Earl Brammer's Staging Area

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 time 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