Earl Brammer's Staging Area

Can’t believe more people don’t talk about or do this race. It’s a small town local run, but you’re running through the Red Wood National Forest. The views are just amazing. The course looks pretty up and down but was actually just some steady inclines. the swag isn’t much, but i’ll trade the views for a shirt any day. only bad thing is there aren’t really any hotels close. we ended up staying about 45 mins away and race day traffic is tricky, but wasn’t as bad as i thought it was gonna be. i would do this race every year if i lived close enough.

The half sold out in one day this year and with next year being the 50th i would imagine it will as well. Had my packet mailed to me since I was going to be staying farther from the bus pick up than I did. If you’re lucky enough to get in, be ready to get a hotel right away. They are going to be pricy and will probably need a 2 night minimum book as soon as you get in then keep looking after that. lots of cancellations the closer it got to race day. anyways the course had some great views early of lake superior, then you run thru Duluth the 2nd half of the race. Lots of aid stations and lots of local support the 2nd half. the after party was a good size one as well

Over all the race was pretty good imo once it got going. Think this is the 3rd year for the race and the first 2 didn’t star on time and this one didn’t as well. Was supposed to star at 7 but didn’t get going till 712 and not sure why. The race is a point to point and you have to take a bus to the start. Guess in years past the buses where running late, but I swore I heard the announcer say at around 650 all the buses had showed up. around 703 they finally did the national anthem. after that they came in and said the course had been mis measured and we needed to walk up the road about a quarter mile. once we crossed the start it was about 712 or so. nothing major, but since you could t park at the finish you had to take the buses back. just got a little nervous about getting back to my hotel in time for check out. read the buses back could have up to a 30 minute wait. i didn’t stick around for the after party and finished fast enough to be able to just walk over to the buses and get right on. i actually liked the course a lot. first 5 miles or so are ran along the water front and a small town which was pretty. next 2-3 where run through some marsh type terrain which was t awful. last 4-5 where run on some main streets which did have traffic but i never felt in any kind of danger as there were lots of cones and police directing runners and traffic. miles 10.25 thru 12 was pretty much a steady incline and the last was down hill. this was my 35th state and over all would put it in the middle.

The Wineglass was voted the 2nd best half in NY and I see why. Everything went as smooth as possible. Was in and out of packet pick up in under 10 minutes. The expo was decent sized and had stuff there if you happened to forget something. Got to the bus pick up at around 530 and walked right on the bus. It was pretty chilly but for the half marathoners you could wait inside the local high school (i had heard the full runners only had a tent). The race started right on time and it had a lot of great views and most mostly down hill but nothing crazy. Didn’t get to stick around for the after party since we had a 10 hour drive home. But there was a lot of food at the end for runners (pizza, soup, cookies, chips, fruit, etc). overall it would be a race I would do again if it was closer and i didn’t have 17 more to go

Overall it was a pretty good experience. Expo was a little smaller than I expected and parking sucked, but it had a good amount of booths and stuff to buy if you happen to forget something. I was a little disappointed with the course honestly. Being in Oregon I was expecting it to be a little more scenic. The first 8-9 miles or so were through the University of Oregon campus. Was actually a little hiller than I expected as well (had read it was flat, I probably miss read it) but nothing major. Miles 9-12 we on a paved bike trail and the views were decent. The last mile was back on campus and finished on Hayward Field which was pretty cool. As for the swag, I liked the design of the shirt a lot, but it was black (not a fan of black shirts). Shirts really aren’t a big thing to me anymore though. The medal was really nice. Half of it is a piece of wood from the old bleachers. Looks really nice. Overall I would probably rank it somewhere near the middle of the 31 states I’ve done so far.

The host hotel was Ballys so thats where we stayed. The hotel it’s self is a little old and the casino are was smoky. Our room was pretty nice though. My wife had done research and found the Balley Tower was supposed to be the best in the hotel. And from hearing from other runners it was. They said their room looked like it was still 1988. Packet pick up was super easy. right in the hotel on the 6th floor. expo was pretty small though. race day was pretty easy as well. starts and finishes right outside Ballys so i was at the start line literally 4 minutes from the time i left my room. The course was pretty nice as well. mile 1 was on the board walk then we ran though the city and neighborhoods for about 6- 7 miles or so. last 4-5 were on the board walk as well. Overall everything to do with the race was enjoyable. Honestly wasn’t impressed with the hotel for the price or the boardwalk area, it’s pretty run down. not 100 percent sure i would do or go to AC again, but if i did i would stay at Caesar’s Palace

Great Race. Lots of runners, lots of fan support on course. Nice views of the University of Nebraska and the surrounding neighborhoods. Average sized expo with plenty of stuff to pick up if you happened to have forgotten something. Course seemed pretty flat with a good sized hill around mile 10. Only small complaint was the water stops were space out a little far apart. First one wasn’t till around mile 4. be But all the water stops were well stocked. Was able to grab 3-4 drinks every stop and didn’t need to stop running to get it. It was warmer than usual so thinking maybe that’s why there weren’t all that many stops. Other than that, great time and great race

Awesome race and would recommend for sure. Good sized expo that seemed to have a little of everything if you forgot something or just looking for some deals. Pre race area had a great atmosphere and lots of music Course had a couple of hills but nothing crazy and was lined with spectators more than I thought there was going to be. Only small complaint about the whole day was the water spots were a little more spread out than usual it seemed and they weren’t very big imo. Other than that, no complaints at all.

Expo and corals were very well organized. The whole pre-race reminded me of a mini Indy Mini. The course was pretty hilly for a flat lander like myself. The first six miles were pretty much all up and down. A couple of the hills were pretty good climbs and was mostly run through neighborhoods and a park (I think). After that it was pretty flat run mostly along a river path that had some nice views. Somewhere around mile 11 or 12 you finally get to run on Route 66 for a little bit. Only bad thing was a lack of porta potties and water stations were spaced out pretty far apart. There were tons of people along the course handing out water and lots of alcohol though. Lots of crowd support. Was a fun race for sure and would do again if the chance was there after I finish my 50 states. The jacket was ok, not a fan of white. The relay people got a nice blue hoodie that I wish I could have gotten instead :).

This was a tough race due to the weather. June in the midwest is brutal. There is a 50k, 50 miler, 100k and 100 miler. They have a 6 am start and an 8 pm start time. I started at 8 pm and it was still 83 degrees at the start and around 65 at the finish. I couldn’t imagine doing the 6 am start as I’m not a warm weather runner at all. The course overall was decent. Was a 3.5 out and back through the Indiana State Park area of Indianapolis. Lots of food and beverage options set up at the start/finish line and you can set up camp in the same area.

All in all the course was pretty flat, one small hill around mile 5-6. Views of the ocean were amazing. Temps were warm (mid 70s) and very humid, but there is always a breeze to help cool you down a little. no expo, just packet pick up and can buy a few race items. there are no running stores on the island so if you need fuel or gear you might be out of luck