Earl Brammer's Staging Area

State 34+1 Maryland done. The Ocean City Half was a pretty good race. Packet pick up was pretty easy and held at the convention center. It’s a point to point run and the shuttle was super easy. Course was mostly flat with the only real hill at the beginning going up a bridge. Got to finish on the board walk which was pretty cool also. The after party was pretty big as there was 4 total races today. Not many food options at the end but maybe i missed them. Big time stomach issues and was trying to not toss up my gels. Would totally recommend this one if you need Maryland.

Pretty good race. The course was pretty much all on a paved bike trail. Thankfully it was mostly shaded since it was a little hotter than usual this year. real feel was 74 around the time i finished. The course was a little hillier than i was expecting as well. To me it seem miles 3-8ish was a constant incline. They threw a good sized hill in at mile 12.9 also lol. only small complaint is there wasn’t any aid stations from around mile 1.5 to 5ish. I’m not into swag and medals much anymore but the tshirt was drifit which i like and the medal was pretty good as well. If you need Alaska I would recommend it.

The good thing about DC is that you can pretty much walk everywhere or take a hop on hop off bus. We stayed near the Capitol building and was able to walk to walk to the start and finish lines, packet pick up and most of the major attractions. Packet pick up was pretty average size. If you happen to forget something I’m sure you could find it there. The start and finish areas were a little congested, but nothing major. The race shirt and medal were decent. The course was a good one also imo. Pretty flat except for one of the biggest hills I’ve ran in my 31 states around mile 7 or so. Ran by the Lincoln Memorial, the White House, Arlington Cemetary and a great view of the Capitol building near the end. Was a good experience overall. It is a Rock and Roll series run, so it is a little pricey but worth it imo

Really good race. Course was flat and pretty fast. The corals were on the honor system so we know how that usually works. Once out of the Fargodome you had lots of room to spread out though. Course went through some really nice neighborhoods, parts of NDSU and downtown Fargo. Lots of people lined the course for support with lots of music and extra drinks. The finish line was in the Fargodome as well which was pretty cool. Gear check was probably the worst I’ve ever seen though. There were 4 or 5 lines and they were all super long. i happened to get in one that was about half as long as the others and still stood around for about 15 mins. When I finally got up front the guy told me I could hop the fence and get my own bag since it would be quicker 🙂 The web site advertised an after party downtown Fargo at 3 PM. Lots of runners down there only to find out there was no party this year and it hadn’t been removed from the web site. Small things like this don’t really bother me but I know it does others so thats why i mentioned it. All in all it was a good race and a good time and thats why I would recommend it.

Only small complaint was the expo was pretty small for such a large race (12K runners). I’m not that big into expos so wasn’t a huge deal for me. I read reviews from past years about the shirts being too small and need to order up a size, but the RD must have read these reviews because this was not the case this year, perfect fit imo. The start area was great. Lots of porta potties, lots of music and the atmosphere was great. Lots of great views of downtown philly the first 4-5 miles and lots of scenic views the last 7-8 miles. You get to finish near the “Rocky steps” and the “Rocky statue” which make for a bunch of great photo opps. If you’re a fan of bigger runs, this is the one for you to knock off Pennsylvania for sure.

Loved this race. Expo was pretty large and packet pick up is simple. I’m a fan of bigger races and there was a lot of runners for this one. Tons of crowd support with lots of water stops and lots of alcohol stops if that’s your thing. I would say the course was pretty flat for Tennessee. Running by the childrens hospital at around miles 2-3 was amazing. Such a great cause and I’m going to try to make this one a yearly run, especially since i did so bad this year. Was sick with the flu or covid last week and knew going in it wasn’t going to be a good one.

Fun race if you like smaller races. Expo wasn’t far from the stadium and easy in and out. Its just basically a packet pick so bring everything you need. There is a Dicks Sporting Goods about 10 mins away if you forgot something though. Course was average. its a small town in WV, not sure what others are expecting. Was as flat as it can be for WV, 2 small hills was it. You get to finish on the field and they toss you a football to cross the finish line with. Race photos were a pain to find and I still haven’t found mine but stuff like that doesn’t matter to me. The weather was unusually warm. I’m not really a warm weather runner so I did awful. Only thing I didn’t like was at the finish it was hard to find the water. Would recommend if you need West Virgina and I would do it again for sure.

I’ve ran this 7 times now and still one of my favorites. if you’re an Indy 500 fan you get to run a lap at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Expo was a little smaller this year (probably because of covid) but was still a decent size. Swag and after party is always great as well. must do if you need Indiana

Overall this is a pretty good race. lots of hills the 2nd half of the race. not a ton of runners but there was a lot more people along the course than I thought there would be. lots of old buildings and houses along the course as well. no expo, just a packet pick up. after party was decent, beer and music can’t ever be wrong. would recommend if you need mississippi