Chris Staunton's Staging Area

This was a really great destination run! First, the fitness expo was top notch. One of the best expos I have been to across the US. Lots of great photo opportunities, gear, swag, and music! Race day was great, beautiful weather for the half marathon. It certainly got colder though once the sun went down, I highly recommend hat, gloves and mid-level warm gear. The wind in places can be biting! Loved the Blue Man Group sending off the waves and the bands all along the route. Water and Aid stations were great as well. The only downside was the small inflatable tunnel that EVERY person had to funnel through. Pre-party and after-party were awesome. I would recommend this race for anyone that wants to check off a destination run in Las Vegas!

I had a great time running the Half Marathon at the Baltimore Running Festival in 2022! The city of Baltimore really goes all out and does an amazing job. Packet pickup was very smooth and the health expo was good. The location right downtown on the Inner Harbor is a great place to host the festival. Kind of unusual to have all 4 races on the same day, but Baltimore really pulled it off. Now, this race was NOT easy. There are hills, serious hills. The inclines and declines can be rough. The scenery was great, got to ran through some really interesting neighborhoods. There were crowds cheering all along the way. Loved the swag and post-race. One of the best times I’ve had running yet!

I have ran this race for 3 years in a row. The race takes place right near downtown Dallas. Good views, especially as you run over the bridges crossing the Trinity River. Speaking of bridges, they can be tough, the inclines make it enough of a challenge. Race swag is good, the shirt is one of the few I rotated into my regular clothes (I run so many races, it’s hard to crack the every day wear these days!). Medal is very nice! I would definitely recommend running this race at least once.

This one definitely ate me alive. I didn’t realize when I signed up it was a trail run. I definitely was not ready, but regardless I needed a race in Iowa. The trail was well marked, lots of ups and downs, wooden bridges across creeks and through beautiful meadows. At one point on the trail the leaders and the rest of the pack got confused as to who is supposed to be on which side. It got very jumbled with a couple collisions and some angst.