D Biernesser's Staging Area

This is a fun race, very very flat (I only climbed 10 flights worth of stairs over the entire thing), with a little bit of trail to mix things up. Well designed loop course (marathoners do 2). Pickup of my bib on the day of was easy peasy, parking was readily available, plenty of portas (and a flush or 2!). Lots of half bananas available at the plentiful aid stations. Not a ton of snack foods at the end, but the cider and beer were worth the $$. I just wish I could have hung around more, but like several other people chasing the 50 states, I booked out of there to do the Good Life Halfsy the next day in Nebraska.

Pro: Easy check in, easy parking, restaurants nearby, pre-race sponsors had lots of swag, good weather, lots of bucolic scenery, well placed and stocked aid stations.
Con: Continuously rolling hills, but more concerning, a lot of the course was on asphalt shoulders of two lane roads, and there was a *LOT* of traffic. The volunteers and police did their best, but there were still cars blowing by me. I think the area is just too built up to keep hosting this event.

Also, be warned. Even tho the course has a 4 hour time limit, if you come in much past 3:25, the only things left are bananas, cold towels, and I presume water. Not even the finishers medals were left. Between the course and the traffic on it, I won’t do this one again.

This is one of the “Big A$% Medal Series” put on by Coastal Race Productions. And yes, yes they are!
Loves: shirts this year ( they’re going back to soft raglan next year, but I prefer the wick dry they used this year), medal, on course volunteers, packet pickup, beer/ cider, course design (pretty nice, not too many out and back sections, even if the bridge is at the end)
Not as fond of: no- see-ums ( when they say bring bug spray, they mean it). Ran out of food before the last 20 of us crossed the line. Most other vendors were packing up before the course time limit of 1030 ( thank God the beer was still there).

First time with a half in Indianapolis. Course ended up being nearly four loops, but on the plus side, no traffic stops required and almost no cross-traffic. Flat, pretty broad in most places, all concrete/asphalt (but watch for the tree roots). Didn’t see any gatorade/electrolytes, but I bring my own anyway. Nice little park in the city.

Yá’át’ééh! (Welcome/Hello!)
This is a unique marathon/half, for a great cause. Starting at the Four Corners monument, you have the option of doing a certain number of trail loops on a different trail each day, starting and ending in a different state. Or, you can do one-mile loops on a paved road/flat gravel loop, if you need to. So, invest four days, walk away with a different state’s marathon (or half) completed, seeing different scenery each day.
The good? Most things. Registration is limited, so you won’t be crowded off a trail by hordes of people. An aid station (or two) is on every trail loop so you don’t go unsupported. Since they’re all loops, you also have options to grab your support bag or get back to your car. Courses tend to be well marked (there was very little way to get lost here). Medals are high quality/really nice, and there’s a unique swag item each day. Aid stations are well stocked (water/electrolytes/soda/chips/pretzels/crackers/pickles/candy/etc). Music is located with the aid stations and at the Monument. And if you know the Four Corners area, you know runners/walkers will be pulling out cameras.

Now, the only cautionary factor. This is high desert *trail* in winter, people. If you’re going for a personal speed record, this isn’t likely to be your jam.
Winds were a feature 3 days out of four, and we did have sleet briefly on one day, with some spitting rain on days 2 and 4. Footing could be…umm…cautious in spots. There’s a bunch of sand on one day’s trail, and a second day’s trail could be pretty steep and exposed in spots – but the organizers tell you that up front. And did I mention cold and dry?

BL: C’mon out, it’s a lot of fun, but be prepared to be slower than you think.

Courses were completely redesigned this year – the half marathoners still don’t get bacon, but the hills are less steep. Also, this year the half and full marathoners didn’t have to share a lot of course, so I suspect it was easier for both sides.
Still a bummer having to catch a 0500 shuttle for a race that begins at 0730 – but, OTOH, this year a couple of food trucks opened up earlier, so hot coffee was available – and by credit card, too!
Love the Galloway pacing teams, even if I can’t keep up with them post COVID.
Also love having access to the wear blue section – I felt sorry for the full marathoners, who had to stay on the other side of the road.
Post race festivities were very good – just need a couple of medics on the far side of the freebie food tent. 😉
Finally, one minor complaint. This year for the first time, I did the 5k on Friday, so I got to the pasta dinner pretty late (as did several others). We had to wait on faith for more food (there wasn’t a general announcement), and then for the newbies, there was no explanation that one of the pasta options was gluten free. And they were out of rolls 🙁
Really not fond of getting the same Tshirt for two races. If that’s what’s gonna happen, please give us the option of declining a shirt. Not a huge fan of the medals anymore…they seem kinda laminated/cheap, even though I know they’re not.
Other than that, I meant it – it gets better every year. I can’t make 2023, but am hoping for 2024.

I’ve done a lot of half marathons. Most go through either an industrial section or two, or along/on poorly repaired roads or on concrete. Not this one! Smooth as freshly laid asphalt all the way, and nice and broad. Along the Rappahanock, through the old town, through the neighborhoods – not a mis-step on the scenery.
There are elevation changes on this one – my tracker recorded the equivalent of 110 flights of steps 😉 Be warned, but not afraid.
It would probably have been tougher in full sun, but fortunately the clouds were overhead and there was a breeze for the first 2.5-3 hours.
The neighborhoods were pretty, the crowd support was really extensive (On!On!), the music was uniformly good all the way along (though some on Hospital Hill would have been nice, but I get it, a hospital ;-).
The aid stations were plentiful and plentifully stocked. The finish line food was pretty good, the medal is awesome. My favorite course.

The Cowtown did their absolute best to run a large race during Covid. The course had some rolling hills (though i hear previous years were worse). Going through the Stockyards was great (though cobblestones do worry me), and the park towards the end was really sweet. The music and bands were good. And the bling was the best. My time sucked…but, Covid. Yeah, I’ll blame Covid.

Now, the downside. Due to covid, there were no shuttles or non car transportation to and from the event or packet pickup. I knew that going in, but the reality of walking about 4 extra miles each day in the heat wasn’t much fun. There was no GU in my box, and I ended up salvaging that and a warmup jacket from the side of the road about mile one into the event.

All in all, hillier-ish than I expected, but fun. Cooler would have been better.

To sum:
Expo was fine, easy to get to via public transportation.
Start line a little tough to get to – pay for a shuttle.
Weather was low to mid 60s – maybe a little humid, but not much for this Miamian. Blessedly overcast.
Course was quite nice – no industrial back lots on this half! Some hills, but in my perception, not as many as Nashville. My only course regret was that all the fun block parties were around miles 3-6. I prefer my party towards the end. 😉
Spectator support was outstanding. They were everywhere.
Finish line was nice – but the usual confusing scrum afterward. More signs earlier for the finish festival and activities, please. Us old timers know to keep walking for medal engraving, et al, but the new people get confused.
Snafu with T-Shirts meant that we got them after the race, and the women’s shirts were a violently lime green with pink accents. I and another woman tried to trade the men for their nice blue shirts, but no dice.
Hey, I PR’d on a nice day with outstanding crowd support. Liked it a lot.

With Disney, you get outstanding organization, good swag, lots of entertainment, great shuttles. You do pay for it.

Only complaint is that the course gets way too crowded at many points, with walkers or walk/joggers taking up the entire lane at a multitude of points, including the finish corral. Hint, people – if I’m passing you on the right, you may well be too far over on the left. Even as a walk/jogger, I don’t start walking until I’ve moved to the right.