Cheri Damitio's Staging Area

This looked like a very unique race so I chose it for my Louisiana race (50 states). Overall and age group winners were given alligator head trophies in addition to other swag. Since I’m not very fast, I never thought I’d walk away with one, but was given one for coming from the furthest state. Traveling through TSA and airports with a gator head is an additional adventure I wasn’t expecting! The medals were colorful and fun, top three age groupers got special license plates, and there were plenty of red beans and rice at the finish. Anyone who dressed up in a festive Santa or holiday costume was also celebrated and given a prize.

The half marathon course was on roads through neighborhoods and had a nice loop where there were some grand old trees and a bayou. It was mostly flat with some short hills.

There were several distances available, including a trail race. The race organization was friendly and there was a strong sense of community among the racers, like everyone knew everyone else and was happy to be there. They were very welcoming to newcomers.

Driving across the Atchafalaya swamp to get to the race was another highlight!

The website for this race was rather bland, but the actual race was great! It was my first visit to Oklahoma City and the start/finish in Scissortail Park and the run along the river trails were a nice way to see the city. The terrain was mostly flat with very gentle rolling hills. There were two out-and-backs so there were opportunities to see the other runners.

The running store that produced the race has an avid fan base and they were calling out support to each other all along the out-and-back course. Many of them had “Run with the Pack” shirts and everyone was so friendly that by the end of the race you felt like part of the pack, too. The finish line announcer seemed to know most of the 600+ runners by name. There were standard pace groups and also groups of runners who were run-walking.

The swag was impressive. Instead of a race shirt, they gave us a towel. I was surprised to see a quality, colorful towel the size of a beach towel that even had snaps to convert it to a wrap. It came in its own bag. The medal was in the shape of Oklahoma, plus they provided plenty of free race photos quite quickly. There were race shirts available for sale.

There was standard food at the end: bagels, bananas, snack bars, water, Gatorade, and probably other stuff but I didn’t stick around too long because I had breakfast waiting at my hotel. If you won an award, you could immediately pick it up at the results tent.

I would have given high marks for scenery but the river had a lot of floating trash and smelled like a sewage pond in places.

I was disappointed with this race. The advertised long sleeve shirt was a short sleeve cotton shirt with nothing but the race name in black. There were aid stations on the out and back course, with only water and no electrolyte drinks or snacks. I didn’t see any awards, I don’t think there were any for the 121 finishers. One day after the race, the results were sent out and only included the gun time. The theme of the race was “running simplified.” If you go at it with lower expectations, you might enjoy it.

This race consists of a couple of loops in the Prince William Forest National Park. It is hilly and pretty with fall foliage, the trails also follow a stream in one section. There are a couple of water containers on the course to refill your hydration vest, and the one aid station at the start/finish is a complete banquet of ultra food. The loops have a designated mileage associated with them. The long loop is actually about 3/10 longer IRL, and the short loop’s actual mileage is a bit shorter than the stated length. That said, if you’re trying to go for a distance goal, you should just do the shorter loop over and over. If you’re there for the fun of it, I highly recommend the longer loop. The RD is cool and honors whatever mileage your GPS watch says you did for purposes of awards, but the published results stick with the official mileage for comparison purposes to previous years and all time records. I was happy I brought my poles to this one.

I’ve never seen a race where I passed so many people lined up at port-o-potties on the course! The lines were ridiculous at the start and I guess everyone just decided to stop along the way. It was a warm day under sunny skies with no shade anywhere. Got to run past the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and see some nice views of Lake Erie.
My memories of Cleveland will be more about the nice art museum and the beautiful Snow Leopard at their zoo. The zoo is large and a great place for walking the kinks out after the race.

This is held in conjunction with Hillbilly Days, which you should try to experience the day before the race. The course has one large hill, but it leads to an awesome rolling trail and some pretty views so it’s worth it. The shirt is decent, and the medal is one of my favorites. The organization of the race is exceptional, the organizers are quick to respond to questions and want to be accommodating. I’d do it every year if it wasn’t so far from home. The medal this year is “hillbilly mama” with reticulated arms that have magnets on the back so they will be able to hold hands with next year’s medal. Not kidding!

Maybe the most memorable part of the race for me was that it was around 27 degrees at the start! Brrr! 🥶 It was sunny, clear, and warmed to above freezing by the finish. It consisted of two and a half loops in Central Park. I’d never been there before so it was fun and novel for me. I didn’t like it towards the end though because there were a lot more users in the park and they were crossing the course without regard to runners so be aware of that. Since I was coming in from out-of-state, I had my bib mailed to me which saved the hassle of picking it up when you don’t even have an expo. After the race it was a challenge to find where to pick up the free shirt but it was worth looking for–a long sleeve, sublimated tech shirt in blue and pink. The medal’s ribbon was matching in color and the medal was a giant sparkly snowflake, which also matched the shirt’s logo. Nice souvenirs.

My idea of a fun half marathon is one that is out of the ordinary. This race delivered perfectly. I’m from the west coast, so running on a towpath was a new and fun experience, although the amazing part of this race was actually running through a Civil War battlefield! We ran along the auto tour road for the battlefield, then we plunged off the road and down onto a trail through the battlefield. I didn’t know what to expect, so I was surprised to be running along a wide trail through dense brush and suddenly come upon a towering memorial. The trail keeps going up and down through the area and pops back out miles later onto the road again. It was sobering to think of the soldiers who fought a battle in this terrain. The race organizers proudly advertise it as the only race that goes through a battlefield, which does seem disrespectful, but there it is. Lots of hills (I walked), but that also means lots of downhills, which I enjoy. The organization was superb. I liked the long sleeve shirt; the medal was a small, simple wood cookie with a burned-in logo. In a sea of large, colorful medals from other races, it’s become one of my favorites.

I signed up for this at the last minute and was lucky to get in. I love the medal and t-shirt design by artist Alison Bremner! The course was a scenic tour of the Elliot Bay waterfront with one challenging hill and a killer view of the Seattle skyline. Make the effort to visit that area at night, you will be rewarded with a colorful cityscape.

Even if the course was terrible (it isn’t), this is one of the few races I’d do again just for the artsy orca medal.