Chris Bland's Staging Area

This review is for the 2026 race. Extraordinarily well organized event!
I arrived early for the shuttle and got right on board. These are coach type buses not school buses, very comfortable. It’s about a 30 minute ride to the starting area. Keep in mind with over 3500 runners you need to arrive early or you will wait in line! Starting area was well furnished with ample porta potties, hot chocolate, and banana slices. There was a table for last minute pick ups of bib numbers for those unable to make it to the pre-race expo. There was also a clothing drop just before the start line and my sweatshirt was at the finishers area when I arrived. The race utilizes a rolling start so you start when you are ready and chip timing starts as soon as you cross the start line.
As others have noted the first 4.6 miles of the course is forest service dirt and gravel road, then paved road to the finish. Although the course is overall downhill, there are some hill climbs around mile .9, 1.6 to 2.6, around mile 7, and rolling hills from mile 10 to the finish. Well stocked aid stations starting at mile three and then every two miles. Porta potties at each aid station, though there seemed to be a wait line for the porta potties each time so I kept going. But they are there if ya need ’em!
Super beautiful course! Starts in the tall trees of the national forest and crosses several gorgeous spring flow creeks and even a cascading waterfall around mile 11. Scenic vistas throughout. Only complaint would be the finishers chute was quite narrow and the chute crossed a ditch just after entering, I saw a girl fall ahead of me because of this ditch. Otherwise an amazing well thought out course. Not much at the after finish line corral other than water and chocolate milk (could have used some bananas.) Finishers medal is absolutely stunning with an engraving of Yosemite Valley. After you exit the finishers corral there is a large area to just chill around the lake and great photo ops. If you couldn’t make the previous day expo the merchandise tent is open at the end of the race for those wishing to buy shirts hats cups stickers etc. VR offered a lot of very nice race related items. The wait for a return shuttle was just a few minutes and ride back was about 20 minutes.
I did this run to celebrate my 60th birthday and it was spectacular. Met lots of amazing people from all over the western United States while running. Highly recommend staying the weekend and visiting inside the national park the next day.