also some local beer that tasted good after a hot run…..I would recommend this race especially since San Antonio is a cool town to tour…

This was the second time I have run this race. Due to postponement I got to run this race on my 42nd birthday. Small expo, but a quick and easy packet pickup. Driving into Garmin HQ made parking easy on the day of the race. plenty of porta-potties as well. The course was a mix of bike trails, neighborhoods, and downtown Olathe (nothing noteworthy). a little hilly, but it was well marked and the aid stations were great. The Olathe PD did a great job at traffic control and were very encouraging. Nice medal but it had the original date of the race….offered burritos and a few other snacks…didn’t see any beer….will run it again as it is only 10 minutes from my house and is a well organized event.

I registered for this race after the Garmin Olathe Marathon scheduled for the same day was canceled.

There was several COVID measures that were in place but compared to other races i have run during COVID, it appeared the most normal. Mask were “required” at the start and finish, race capacity, bottled water on aid stations, and wave started (including different start time for 10k/5k).

The Marathon was basically one 14 mile loop and a 6 mile out and back. The trail was along the river, which seemed to be well maintained and covered with a plethora of parks (including one that was voted best in the USA). So there was several locations were supporters could see you. There were plenty of bathrooms along the course to include enough at the start/finish. Aid stations had bottled water (8 ounces), sports drink, and gels at 1 or 2. The course wasn’t marked with any mile markers, but the turnaround points and course was marked clearly.

Swag included a TECH type t shirt and a nice big medal with the Golden Driller logo.

The finish line included BEER, Burritos, and fresh fruit.