Cary Greenfield's Staging Area

This was my slowest race to date, considering the weather, limited areas to pass, mud and snowy conditions, I was pleased with my performance. The race started out after 9am to a steady rain, then turned to snow just after a mile on the course. The rain/snow continued the whole time out on the course, needless to say your shoes were soaked from the get go and shortly after everything else was drenched.
The course ran through some of the campground and some roads for the first three miles and then went through some nice wooded trails that had puddles and mud and more or less single file trail with many of the trees overhanging the trail because of the wet snow and rain that had been going accumulating for a few days before the race. Personally I welcomed the slower parts because everyone had to walk to get through the tree limbs obstructing the trail. Mile 6 was amazing, North Falls, beautiful. Between mile 9 and 10 you encounter two other waterfalls that you run behind, Lower South Falls and South Falls. Not to mention running along the stream and passing other waterfalls along the way with the fall colors aglow and some white mixed in, it was a sight to see. Just as you climb out of the creek bed and up to the Silver Falls parking lot you have one last climb up and down Nutcracker hill to the finish line. With all the wet weather, going down the hill was really challenging because of the steepness and mud that was present. The finish line was a welcome sight but running through the puddles to get there was a challenge in its own right.

Expo was non existent other than a bib pickup and a merchandise tent, no vendors whatsoever. The race medal was great and the shirt was a nice long sleeve. Food trucks at the end was a nice added benefit so overall a nice event.
The course was beautiful as you started running in a quaint neighborhood along the shoreline of Coeur d’Alene Lake and then back through McEuen Park where the race started. After going through the park you continued along the lake past NIC and along the Spokane River and then back to McEuen Park for a nice finish.
The race started in a drizzle but subsided shortly after race start and was a great temperature to run in.

The start of this race was very inspiring and memorable, they shot off confetti as you passed the start line and it was a great start to an otherwise uneventful race. The course was lacking scenery but what made up for it was the spectator support. Around every corner there were people cheering and encouraging with signs and it is the only race I’ve ran without both ear buds in. I was a little nervous about all the hills that were on the course, but I was pleasantly surprised they did not give me more trouble than they did.
One disappointing thing was that the medals did not come in so the race staff will have to mail everybody there medals, unfortunate but not much they could do about it. Other than that they had great volunteers, food and wonderful atmosphere to run in. The weather was great, a little on the cool side, perfect for running.

This was a difficult race with many rocks and technical spots on the course. Vacation Races did a great job communicating that but as a first time trail run you go in a little skeptical and it was much more difficult than I expected. I still think it is a must do but all the Vacation Races do not disappoint with the rewards and sense of accomplishment that you feel afterwards.

This was a great race in a beautiful place. The event was very well thought out and in the time of Covid every precaution taken. The course was moderately difficult with many hills and one long steady hill towards the beginning but the hill towards the end was the worst.

This race is growing, has always been one of my favorite events during a celebration of the town of Columbia Falls “Heritage Days”. Family atmosphere with kids races to get the younger generation excited about running.

This was a great location for a race, the course was relatively flat and very scenic. It was a great day for running, very little wind, but it was foggy at the start but as it warmed up the fog lifted and the views were magical. Great finish line!

There was a lot of excitement at this race, many bands and fans came out to cheer. The course was relatively flat running through town and there were many sites to see.

Course was nice running around the Space Needle, several hills made the course tough and one hill in particular was a beast. Temperature was good with a threat of rain but it held off until after a good finish.

I was really looking forward to this race as we were set to run through the Magic Kingdom and finish running through EPCOT. My brothers and wives met for a week of fun at DISNEY WORLD and it was amazing. We even got all the swag and I joke that it will be my fastest race ever.