Carla Zack's Staging Area

The half marathon course was beautiful! Mostly ran through the historic district and then down to the stadium where the Savannah Bananas baseball team plays. There were a lot of “in and outs”, running down a road, only to turn around at some point and then do the same.

The 5K and Half Marathon races started at the same time and ran the same course for the first 2.5 miles which I didn’t really like. I think they should have let the half marathoners go off first and waited at least 30 mins before letting the 5K racers go out. It might have alleviated a lot of the congestion at the starting line. It was crowded with the narrow streets until after mile 2 or so when the 5K racers broke off to go a different route from the half marathoners.

Course aid stations were plentiful. Water and Gatorade were served, and gu gels were given at a few of the stations, but I didn’t take any.

The Expo was kind of meh in a very small venue. They switched to technical Brooks t-shirts this year (I believe they gave out sports bags in years past) which was really nice. They had other race merchandise for sale at the expo as well.

Course support from spectators was alright, nothing extraordinary, but the scenery around historic Savannah was motivating enough for me.

Finish line was at Forsyth Park and it was beautiful! There was a band playing afterwards and free beer with drink tickets. The recovery packet of food consisted of a tangerine, banana, bottle water and some Nutrigrain bars. You could also take a chocolate milk if you wanted.

Overall, I would recommend this race to anyone who was looking to find a fun girls weekend in a beautiful historic city. Savannah rocks!

This was my 8th Vacation Races event and as always, they produce an excellent race! From the swag (medals and t-shirts were fun!) to the race communication (excellent race guide to download full of EVERYTHING you need to know!) and the race itself, I would highly recommend Lake Powell, or really any Vacation Race production.

Lake Powell’s course had to be changed about a month prior to the race due to anticipated traffic around the Glen Canyon Recreation Area (where it was scheduled to finish) because of the Annular Solar Eclipse. So instead, VR shifted the course to be the rim trail that surrounded the city of Page. I am not a trail runner and so I was not looking forward to running it, as it’s definitely more technically challenging to run vs. running on pavement. But the scenery on the course was absolutely incredible. I tried to get my mind off the difficulty of the trail run by appreciating the beauty all around!

With all Vacation Races, it was a cup-free event so you have to bring your own cup (which they will give you for free) and I found the five (?) water stops along the course to be sufficient.

Page, AZ was in the path of the eclipse that morning so they gave out the special eclipse glasses during packet pick up. I carried my glasses with me, so every 10 mins or so I would take them out and look at the sun to see the moon eclipsing it. Very cool to see! And a very unique opportunity to run during the eclipse.

Finish line goodies were nice and of course, the medals are always nice.

I would highly recommend running Lake Powell. My family and I stayed in the Page area and were able to visit Antelope Canyon after the race, as well as the Grand Canyon. So many national parks to see!

From pre-race communication and packet pick up at the expo, to the starting line and post-race party, the Shamrock Marathon produces an amazing event! We received a race guide with plenty of information a week before the race in an email. The packet pick up at the VA Beach Convention Center was fun and very well organized. Swag included a long sleeve technical shirt. Other Shamrock merchandise was available too, along with free samples of Yuengling beer. The race on Sunday combined both marathoners and half marathoners in 10 corrals. Each corral went off every 60-90 seconds. The course winds though a residential neighborhood and then First Landing state park to the lighthouse and then back to boardwalk, passing the Neptune statue. Water stops were plentiful that also included sports drinks and gel. The medals were really nice and post-race goodies at the finish line were plentiful, including snacks, water, hat, beach blanket, and a draw-string bag. But the post-race party was hands down the best! There are 4 drink tickets included with your bib and the party in the very large tent was super fun! Never had to wait in line for a beer and the band was incredible! Very thankful we were in a tent as it turned out to be a windy and chilly day in VA Beach (sunny though) so being “indoors” certainly helped. I would highly recommend this race to anyone. There is definitely a reason why this won the best half marathon in Virginia!

What a race! I got in to the NYC Marathon through the lottery system, but many people get in through charities or one of the various plans that NYRR offers. However you get in, it’s definitely going to be memorable! Some random thoughts:
1) Join a Facebook group (Runar’s Runners is exceptionally great!) or the RunNYC sub on Reddit to get tips/advice/questions answered from fellow runners. These groups were invaluable!
2) Getting 50,000+ people to Staten Island for the start of the race requires heavy logistics. They talk about “the marathon before the marathon” and they are right. I stayed in the Upper West side of Manhattan (near the finish), so the morning of the marathon, I had to take the subway to the ferry, wait for the ferry to take me to Staten Island, ride the ferry, wait in line to catch a bus (an absolute $hit$how this year unfortunately), then ride the bus to the start village. Then walk to my wave start. It’s a lot to take in before you even reach the starting line.
3) The crowd support is absolutely incredible! Wall to wall people, cheering for you and screaming support! I loved their enthusiasm and clever signs. When you need some energy, these spectators deliver!
4) Plan ahead of time how/where you will meet up with family members after the race. You finish somewhere along 63rd street in Central Park, but then you have a long journey to walk out of the park. Depending on how late you finish, you may be able to exit 77th or 72nd street, but then you have to keep walking south to get to the “official” family reunion area. Just know it will be crowded and plan accordingly.
5) Marathon Monday is the day after the race where you can visit the finish line and wait in line to get your medal engraved or hit the merchandise tent (if you are superstitious and didn’t pick up swag at the expo). I personally bought all my marathon merchandise at the expo when I picked up my bib, but I enjoyed walking the finish line the day after just to relive the experience. But get there early for photos! They really do start disassembling the finish line the next morning so the equipment might all be down if you get there later than 9:00 or so.
6) It’s a lot of training for just one day, and as we saw with this year’s race, expectations got thrown out the window with the heat and humidity. People were collapsing, suffering from dehydration, and forced to walk due to cramping. You just can’t predict weather/race day conditions. So be prepared to adjust your mindset and just enjoy this incredible race experience for what it is!

The Shoreline Sharks are in charge of this event, and they do a great job of organizing. The race was limited to 600 participants this year and was sold out a few days before race day. There was no packet pick up before race day which was kind of a bummer, but they managed to get bibs and t-shirts to everyone before the 7am start. Parking was limited at the starting line, so if you didn’t get there early, you were forced to turn around and park on some side streets. The t-shirt was a bright neon yellow technical shirt (pretty low quality) with very basic design. (Probably will be throwing that in the clothes donation pile!) They started right away at 7am. There were water/aid stations every few miles starting at mile 2.75. The course itself went though some neighborhoods and along the boardwalk of the gulf beach, winding through Walnut Beach and turning around at the Silver Sands state park sanctuary. So after 6.5 miles you turned around and then ran back the exact same way you came. Except for a few hills in the neighborhoods, the course was very flat. Not many spectators to cheer you on, and there were no road closures, so you had to share the road with cars. Medals were pretty weak, just saying “Gulf Beach Half Marathon”. (No date, not even on the ribbon!) Finish line goodies included water, bananas, and bagel slices. All in all, a good half marathon to complete if you are looking to do a race in Connecticut, with fantastic scenery along the shore and good course support with aid stations and volunteers.

We received an email before the start of the race that due to some miscalculated measurements, the half marathon course would be an extra 300 meters, but when I finished, my watch showed I ran 13.7 miles so that is why I can’t give this race a perfect “5 shoe” rating. Other than that, it was a really good race. Bib pickup was easy on the University of Alaska campus, but other than picking up your bib and t-shirt, there was really not much there. We took a shuttle to the start and that went smoothly. We were so fortunate to have absolutely perfect running weather – 58 degrees with cloudy skies.

The course is run almost entirely on the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, which is a multi-use trail along the coast. This means that though the course is paved, you have to contend with a very narrow width, and it is difficult to pass fellow runners. But after mile 3 or so, people generally find their groove and pace and you aren’t so bunched up. However, the closer you get into the city limits, the more you have to deal with other runners, walkers, bikers, and roller-bladers, etc. You will mostly find yourself running along a trail that is very shaded with trees, so you occasionally get glimpses of the bay, but it’s not very often. It also runs by the airport so you will get to see planes taking off and landing and that was cool. Due to the closed nature of trail too, there is little opportunity for spectators to cheer you on but that didn’t bother me too much. Around mile 10, the course begins the “out and back” portion and the full marathon dumps in there too, so you will pass runners until you get to the turnaround. But I never felt crowded or that I couldn’t pass people.

Course support was good with aid stations about every 2 miles serving up water and poweraid, as well as one station that offered goo. In general, the course is flat and fast, except for the last 200-300 meters which is all uphill in a neighborhood. And as I mentioned at the beginning, the half marathon course was mismeasured for some reason, so I ended up runing an extra 6/10 of a mile according to my watch.

Swag was decent – nice technical shirt and medal. Finish line goodies were OK – cups of water, bananas, grilled cheese, bread. All in all, I would definitely recommend this race if you want to do a race in Alaska! My family and I made a vacation out of it and did some touring before and after the race.

This course was stunning with all of the gorgeous scenery to look at while running, but there are a lot of hills so take that into consideration! We had planned to get into Sedona on Thursday afternoon, but with the horrible winter storm that hit, our flights were cancelled and we ended up getting into Sedona late Friday night. Thank goodness bib pick up was from 3-8pm! (Shirts had to be picked up after the race). We drove to the start and got there around 7am. Lots of parking available. Half marathon started right on time at 8am. The course is out and back so you know if you are going up hill going out, you will be doing down hill on the way back and vice versa. It is slightly MORE uphill on the first half of the course so I actually ran faster the second half of the race since there were more downhills. But the last half mile was uphill. Finish line was good, medals were nice, and the technical shirts (short sleeve) were nice too. (No dates or distances on the shirts though, that is my only complaint.) Overall, would highly recommend this race to anyone!

Another Vacation Races in the books! Their race production is always top-notch, and Glacier was no exception. Shuttles to the starting line were available at the Glacier Peaks Casino, as there was no parking at the start or the finish. Once we were dropped off at the starting line, runners could take off whenever they wanted! The first 5 miles is all up hill, and there were definitely some steep climbs, but the scenery makes it all worth it! Once you hit mile 5, it’s all downhill and you can really make up for some time if you walked or took it slow during the first five miles. The course is all on highway 49 so it is all paved, but the road is banked at some turns so you have to pay attention. Water and aid stops were about every 2 miles or so, with Gnarly power aid and water, along with oranges and goo. Once you hit mile 9.5 or so, it flattens out, but around mile 10.5 it starts an uphill climb again, but definitely not as long as the first 5 miles. You finish the course at Glacier Lodge in East Glacier Village on a golf course. Though there is no crowd support on the course due to the location, there were some spectators towards the end, and of course, everyone is so friendly and encouraging while you are running so I really don’t miss the cheering. The scenery makes it all worth it! As always, Vacation Races gives you a very cool race medal and technical t-shirt. We were very fortunate to have perfect running weather on race day (mid 50’s to start; upper 70’s at the finish) with no rain, but I have heard that weather in northwest Montana can be unpredictable, even in the summer. I would highly recommend this race to anyone! There is a reason it was voted best race in Montana!

This race included both a full and half marathon, as well as a 5K and 10K race. Packet pickup was at the St George Running Store and you had to sign up for a pickup time. Swag included a very ugly short sleeve cotton t-shirt (that’s going in the donation pile right away!), bib number, and bag. Full and half marathoners were bused to their respective starting lines and everyone was really good about wearing masks on the bus. The weather was around 30 degrees at the half marathon start. They had little fire pits out to try to help keep runners warm, but they kept going out. In order to promote social distancing, runners were only allowed to start one at a time. Everyone had to line up at the start, and then when you hit the starting line, they asked for your bib number, entered it in a computer and then you took off. There were about 10 full marathoners who came by before the half marathoners even started! I am a slow runner so I was constantly getting passed by full marathoners, but everyone was super friendly and said “Good morning!” as they passed. The course scenery was spectacular, typical Utah red rocks at each bend. A few gradual inclines, but mostly downhill. We shared the road with cars and had to run on the shoulder. Most cars slowed down when they passed you so I wasn’t concerned. Plenty of aid stations with water and Poweraid, every 2 miles or so. No spectators allowed on the course, but that is to be expected in the age of COVID I guess! Finish line was at Gubler Park, where everyone parked to catch buses. They handed out a bag full of a banana, orange, granola bar and cheese stick at the finish. Medals were nice, but they said “Sun Marathon” no matter what distance you ran, and they didn’t have the date or the location on the medals so that was a bit of a disappointment. They had some major screw up with race categories so when I checked my result immediately after the race, it showed I was in the full category, not the half. A lot of runners experienced the same thing because when you looked in the full half marathon results and saw someone with a time of 37 minutes, you assumed they ran the 5K not the full! But they managed to fix the results by Sunday night. They had 118 finishers for the half and 185 finishers for the full. Overall, I would recommend this race for the gorgeous scenery and course. On Hill Productions did a good in person race, and with so many races cancelling or going virtual these days, they prove that it is possible to have a safe, in person race.

This was a rare in-person running event due to Covid, so after finding out my state was not on Rhode Island’s list of states with a Covid positivity rate greater than 5%, I booked this last minute trip to Narragansett. Race communications with Ocean State Rhode Races was fantastic! They had a very comprehensive plan to keep runners safe. They staggered the start – marathoners went off at 7:30 and 7:50 and half marathoners went off at 8:10 and 8:30. You had to wear a mask at the start and stand 6 feet apart from other participants. But once you crossed the starting line, you could take off your mask. The course was beautiful! Weather was cloudy and overcast (no rain) the day before, but the morning of the race, it was warm and sunny with a 48 degree start. The sun stayed out the entire time! The course was all road and pavement. You shared the road a majority of the time with cars passing you by, and you had to run on the shoulder. There were spots of gradual inclines but nothing too extreme. The scenery along the coastline was spectacular! I did take a pause in my running to just stop and admire the view of the bridges that connect Narragansett with Newport. It was so pretty! All in all, a beautiful fall day in New England. There were only a handful of water stops, but I didn’t really need too much hydration so it was fine with me. The finish line was easy and the announcer was screaming at me to put my mask back on before I crossed the finish line. We received a nice medal for our efforts at the end of the race. Decent finish line snacks – cookies, crackers, bananas, bottled water, popcorn, etc. But not encouraged to stay and mingle due to Covid. No t-shirts were distributed this year and instead we received buffs. That was probably my only complaint about this race. I understand about social distancing and all, but not sure why they couldn’t give out t-shirts with a race fee of almost $90. There were only about 170 half marathoners and maybe 150 marathoners and for a majority of the time, the half marathoners and marathoners shared the same course. It never felt crowded though. I applaud the race organizers for putting on this in-person race in these crazy times of 2020.

Having heard that this race was one of the most scenic races in the country (as promoted by Runner’s World), I knew this was a race I had to experience! I did the MDI YMCA race that went through Acadia National Park a few years ago and was ready to come back to the Bar Harbor area again. The first half of the half marathon course were beautiful and scenic with gently rolling hills, but as another race reviewer mentioned, the last 6 miles of this course was on a 2-lane highway with no cones blocking off one lane. You literally have to run on the shoulder and pray that cars see you and go slow enough not to hit you. It’s a very small field of runners so I never felt like I was sandwiched in or had problems passing people. When you near the finish line, you are dodging spectators walking the opposite direction on the road. There were harbor views, but I’m guessing the full marathon course had more spectacular scenery for the first half running through a lot of Acadia. But overall, the race production was very smooth and well organized. Half marathoners took a bus from Bar Harbor (the starting point for the full) and were bused to Northeast Harbor for their start. We had the luxury of keeping warm inside a community center so we weren’t outside standing around freezing for an hour. This year we were blessed with amazing weather, all sunshine with temps in the low 50’s at the start. The technical pullover that was given to all race participants ranks high in my all-time favorite race swag. And the lobster claw medals were quite unique! Would definitely recommend this race.

I ran the 10K in the Redlegs run (900 runners in 10k, 1800 for the 5k) and got the technical shirt. In years past, they had women’s cut technical shirts, but this year it was all unisex sizing and fit so not as great. All runners got a very cool medal. Race was very well organized and started near the Great American Ball Park. The 10k ran into Northern Kentucky so you had to cross 2 bridges. The finish line was actually inside GABP on the field so you actually got to run around the edges of the field and see the view from the baseball players’ perspective. Lots of food at the end of the race – Skyline, LaRosa’s pizza, pancakes from First Watch. However lines were so crowded that I skipped all that. Didn’t really need to eat all that food at 9:00 in the morning. All in all, a great race. Will probably do it again next year.

There are Hot Chocolate 5K/15K races all over the country, but I’ve only run the one in Columbus. I typically do half marathons, so the 15K is a nice distance when you want to run more than a 10K and do less than a half! There is a 5K that goes off at the same time as the 15K (typically a lot of walkers in the 5K that you have to run around) so luckily, the two races only share the same course for the first mile and then they split off. (Note – only the 15K finishers get the cool Hot Chocolate medal!) In years past, the course has run up High St all the way to the OSU campus and past the football stadium, but this year, they changed up the course to run near a park south of the downtown area for about 3 miles, and then go through a nice old neighborhood south of OSU campus, so no running around OSU. Which was fine I guess. The course is very flat with minimal spectators, but the refreshments after the race include a plastic mug full of goodies that you can dip in chocolate. Plus did I mention the very cool Hot Chocolate medal? 🙂 The jacket quality has decreased over the years and I was disappointed in how cheap the jacket was this year. The expo is kind of small, but the race is very well run and organized. Overall, it’s one of my favorite races, one that I’ve done for almost 5 years now.

This was my first Vacation Races event in a National Park, and I was really impressed with the production. They did a fantastic job! I did the Black Bear Double (5K on Friday evening, Half on Saturday morning), but was really disappointed with the 5K course. It was terrible! You run for a mile on this very narrow bike path, barely 5 ft wide, and then run another mile in a field, before turning around and heading back for the last mile to the Tally Ho Inn. It made it very challenging to pass anyone. I’m not sure the VR folks can do anything about it, since it really makes sense to start and finish from the Tally Ho Inn, but just know that going in if you decide to do the 5K.

The half marathon was an A to B course so you had to take a shuttle bus in the morning from the Tally Ho Inn (finish) to the local high school where the start was. That was a very smooth process. Plenty of room at the high school parking lot to start. The half marathon course runs along a paved back road along a river. Vacation Races promotes cupless water stops, so you either need to bring your own container or get a free hydra-pouch at the Expo. I think it’s a great system and found it easy to fill up on water and power aid. I wish more races did this! I didn’t really feel like the course was Great Smoky Mts scenic, but it was pleasant and not at all hilly. There are virtually no spectators along the course. Once you hit mile 9 or 10 (?), you run along a bike path along the very busy Lamar Alexander Parkway back to the Tally Ho Inn. The finish line is sort of crowded, but they call out your name as you cross and they have some nice goodies as refreshments. The medals and technical shirt are awesome! I look forward to more Vacation Races in my future!

I enjoyed running the downtown streets of Raleigh. There were rolling hills, but nothing too strenuous. As always, Rock and Roll races had bands and music playing at every mile so that it always motivating! We ran down a major street through NC State campus that was nice, as well as some parks. The design on the t-shirts was a little unoriginal, but they were technical shirts so you can always use them. My friend and I did the Remix challenge, so we did the 5K race as well as the half marathon, and got a special guitar medal for doing both. We were notified that this was the last year for doing Rock n Roll Raleigh! But no one seems to know why they are discontinuing it. Maybe participation is weak? Or we had heard Raleigh wanted to limit the number of races in downtown for some reason? Anyway, it’s too bad the race is being discontinued. It was a nice course!

This was my first time running the Queen Bee, and I’m so glad I did it! The race was very well organized, and the swag was great. Nice long sleeve ASICS technical shirt and a cool medal. The course was uphill for a good portion of the first half, but that is to be expected living in Cincinnati! The volunteers (“worker bees”) were enthusiastic and helpful, loudly cheering and working water/Gatorade and energy stops. There was a water/Gatorade stop practically every mile and the energy stops ranged from grapes and orange slices to gummy bears, cookies, crackers, and Hershey kisses. Finish line was a little anticlimactic, and the after party location was just OK in Lytle Park. But the finisher’s gift included a bottle of wine and a mimosa drink. I would highly recommend this race to any first-timer or experienced half marathoner. Something for everyone!

I participated in the Beast challenge – doing the 1 mile race, the 5K, and the 10K. All of the races run along the same river trail, down and back, at various distances. It can get crowded at times, especially when you are trying to pass people and other participants have already done the turnaround and are coming the other way! Luckily, they limit the number of participants to around 500. The swag is great – nice technical shirt, a pint glass, medal, beer, Christmas cookies and a great breakfast at the post-race party. They had Christmas music playing and Christmas decorations on the course, which adds to the fun of celebrating Christmas in July! Organizers did a great job for this inaugural event. Will be back next year!

Medal was very cool! A coaster and a bottle opener included. Hooded t-shirts were unique. Though it was very cold at the start, the race was fine once you got started. Very well marked and flat, running through residential/business district. Green beer and donuts at the end. Yummy!

I’ve done 2 other Destination Races Wine Country Half Marathons (Napa to Sonoma, Oregon) and these courses were very scenic, running by many vineyards. While the Woodinville race started on one of the more well known wineries in the area (Chateau St. Michele), the course itself was not all that great, even though it was pretty easy. Most of the course is a paved trail running along the Sammamish River. Nice and easy, but you would never know you were in wine country. There were not as many perks with this race as there were with the other races, i.e. free or 2 for 1 wine tastings at the local wineries. Many of the local wineries were unaware the race was being held. But there were a ton of tasting rooms in the area, along with a handful of actual wineries. The proximity to Seattle made this a great destination race for me and my travel companions, but if you are looking for a scenic wine country race, I’d pick a different race.