Christie Woodard's Staging Area

I’ve had FOMO on this race for several years watching other friends run it. I’m a fan of history so running where Lincoln walked was appealing! Additionally, the huge penny medal and the swag! Lol.

I stayed at the Lincoln presidential Doubletree, which was the host hotel and walkable to the race start and finish as well as the majority of the things to see in Springfield.

They are known for their fabulous swag and this year was no different. We got these really great jackets as well as a shirt.

I don’t think the city of Springfield is much to look at, but it was pretty well done and pretty flat!

There wasn’t much of a race party, but I went back to my hotel to shower to go and enjoy the Lincoln presidential Museum.

I would recommend this race for Illinois!

I had been watching this race for a few years and finally it lined up on my calendar to run a double state weekend with the Atlanta marathon on Sunday. The town of Greenville is adorable. This race is point to point so you need to either park your car at the start or the finish and then they will transport you the other direction. Most races that do they don’t charge you however they charge $20. I didn’t love that, but it didn’t dissuade me from doing it. I chose to park my car at the start in Travelers‘s rest. Race morning was a little bit chaotic. It was not organized where to line up and even the Pacers were super confused about where to start. Definitely could use some more organization next year. The course itself is closed, which is great from a safety perspective but frankly, I find it pretty boring. I know it’s a net downhill, but it didn’t really feel like a downhill at mile 10 there was no water volunteers were there, but the tables were empty and I’m not super slow! At the finish, I had a real trouble finding where the buses were to take me back to my car. I found several other runners wandering about looking for the same thing we ran into a runner who had run this race for other times and she showed us we waited there for almost a half an hour before someone said hey the buses are over here in a completely different spot! There was not any signage for the bus situation, which I thought was a complete miss! Even if you had run it before you wouldn’t have known where to go because they had moved it! And then when the bus dropped us off, the bus stopped and no one moved to get off because everyone was confused about where we were! We all got off the bus and had a traverse down a hill back towards the start area. It was really not fab.

I would not do this race again, nor would I recommend traveling to it unless you were trying to bundle it for a double state weekend with Atlanta.

I signed up for this race and I think I only paid five dollars to run it! I was coming from Maryland as part of my 50 state journey, bundling it with Nebraska the same weekend. I’ve heard really good things from other runners the year before, so I was excited to go. Honestly, it was a great race! It’s a really small town feels a lot like where I come from it was well organized, and I got a PR! You can’t ask for more than that! I would absolutely consider coming back to Kansas to run this in the future.

Coming from a flatlander – the hills were insane!! I did NOT love/like the hills. Otherwise, it was well put on. Easy finish line. Stayed nearby and was able to walk to and from the start/finish line before heading to IA for the next state in the I-35 challenge.

As a 50 state runner, I booked this race a year in advance. I was super excited to come to the Pacific Northwest for the first time and this race course did not disappoint when it came to amazing views. The town it’s held in is really small and accommodations are Hard to come by. I easily got a VRBO about 25 minutes away, but if you wanted to stay in town you do need to be quick about making reservations. I also heard some complaints about people not being able to get Ubers back to the airport. This is absolutely a town where you have to rent a car. You’ll want to rent a car to allow yourself to explore. The race start is across the bridge in Washington and they shuttle you over on a quick five minute ride. You literally start the first few steps right on the bridge. The views were beautiful. The course menders into the woods on a paved course basically the whole thing is closed, which is great. I did have a first in this race which was steps! They were about 65 steps up at one point and then of course back down because it’s out and back well this was the second race in a two state weekend and my legs were trashed. I did really enjoy it. It was challenging, but not too terrible. I was really surprised by the food at the end which was massive and plentiful! Chicken and Ramen and pasta and pork and desserts you name it! My only criticism is that they’re charging a lot of money for the photos and the cost of this race is already high and it should be included. My photos, the majority of them have other people in them anyway. Add this one to your list!

I was really looking forward to this race. When the bombing happened 30 years ago, I was a young mother, and I’ll never forget that day. I was looking forward to honoring the victims and survivors. The actual race was so much more impactful and powerful than I even imagined. The expo was really well done. The host hotel was absolutely beautiful frankly it was my favorite hotel I’ve stayed at during my entire 50 state journey! The 168 seconds of silence before the race started wow! I even went to the prayer service before the race under the survivor tree. I’m not a very religious person, but this was a beautiful service that really sent all the runners off with a sense of purpose. I’ve never seen better community support in all of the races I’ve run. This was hands-down, my favorite race out of all 40 races I have run. Because I was running with purpose it made the time go by so quickly and easily. I will come back and do this again someday.

There’s always a lot of hype around this race and coming from the northeast traveling to Arkansas seems like quite a journey! I was hoping it was going to be worth it considering the flight logistics. It really was! The expo was well done and I absolutely loved that. L’Oreal was there! I got free make up! That was fantastic! I stayed nearby but not the host hotel, save myself a bunch of money. The organization was top-notch! I love that you start inside! The weather was pretty darn good but it was chilly and being able to wait inside was such a bonus! The race also finished with the finish party being inside. The finish party and having pasta at the end instead of a bag of chips or something like that was so cool! And obviously the medal – The most substantial metal I have earned to date. While the Mardi Gras theme isn’t my favorite I thought it was really well done. Highly recommend.

Traveled from Maryland for this race in quest of 50 states. Learned that this was going to be the last year and what a shame. This was very well put on. I thought the entertainment was very good even though some of the reviews in the past havebeen harsh. I heard it was just DJs, but it was mostly live music. I loved running through the military base. The crowd support was incredible and I loved it! I wish San Antonio luck with their race next year.

This was my first Vacation Race. We did the 5K Fri nite and the Half Marathon on Saturday. Running both is the Black Bear Double and you get an extra medal. We stayed at the Talley Ho, 75 steps from bib pickup/Expo and shuttle buses for Sat race morning. Easy logistics.

Race starts 13+ miles away and we finish back at Talley Ho. Buses were plentiful. Start line had free coffee and sunscreen and bug spray which was a nice touch. Pretty course but the sweeping vistas. You need to go into park for that.

Shirts at pickup had the wrong date which was a bummer. The day after the race though I got an email from VR apologizing for the shirts and offering to either send me a new shirt free of charge for a $20 VR race credit. Classy touch!

Great finish area. Awesome food Box!

Highly recommend and will definitely do VR again!!

Loved this one! Great swag, and medals who doest look flamingo 🦩! Course was lovely and well marked – half marathon anyway. We missed the turn on the 5k!

Only area for improvement – host hotel. As host hotel open up coffee and breakfast for runners early!

I was very nervous after reading last year’s reviews of the pretty terrible bus situation. I made sure I got to the college in plenty of time and it was an easy ride to the start line. The bus back did take a lot longer than I thought was Acceptable but it didn’t ruin my experience. We probably waited 35 minutes for a bus was very nice. Suggestions for next year would be more buses. Also more food at the finish line. I was looking for granola bars or chips or something like that. I didn’t want Pizza.

This is the first state in my journey that really is just checking it off! We had elected to stay at the host hotel, which was Bally’s. For a room that was $300 a night. I was surprised to see that the room was pretty sketchy, really rough around the edges just like the hotel. They would not offer late check out they said I could rent the room by the hour, gross! The hotel of course is where the race starts so it’s convenient but I would’ve made a different decision had I’d known how yucky the hotel was. Very smoke-filled.

The race itself started on the boardwalk. Ran you straight into town. Not scenic – relatively flat. They ran you back up to the boardwalk all the way down where you run past the finish line, which I never enjoy, probably about a mile and a half, and then you turn around and come back to finish.

When the race was finished, they had some bagels and beer. I ate half a bagel and we got in the car and left. I would not do this one again but if you need to cross off New Jersey for something that’s likely convenient to airports etc. you could give it a look although I guess there’s probably better choices in New Jersey.

Easy peezy bib pickup. Nice expo and swag for sale.

Course was nice but a bit dangerous. Most all races I run are open courses but cars were everywhere and you had to run around them. I saw a guy clipped by mirror of a car. Another friend saw that happen to someone else.

Medal was not great. If you like medals – this one was unimaginative and phoned it in. Out of the many races I’ve done – worst one

This was a nicely done race. I love that the race starts out in front of the host hotel. Made for an easy race to travel to and cross off Indiana since I didn’t also need a rental car (I thought). Small bib pickup – not many vendors but really all I need is my bib. Race morning was organized, and the course was pretty and well-marked. After the race they gave out a small bag, Balega socks, a rose an they had cake. They had bananas and water bottles but no other food. While the cake is nice I can’t eat it after racing and especially in hot weather. That would be my only constructive criticism. They need more post race food. Medal is really huge an nice.
I would consider doing the other location they have – Iowa I believe?

Race weekend turned into a bear due to 1600 canceled flights due to a fire in an air traffic control facility and weather. Ended up having to stay another day and then drive from IN to MD instead of flying. Not the race weekend’s fault but a bummer.

I would recommend this race.

I live in a very flat mid Atlantic area so the hills I was concerned! It turned out I should’ve been concerned about the weather! It wasn’t just rain. It was a monsoon. It wasn’t just a monsoon. It was lightning and thunder. I had flown into the city for this race so I was invested, however I do wonder if the race organizers just got lucky. Don’t get me wrong, I thought this race was fantastic. Even though the conditions were miserable, everyone was in a great mood, including volunteers, law enforcement, and other runners. Running across that metal bridge and seeing lightning in the sky. Made me rethink my decisions lol.

This is the most well supported race I’ve ever done. I would highly recommend it.

Military races are amazing and the 2nd in Person race of Coast Guard is no exception! Laid back vibe. Fabulous race announcer – Fitz Kohler is fabulous! Small expo – not many vendors – unfortunately no safety pins but picked up race morning at the start. Running on base was cool! The whole town felt like they supported this effort!!

Eastern NC was WINDY! Even with the wind I got a PR! Coasties put on a great race! Highly recommend!

Small race with a lot of heart! Wonderfully organized. Lovely run along the boardwalk and through the neighborhoods. Run the first part of the course with the marathoners until they veer off. Part of the course is on a gravel trail. Flags represented on the trail for all the states represented. Lots of really nice volunteers. Haven’t ever seen a better finish party! Full Buffet breakfast

Great fun for the race weekends. Costumes and characters. Don’t run these for time but for the experience. Ran this with friends. It was super hot race day – mid 80’s by 9 AM.

2nd time running this race. They changed the course so instead of running down the highway it was more backroads which is alot more scenic and more protection from sun/elements. Very flat – no hills. Lots of volunteers. This was a PR for me for 5 Years.

Disney races are always well done. Great shirts and medals. Only downside is the early mornings but well worth it IMHO. Coming back next year!

Second time running this local race to me. Flat and fast but it somewhat a boring course – out and back with not alot of scenery. Very well supported and put on by organizers.

My first Disney Race and I completed the challenge. It was great! Well put on. Awesome shirts and medals. All and all a great time. Coming back next year

My first time running this. Came back and ran the 9K the next year. Well put on. Fast and flat course. Pretty views of ocean, boardwalk, etc.