Drew Sheppard's Staging Area

It was a chilly and windy weekend in Charleston this year (2023). This is traditionally a long holiday weekend for most people and this is a beautiful city to visit for a mid-January break.

With my registration I paid the extra $10 to have my race bib mailed to me in advance. It didn’t arrive until the week prior to the event–which was fine, but I was getting nervous about whether it would arrive or not. I was also nervous because I hadn’t received ANY emails about the race. Nothing since the registration confirmation email, which seemed odd.

This is a race that ends in a different location than the start (more on the return trip in a moment). The start was a short walk from my hotel (Marriott). In my opinion they needed a few more port-o-potties for the size of the crowd. It didn’t look like the start corrals were clearly marked. This is less of an issue for me as I start at the back.

The course was mostly flat. There was an uphill towards the end (of course!) at mile 11. The scenery was a mix of some beautiful parts (as you would hope with Charleston) and industrial & not so beautiful parts. You get that with a lot of races, but I expected more beauty with this race. The aid stations were fine with it being a cold day. If it had been hot they likely would have needed one more aid station and tightened the distance between them. Some parts of the course were tight. The road was open to traffic going in the opposite direction for a good portion of the course (something that I don’t love).

The race day fell apart, however, after crossing the finish line. I had no clue about what to do or where to go. Some runners found heatsheets but I don’t know how! It would have been nice to get one since it was cold. There was a volunteer giving out water but it was unclear where to get the traditional post race food (pretzels, etc). People were going in two different directions and I followed the larger group. Got dumped out in a field and there were lines everywhere. It was unclear what each line was for! Since I had my bib mailed to me, my priority was to get my race shirt. I figured out which line that was and got on that. There was no monitoring of the shirts or free gift (branded drink glass) tables. People were taking multiple. I hope that everyone who was entitled to a shirt and gift were able to get them. There was also a winter hat (that said Charleston Marathon even though there was no marathon this year). After waiting on that line I decided I was uninterested in the other lines. From what I could gather–1 line was for getting food and drink tickets, 1 line was the traditional post race food, and 1 line was to go and get the shrimp & grits and drink. I could be wrong, though!

Once I decided to leave, I jumped on another line for the shuttle bus back to the start. It was a long line with empty school buses nearby. There was an issue with getting the buses out of the area. They had to backup and maneuver around to get free. A runner actually got off one of the buses to try to direct traffic and getting things moving!

Swag: nice medal plus a long sleeve technical t-shirt in light green. There was also the branded drink glass and the winter hat, too. So the swag was nice!

The finish line area could have been great. If they can improve that one component, I would increase my overall rating of the race.

The Sanlam Cape Town Marathon is an Abbott World Major Marathon candidate. I strongly support there being a World Major on the continent of Africa, and I believe (with a few tweaks) this race would be a great addition.

I appreciate that marathons can be disruptive to the host city and non-runners. But I wondered if that influenced the organizers keeping the roads partially open to vehicular traffic. I always felt well secure on the course (I wasn’t ever worried that the cars would crash into us), but [SUGGESTION #1] I believe the course should be closed to cars. At certain points along the way, the shared course was just too narrow for the amount of runners. It will be even worse once there is a larger field. I also wondered if that impacted the aid stations. [SUGGESTION #2] Aid stations should be on both sides of the course, not just the runners’ right side. [SUGGESTION #3] And the aid stations should not prioritize Coke and Coke Zero. They were often the first tables and took up the most real estate. Water was usually last, which felt odd.

I had a hard time noticing and understanding the kilometer markers. [SUGGESTIONS #4 & #5] The kilometer markers should be significantly higher and they should clearly note what kilometer it is. Also, I didn’t notice any clocks on the course. [SUGGESTION #6] At the very least, there should be clocks at the locations that had timing mats.

I did the 5k Peace Run the day before the marathon. I somehow missed that it was an untimed event. That was fine, though. The course was slightly short of the 5k length, so that should be adjusted.

The expo was great. I like the selection of merchandise (and the abundance of size choices–that doesn’t happen at all expos!). Runners could get their shirts personalized on site, too. All events received the same shirt (I generally prefer event specific shirts). The medals were nice (even though the 5k was untimed, they still gave a medal).

Race day organization was good. I was in the right corral based on my bib, but most definitely the wrong corral based on my expected finishing time. I believe that this was my fault. If I recall correctly, rather than asking for the expected finishing time as part of the registration process, I believe they asked for expected pace per kilometer. I obviously did a poor job converting my pace per mile to pace to kilometer! I ended up with the 3 hour, 30 minute pace group. Yikes!

One final suggestion for the organizers–consider moving the race to August or September. It got pretty hot on race day (80s).

I traveled with Marathon Tours for this race, which worked well. If you travel solo, there are multiple hotel options not far from the expo and the race start/finish lines.

My overall “4 shoe” rating for this race is due to the purpose behind this event–to pay tribute to 1st responders who lost their lives while carrying out their duties. At the start/finish line there are photos and brief details for some of the many men and women who were killed while on duty. Many were from the Boston area, but I noticed 1st responders from across the nation and went back decades. This is what makes this event unique.

I ran this race in 2022 and according to the race leaders, some adjustments had to be made due to construction. I don’t believe it impacted the course (which I believe was similar to past years) but impacted the expo and the start/finish area.

The expo was really just a bib pick up. They offered multiple locations across multiple days in May for people who were local. For out of towners (like me) I went to the pick-up the day before the race. The race shirt was 100% cotton short sleeve (so not one I would wear to run in). They did give away another shirt from the 2019 race (I don’t feel comfortable wearing a shirt from a race I didn’t run, though!).

The course was mainly flat with occasional small hills. The only problematic terrain was going over a few bridges that had grates. Not a huge deal, but something to note.

Lots of hotels to choice from near the start/finish. Boston is a fun city to visit for the weekend, so this is a good race to run–fun place plus a good cause.

This year (2022) race was on March 26th–definitely a bit late in the month to still be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day – but I love a good theme!

Manchester, NH is a nice place to visit. I generally don’t rent a car when I travel for races and this is definitely a race weekend that is easy to do without a car.

I took Uber from the airport right to the Millennium Running store to pick up my bib and race shirt (though you can pick up both race morning – which is great). There are multiple hotels that are close to the start/finish line. When I was in Manchester for the full marathon (November 2019), I stayed at the Hilton. This time I stayed at the Residence Inn. Lots of restaurants and bars in the area to choose from.

The weekend includes two races – the half marathon (or half marathon relay) on Saturday and a “two mile shuffle” on Sunday. I did both – and I would recommend doing both. If you run both races, rather than getting an additional medal, you receive the “golden shamrock” which you connect (with a magnet) to your half marathon medal. That was pretty cool. There is only one shirt–long sleeve and green to go with the theme.

The course keeps you on Elm Street for a good portion of the mileage. You run back and forth across a particular part several times. This part includes a hill–so you run that 3 times (uphill). That wasn’t my favorite. Also, and this was true for the November marathon), the course takes you by the finish line before you actually finish. I always find that particularly cruel!

Weather for the half marathon was great – 40s and cool. It was a bit colder on Sunday for the shuffle.

Good races, well run by the organizers, and a fun place to visit.

It was a colder weekend than I imagined it was going to be, but that didn’t impact my enjoyment of visiting Baton Rouge and running the 5k on Saturday and the half marathon on Sunday.

It was a well run race. It was a nice course with a fantastic post race experience – beer, gumbo, and jambalaya plus music.

Over the weekend, we had beignets and visited a museum near the start/finish area. There are a lot of hotel options near the start/finish and the expo is a walkable distance, too.

Fun weekend – I would recommend this race!

I originally signed up for the 2020 Run Madtown Half Marathon. When that was cancelled again in 2021, one of the options was to transfer to this race. So this wasn’t actually the race I intended to run in Wisconsin!

Madison is a fun town and I definitely enjoyed the weekend. The weather (apparently) had just turned colder right before the weekend. There was snow the night before and some flurries during the race.

The expo was on the small side. I have no idea if that was due to COVID or if that was the typical size. It was an easy process. Every race (5k, 10k, half, and full) received the same shirt–which was long sleeve and cotton. I prefer technical running shirts that are unique by race length.

I stayed at a hotel (AC Marriott) that was just blocks from the start/finish area, which was great. Start area was okay. With multiple races starting at different times, it could have used some better signage and announcements. Also, there appeared to be no corral system. There were a few signs about pace per mile, but honor system for lining up in the right order. The finish area had several food options (including vegetarian stew and Mac & cheese – YUM) and cans of beer. Not many people were hanging out due to the weather, but I had the stew and a beer and was quite happy!

The course had some hills. A local runner told me that the full marathon had better scenery than the half marathon, but there were parts that were nice.

Nice finisher medal, too.

**NOTE THIS REVIEW IS FROM 2021 – RACE DID NOT GO INTO CANADA THIS YEAR.**

I have planned to run the Detroit Free Press Marathon as my Michigan marathon ever since I decided to run all 50 states (back in 2009). One of the reasons was that this race typically runs into Canada. Unfortunately, this year (2021) the course was altered because of COVID. I will definitely return to run the half marathon of this race weekend so that I can get the full “run into Canada” experience.

I remain extremely grateful for the race organizers who are putting together races during this time. Despite the alterations made to the course and the weekend, this was a well run event and I would definitely recommend.

I signed up for the “Supreme” – I ran the 1-miler and 5k races on Saturday and the marathon on Sunday. I came home with three medals, a long sleeve technical shirt, and a zipped up hoodie, so the swag was great!

I stayed at the Marriott at the Renaissance Center. This was sort of in the center of the weekend events (1-miler & 5k were in one direction and the expo and marathon start/finish was in the other).

The course was mostly flat–there were more speed bumps then hills. Of course, that all changed in the last mile. That is where there were two hills! Race directors must love putting hills in at the end.

It is really hard to rate this rate. I’m incredibly grateful to all the race directors and organizations trying to put on races during this challenging time. I know that no race director or organization wants chaos, but this race, this year, experienced more than its fair share of chaos!

The race moved from original April date to June (without a lot of notice). The start time change several times. The course changed several times (including just a few days before race day). The biggest deal, of course, was the changing of events. I originally signed up to run the 5k Saturday night and the half marathon on Sunday. They moved the 5k to the same time as the half marathon and didn’t offer refunds to runners who were now signed up for two races at the same time. So it became a $60 virtual race (ouch). Luckily, I was always signed up for the half this year as the full got cancelled a few days before race day. I felt bad for those runners.

Course was out and back mostly flat course. Only a couple of points where we had to cross an active road, but there were police and volunteers there to keep the runners safe.

Expo was outside and small. Easy bib up. Race shirt was a long sleeve technical tee. Nice race medal.

I stayed at the race host hotel, which was close to the start/finish. Everything is close to the Amtrak station so this is a very convenient race for travelers.

It was so great to run an actual live race again. I so missed the joy and anxiety and expectations at the starting line.

This review, obviously, is for the race as it was held in 2020, during the ongoing COVID crisis. My understanding is that some things (including the course) were different this year. So, some of these points may not be valid for the future running of this race.

I do have to start with how well the organizers and volunteers did managing this race during a pandemic. Race swag did include a branded face mask and all runners were required to wear a mask in the starting area (most runners followed this rule). There were no high fives; water & Gatorade were in bottles instead of cups and you grabbed them yourself as opposed to the volunteer handing to you; volunteers wore masks. These precautions in no way diminished the enjoyment of the race. It felt safe at all times.

There was a 20 minute delay at the start due to lightning. Cause…2020…am I right? Luckily, we were able to run the race as scheduled once it started. I’m not sure I’ve ever rated “course difficulty” a “1 shoe” before because every marathon course feels hard in its own way! But, this course was one of the flattest ones I’ve run (there was one bridge that we had to cross multiple times) and there were no elevation issues. The rain/thunder/lightning kept the morning cooler and overcast, which was great.

I stayed at the host hotel. The bib pick-up (that’s all it was–no expo) was also there. This was a mile and a half from the start/finish. Per normal, I didn’t have a car, so I had to walk this. Felt good pre-race, liked it less post-race.

Swag: As mentioned above, there was a branded face mask. Race shirt was long sleeve tech shirt in purple. Medal was disappointing in that it was rubbery plastic.

For those runners looking to tick Nebraska off their list, I would highly recommend this race.

I participated in the Bermuda Triangle Half Marathon Challenge–3 races in 3 days (1-miler Friday night; 10k Saturday morning; and half marathon Sunday morning). Even though it was a particularly windy weekend in Bermuda, it was still Bermuda! I very much enjoyed the weekend and would do the Challenge again.

I booked the trip through Marathon Tours–which took care of airport transfers, the bib, the pasta dinner, and the hotel (the start line for the half marathon was right out the front door of the hotel). I would highly recommend going this route for ease of trip planning.

The expo was bigger than I expected (I thought it would just be a bib pick up). Again, the expo (like the pasta dinner and the half marathon start) was in the hotel where I stayed (the Hamilton Princess).

The swag was great. A technical tee (one for the whole weekend, there wasn’t one per race), a jacket for those doing the Challenge. And the medals?!?! I received 4 medals–one for each event and one for completing the challenge. The medals magnetically connected to form one large triangle medal. Awesome.

The race course included some nasty hills. The worse part to me, though, was that for the 10k and the half marathon, the roads were open to traffic. Bermuda roads are quite narrow for cars normally, adding runners into the equation created some unsafe situations in my opinion.

I would highly recommend.

I’m sure that people PR’ed this weekend, but it is not an easy course. There are a lot of hills! And, it seems you can’t go a mile without hitting a boozy aid station (unofficial, of course). You by no means need to take part (I didn’t) but if you really wanted to party your way through a half or full, there were shots and beers along the route.

The race is well organized. Nice shirts (including a jacket) and medals. Food and beer at the finish. If possible, I do recommend doing the 5k on Saturday and then the half (or full) on Sunday.

I attended as a Half Fanatic and we received a unique medal. They also gave out medals for first timers, which is a nice touch.

Most reviews of this race start by mentioning the hills. But I must have been completely distracted by the city (and the rain) to notice them as I didn’t find this course (I did the half) that hilly. I expect some hills over the course of 13.1 miles, and there were certainly a couple, but they didn’t seem that bad to me. So, don’t let the mention of hills discourage you from signing up for this race. It’s a great choice for anyone looking to knock Missouri off your race list OR for anyone looking for an early fall race in a charming area.

I stayed at the host hotel (the Westin). The expo and the start/finish lines were just steps away. I recommend staying there.

The expo was in Union Station, which was (yes, I’ll use the word again) charming. This was a reunion race for Marathon Maniacs, Half Fanatics, and the 50 State Marathon Clubs, so they had a presence (not sure if they are there every year or not). The amount of expo vendors seemed appropriate for the size of the race event (so neither big nor small). Official merchandise for purchase was print on demand right there –a first for me. While I didn’t love the race shirt (though, happily, it is in black and not some neon color), I did like the exclusive Goodr sunglasses. Additionally, I liked the medal a lot.

The finish area included beer and BBQ, which was great.

Let me begin with the positive: everyone involved with the race is very nice. Each person I encountered was very enthusiastic about the events and looked after all the runners.

Some of my issues with the race are unique to runners like me (back of the pack) but some of the issues are regardless of whether you are 1st or last.

As a back of the pack runner, I should have hunted down course time limit information (it was not included on the site, and I used the prior year’s results as my guide). When I reached mile 14 I was informed that I would not have any more aid stations available to me (even though at that point, I was maintaining the course time limit pace). Fortunately, the above mentioned race volunteers/staff did ride by often to offer water. As I got to mile 25, the course was being broken down (working backwards from the finish line). So, that meant that I had no idea on the final turns of the course. There was no course map on the website, so I had to guess. I went a little out of my way, “felt” I had gone wrong and double backed and completed the course on the correct route.

Issues that would apply to all runners:
*The website was lacking in complete and accurate information:
–Course time limit (not included)
–Detailed course map (not included)
–Incorrectly states that you must drive to the shuttle buses that take all runners to the starting area (the limited emails received prior to the race stated that people who stay at the host hotel will be able to get a shuttle at the hotel).
*Be aware that it is not all downhill. There are at least 3 uphill sections.
*Seriously lacking in swag. Both the t-shirt and the medal lack both the race name and date. They just say “Run NMX.” The t-shirt is an odd material, too.

This is only the 2nd year for the race. I think they can work on improving, but as it is now, I wouldn’t recommend.

This is a race with purpose. You never forget why the race is held. The starting line is near the Oklahoma City Memorial and Museum (which looks beautiful in the early morning light). Throughout the course, you see banners with the names of all 168 people (including over two dozen children) who died in the OKC bombing. I went to the Memorial and Museum after the race and many runners had left their bibs and/or medals on the Memorial chairs–it was a powerful sight.

This was my first time running this race, but apparently this was a new course. The organizers did an excellent job of highlighting that they made changes this year and they were up front that there might be some hiccups, but they wanted to knock out the kinks this year before next year’s 20th anniversary of the run. The weekend seemed to run smoothly for me, so I’m not sure if there were any hiccups. Talking with some veterans, it seems like there were less spectators this year perhaps because people in the new parts of the course weren’t yet aware of all the runners that would be coming through their neighborhoods.

I found the course to be mostly flat. Yes, there were some hills, but I feel that is to be expected over the course of 26.2 miles! None were crazy big or long, though.

Expo was smooth. Participants receive a nice medal and two shirts (the 2nd after crossing the finish line).

There are several hotels in the vicinity of the start and finish areas, so getting around was easy. In addition to visiting the Memorial and Museum (free for runners, if you show your bib), I’d also recommend visiting the American Banjo Museum.

I would definitely recommend this race for runners looking to cross Oklahoma off their list–and those runners who like to run races with a greater purpose.

This is my third time running this particular race. It’s a decent race to finish out the year. Central Park is hilly (this route has you going up Cat Hill 3x and Harlem Hill 2x). NYCRuns races are smaller in scale than NYRR. The race production has definitely improved over the years (it was not uncommon for NYCRuns races to start late and to be a bit chaotic). Long sleeve white technical shirt and decent medal are the swag. Packet pick-up is only 6 hours long on Friday in a store near Union Square. Other options are to pick up on race day and/or have the bib mailed to you (for a fee. The t-shirt would need to be picked up on race day). There is plenty of water and Gatorade and a decent number of port-o-potties.

Manhattan and Brooklyn Half Marathons get a lot of attention. Visit one of the other NYC boroughs-Staten Island-to mix things up. The best way to get to and from the race is the (free) Staten Island Ferry. NYRR knows how to put on a race. Things run smoothly.

The course has some rolling hills, but nothing too awful. You get some nice views of the Bridge, Manhattan, and Governors Island.

Long sleeve technical shirt and a decent medal are the swag.

The Staten Island is one of the races you can do to get guaranteed entry into the NYC Half in March (you have to do 4 borough races).

Bottom line: I used to be wary of the effort to get to this race. It wasn’t that bad and it was an enjoyable day.

The first thing to note is that this race is raced on Pioneer’s Day, which is always July 24th. So this year (2018) the race was held on a Tuesday.

Pre-race:
-Small expo, but nice volunteers
-Wasn’t easy to find a pasta dinner the night before (I actually skipped pasta for this race).

Race day:
-Early morning meet up for buses to the start (~4am).
-You wait at the start for a bit of time (one hour or more) so be prepared: something to sit on, extra layer (as it is a bit chiller), and if you have something with a light it helps (it was VERY dark and the buses were driving through the crowd in the pitch dark–it’s amazing there were no problems!)
-The course is mostly downhill and beautiful
-Roughly 1 mile is actually on the parade route. People are lined up on both sides of the street for the parade. For the back of the packers (like me) the crowds were a little bored by the time I came by! There were a few floats that went by–literally right next to me.
-Roads are open, but traffic wasn’t heavy so it wasn’t bad.

This was a fun race weekend. The race was held on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend (so that made it convenient for travel–didn’t have to use up vacation days!). The weather can be unpredictable (it’s been cold and rainy and they also had to stop the race for heat a couple of years ago). This year was good weather.

There are some hills on the course, but they are mostly out of the way by mile 15. From there it is mainly flat to downhill. There are plenty of spectators out and–due to the course design (multiple points of up and back)–friends can see you multiple times throughout the race.

The pasta dinner the night before was well attended and fun (though this is the first time I’ve experienced the pasta being in a cream sauce instead of tomato). The medal was a good size. The shirt design was just okay–but it was a good material and navy blue.

There are plenty of hotels near the start/finish. If you do, you can walk/run to the expo (it’s a couple of miles away).

I highly recommend bringing bug spray! I definitely got bit a lot during the race.

Burlington, VT is a fun town. Church Street-closed to car traffic-is filled with stores and restaurants. You can barely walk 10 feet with hitting another craft brewery! The people are very nice and the area is very pretty. It’s a nice weekend away for you and any non-runners you might be traveling with.

This is a small NYC half marathon (~1,000 runners in 2018). Central Park has rolling hills, and for this race, you go over most of those hills 3 times.

There isn’t an expo, but a bib pick up at a sporting store (just one day-five hours) or you can pick up race morning.

The race starts later than most half marathons so–9am. NYCRuns has gotten much better about starting on time (I think they were actually early this year).

Blue long sleeve running shirt and a nice medal for swag.