Jeremy Adams's Staging Area

I have done this run 3 out of the 4 years this one has been around. It’s my favorite all around as it has it all. The scenery couldn’t be better running on the trials & roads that might as well be inside the national park. The area is amazing with the beautiful mountains, perfect weather & plenty of places and things to do. The course is tough but not impossible, you got plenty of time to space out before you get on the trails. The swag this year was the best it’s been! I highly recommend this one for a nice challenge.

As always I loved this VR event. Loved the course, swag, people and other runners. I see a lot of reviews complaining about the course and the mud. One thing I love about VR races is that they are not supposed to be just street (boring) runs. Thats the point you get out in nature: trails, mud, hills, high elevation all the fun things you will remember. This course was challenging because of the climate for me, coming from the north I don’t run in heat/humidity. This one was killer even though it was cooler than normal in the area. Only thing I would change on this one is have it in the winter time. Also the 5k was a little long at almost 3.5 miles.

Leave it to Vacation Races to find a way to make a half marathon on steroids. 1st thing, ignore the part where it describes any terrain as pavement. By the time you get to the small section you are so worn out you will not notice it. This race is HARD! I promise you they will be changing the difficulty from 4 stars to 5. Only 3 runners made it under 2 hours. However this race is a must! Like nothing you have done before! You will get the opportunity to do so many firsts. 1st half to take a chair lyft, 1st to actually walk a long section (even on a down hill), 1st to be in total darkness, 1st to feel sick from altitude, 1st all trail, 1st to talk with so many runners on the course, laugh with and have so much fun! You will be talking about this one for weeks! I am ready for 2023!!!

If you could make a run that felt like you were on a adventure, like Indiana Jones movie this would be it. The course was so beautiful I had to take pictures around every corner, this was only a problem with the run, stopping all the time to snap photos. You go though tunnels and bridges and wear a head lamp it really was such a adventure and amazing views of the mountains. This is a must for any runner. The race production was great, check in was easy at the same place as the race/ even gave us lunch after. Loved the medal and the t-shirt was actually really nice. Swag A++.

I was expecting this run to be your typical small town run but instead the course actually took you though some pretty foot hills of the Oregon costal mountains. Spring colors were amazing & part of the course was even on trials. I enjoyed the scenery a lot. Course was pretty flat with some hills. The swag shirt was very nice black & nice fit, something I wear out. Everything went smooth as far as production.

Such a fun run. Afterward I felt like I ran a half marathon with the 95 degrees plus humidity. Easy course, gave me a tour of the town of Townsend. Medal was great for just a 5k. If you so the half marathon, make sure to also do the 5k it’s worth it.

This was the prettiest course I have done that was in a town or city. It had all the scenery you would see in a national Park/ forest run but you begin & end in a town & great views of the lake & river. The race production was great even with the limited things with COVID. It felt so good to be back on a live run in a town. As far as the swag the shirt was a really nice long Sleeve very nice. The medal was not the coolest or I would have given the swag a 5/5.

I did this run when I only had 1 night in San Antonio. This race was perfect for that, you get to see all the sites & attractions of San Antonio on the run! You run past The Alamo, tons of historic places & even get to run alone the famous river walk. The medals are huge and fun. The race was pretty well put together, also very flat course.

This run was pretty easy with only a few rolling hills. The free shirt was the best I have ever gotten for a race. Thick Comfortable long sleeve with a good even, no advertising on it. Plus free photos! The after party is in doors which is nice in the cold winter months. My favorite part was finishing the run on the high school track field.

The best part of this race was the swag & photographer. Everyone that put on this race had high energy which was really fun, they even had a mascot to greet every runner at the finish line. There was only 1 photographer yet he got pics of everyone on the finish line, doing the polar slip & slid and people getting their awards. I got some of my best in action photos ever. He also got the photos out the night of the race which is unheard of. Usually You have to wait 5-7 days. The medal was super cool for a 10k with the new year 2020 on it. The course was pretty Boring for being in the pnw. There was about 1/2 mile that went though a cute farm town but the rest went along the highway. They should do part of it in the town or something. The race production did an amazing job making a boring course a very fun race.

I would give this run a piece of cake shoe except that there is like 2 miles of trail running and a lot of runners are not use to it. However I thought it was fine and you basically start on a hill and run down it I got my PB on this run. It’s a very pretty course running along the race. Vacation races is of course the most amazing running company. Always super organized and fun. I love there new shirt designs for this year and they always have the best medals.

Why racing of course put on another arming show as always. This course was pretty, though downtown, parks & along the river. At the end they even had free lunch with burgers & entertainment. This course would normally be easy however it was pouring rain this time.

What a great event Missoula puts on. I see why this marathon is rated #1 in the country. The whole town comes out on the course to cheer you on with signs & water hoses, they lime the streets even out in the country side. The course starts off with a fireworks going off at the starting line which makes it super exciting, you go thoguh a National Forest with along a river for great views, than go though the country side and finally downtown. The finish line is lined with people & really makes you feel like a accomplished athlete. 3 racing events over the weekend, free food, photos & nice bling make this a perfect race weekend for anyone.

This was by far the prettiest course I have ever run! I done most of vacation races half marathons but this one was a big wow! Coming around mile 4 & looking down in the valley of pure green of trees with mountains in the background blew me away. The course sounds scary but really with so much down hill after mile 5 you will end up with pretty much your average time for a half. They redisgned the race shirts which I love the new design. Medals are amazing as always & I love that they change them every year now. You couldn’t have asked for a better ending with the Beautiful lodge at Rast Glacier you feel like you in the park itself. They even had an Native American song lead us off to the start. I also hate shuttles but they were actually not so bad. I highly recommended this run for your buket list.

This run was super fun because you run along a parade route with 300,000 people watching & cheering you on. This is why I give scenery a 5 shoes. This is a must due at least once to be able to run & feel what’s its like to be a real athlete with fans. It was well organized and marked. This year they started giving out medals so I give them a 5 shows for sway on that. It’s Aldo a very low coat run if you don’t hey the t-shirt.

Foot Traffic always has well organized runs. Lots of fun after race activities and free food and race photo. Medal was cool and course was flat and nice wind to keep you cooler.

The weather was perfect, it seemed way less corroweded even with the same amount of runners as years past. The t-shirt & medal we’re the best ever for this race, had the race distance on the medal & nice fitting shirt with not much advertising. This 15k is very challenging going up hill the first 5 miles.

The race production was great, easy pick up, very organized. Best City Course I have ever ran, you go all the way around the city, even on the main freeway I5 which was really cool, over bridges, though downtown, though parks and starts at the space needle and ends in a cool stadium. Race swag was nice, lots of free gifts at the end. The medal was a little small otherwise I loved this race. It’s a must do if you want to enjoy a city run.

My favorite part of this run was a late start time! My wave was 9:50am. Especially since I had to drive over an hour to get to the start line. But this really is a absolute beautiful run. The course had some hills but they were more in the 1st 3 miles when you have more energy and it was great coming back down them at the end of the course. I actually got my new PB. The swag was great, you got a beanie and the long sleeve race shit that was really nice without advertisements all over it. They also had a full on lunch of tacos and more after the race, before the race they had lots of pre things to eat such as bread (with toasters) and peanut butter, bars and more. Way to go on the race production. Very organized.

By far this was my favorite Vacation Race Run so far. The course is a killer, up to the top of a mountain the 1st 7 miles, down hill for 3 miles was really fun after. The course was so scenic with old bridges and tunnels you go though, you can even see Mount Rushmore in 2 places, you actually run though the Black Hills National Forest. The start of the race was very convenient with so many hotels just steps away. The race expo was a perfect location with lots of parking, food after the race & fun pictures even with the Mount Rushmore presidents. They went all out with the production on this one. I am not sure if Vacation Races went extra out on this race or just getting really good at it. Also so many fun things to do in the area over the weekend.