Dana Ellifrits's Staging Area

The shuttle line was very long. We waiting in line for around 45 minutes, then it was another 40 minute ride to the start of the run. So we did not start near as early as we were expecting to. The shuttle ride to the run is on curvy roads and being on a large bus triggered some motion sickness in me, which was not a great start to the run.

The first 4-5 miles of the course are on mixed terrain and small rolling hills. I struggled more than I expected to in this section of the run, likely due to the elevation (and the motion sickness). Once the downhill begins, it is pretty much consistent downhill until about mile 10, when you get close to Bass Lake. At this point it goes back to small rolling hills. The sun was out the day I ran and by mile 10 it was hot! There is limited shade on the last 3 miles of the course, and I struggled. My legs were tired from all the downhill running. I made great time, but I overused several muscles that I don’t normally work that hard. It took a few days of recovery for my legs to feel strong again (I normally recover by the next day).

Overall I enjoyed the run, I just wish I would have known how long the shuttle ride was ahead of time. I would have arrived earlier and taken motion sickness medicine.

This race is in TX hill country. It does not have a big elevation change, but the course is through rolling hills for the entire duration of the run, which was challenging.

After the run, we were treated with unlimited ice cream bars for both runners and spectators. We also were able to go to the Blue Bell creamery and get free scoops of ice cream!

As a half marathon participant I received both the fun run shirt/medal and the half marathon shirt/medal. My half marathon shirt has a large blue stain where it looks like the colors bled onto the white background. It was dark when I picked it up so I didn’t notice it until after the run. I did see other people wearing their shirts after the race, so it was apparently just an issue with the shirt I received.

This was a gorgeous run! I never actually saw Mount Rainier during the race, but there were other mountains, as well as multiple wooded areas and a river all along the race route. The starting line and finish line are very close together at this race, which meant no shuttle was required. This made race morning go much smoother than other races I have done.

The first mile is on a very narrow shoulder along the highway so there is limited room to pass, but after that the course turns off the highway and widens out. From that point the course takes you through fields, forests, loose gravel, and packed gravel for about 7 miles. Some of the terrain was uneven and you have to use your hips and ankle muscles for stability more than a flatter course. There are 2 pretty significant hills, one about mile 3 and the next around mile 6-7. The hill at mile 3 is very obvious and feels pretty steep, but the hill at mile 6 did not feel quite as steep as it was because it was in a wooded area where the path curves so you can’t see how steep it is. After that hill, the course declines, which feels wonderful after the 2 previous climbs. Around mile 8 the course transitions to a paved road and continues for the remainder of the course.

This was a more difficult race due to the elevation increase as well as the uneven terrain, but it was definitely worth it. I train on very flat surfaces so for others who train on hills or trails it might not feel as hard.

The course was very flat. The weather was great for running, however, there is no shade on the course and the sun was hot, even though the temperature outside was only in the low 60’s. A lot of people were over-dressed. It did get very windy as the day went on, but for the half marathon the wind was minimal.

The race was on the smaller size, which made it easy to spread out and pass people (or be passed). There was plenty of parking, but the race course crossed the entry/exit to the beach parking lot so it was a little congested trying to leave while other people were still running.

The 2023 Grand Teton half marathon was a very nice race. The course was relatively flat; however I struggled a little with the elevation because I’m not used to it, but it only slowed me down a little bit.

Starting out, the course runs on the narrow shoulder of the highway, so there is not much room for passing. However, after a short distance the course turns off the highway and the runners were able to spread out a bit more. The course runs along a nice pedestrian path for a while and then turns onto a two-lane highway where the runners are in the left lane of the road and two-way traffic is in the right lane for ~6 miles of the run. It did get a little interesting with some impatient drives trying to get through, but most drivers were patient and drove slowly. Unfortunately, this year the mountains were completely covered by clouds and were not visible at all, so we missed out on the beautiful Teton views along the course. It was still a very pleasant run and had some nice scenery along the way.

There is no parking at the finish line, so all runners and spectators must ride a shuttle bus to get back to the parking lot. The shuttle took an indirect route to get back to the parking lot, assuming to avoid the race route, and it took about 30-45 minutes to get back after the race was over.

This is my second year running BMW Dallas, but my first year running the half. I like this run because you get a lot for your money. The swag is good, the expo has a lot of vendors, the post run goodies are great (this year we got tacos in addition to the regular post run snacks), and in addition to the half/full marathon you also get free entry to one of the fall fun runs (including a shirt) that they have throughout the metroplex prior to the race in December.

The spectators along the course are a lot of fun. It’s like running through a giant block party. The race is very large, which makes it a fun race but also makes it hard to set any records because there are so many runners and the first couple miles are pretty slow because it is crowded and hard to pass people. Also, the streets in downtown Dallas are pretty curved so it is best to try and stay towards the center of the road if possible to avoid sore joints later along the course.

The race is very organized and they do a great job of managing so many runners. However, the post run party got extremely crowded because it is such a small area. (I did not experience this when I ran the full marathon last year because the crowds had thinned by the time I finished.)

This was my second vacation races half marathon, but my first time running in the Smoky Mountains.
It rained the entire morning, but most of the time it was a light rain and was pleasant because it kept us cool (although I could have done without the soggy feet).

The run was on a back road that was not busy and had great views of trees, mountains, and rivers for the majority of the course. The elevation map looked worse than it actually was. The road had twists and turns which led to uneven surfaces during parts of the run. My ankle and hip joints were pretty tired by the end, but overall it was a great run and well organized event.

The course was beautiful. We experienced every type of weather during this event. Started chilly and windy, then the rain came, followed by sleet/hail, then the sun came out for a bit, next came a wintry mix and we finished the day with large beautiful snowflakes.

The course was a gradual incline throughout the entire run. There were a couple of large hills that were very obvious, but overall you couldn’t tell that you were gaining elevation. However, by the last ~2 miles the running started to become more difficult and a lot of people (including myself) had to start taking some walk breaks.

This race was changed to be a virtual half due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was organized nicely, but I missed the experience of running as a group.