Drew Sheppard's Staging Area

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.

If you live and run in NYC, you are quite used to races in Central Park–rolling hills, multiple loops, some scenery and some spectators. NYRR knows how to put on a race, so it is quite organized. Because the course involves two 5 mile loops and one ~3 mile loop, there is some bunching up of runners (faster runners looping the slower runners). That can be frustrating for all, but it didn’t seem as bad this year as it was last year.

Rather than a race shirt, we got a winter hat this year. Similar medal as last year.

Mother Nature added to the scenery for this year’s race. Snowfall the day before the race added some beauty and holiday magic to the day. It was cold. And Central Park is hilly. But it was a good day.

NYCRuns has been getting more organized–which is nice to see. They almost started EARLY this year (I feel like the often start late). The medal matched the name–it was a big apple.

The shirt was a long sleeve technical shirt in blue–which I like.

I ran the inaugural Rock N Roll full marathon (in 2010), and went back this year (2017) to run the half marathon. This year I also ran the 5k and 1-miler the next day (with my Mom). So lots of medals this weekend!

Rock N Roll knows how to do this. It is organized. The expo is medium size (no doubt many vendors go to the larger NYC Marathon, happening the same weekend). And they got decent swag – medals and shirts.

The course is mostly flat. I found the 5k course to be more scenic than the half marathon. Not a lot of spectators, but those that are out are enthusiastic and fun.

It was warm, but not too humid.

Savannah is a nice city to visit and it is an enjoyable weekend.

The big stress for 2017 was whether or not the even would even happen! The organizers kept saying, “Don’t worry, it will be fine” while the city was saying, “You don’t have the permits.” It was only a few weeks before race day that everything was officially locked down.

I had never been to Portland, and I very much enjoyed the trip. Race day was perfect–cooler, overcast, occasional light mist–and the course is mostly flat (except for a crazy hill at mile 9). Despite all of that, I didn’t have a great race day. Might have been too soon (2 weeks) from last marathon.

I had heard it was a very scenic race, but I didn’t find it to be so. It’s possible that the course changes this year removed some of the scenic parts.

Expo is at the host hotel. On the smaller side.
The start and finish areas were well organized.
The race shirt is given after you complete the race. I didn’t like this year’s shirt, but I saw other years’ shirts and they were nicer.
In addition to the shirt and the medal, each finisher is given a coin and a small pendent. And, they give out seedlings, too.

Everyone involved with the race that I encountered was nice.

This is my 2nd Rock N Roll Philadelphia race (and I’ve run the Philadelphia marathon once) and Philly is one of my favorite running towns. It is mostly flat. You run near/through parks and the river.

RnR Philly has multiple events over the course of the weekend. 5k and 10k on Saturday and then the half marathon on Sunday. If you run one of the Saturday races plus the Sunday race you get an extra medal (the “Remix Challenge” medal).

RnR generally has good swag – nice shirts and medals. While I wouldn’t say these were the best RnR medals, they were nice.

What is similar to other Rock N Roll races:
-Multiple weekend events. I did the 5k on Saturday and the half on Sunday. The entire 5k was in a park, the half had different locations for the start and the finish.
-If you compete in two races, you get a “Remix” medal.
-If you’ve competed in an US race + this race, you get a “World Rocker” medal.
-All the medals were nice.
-The race shirts were great.
-Rock N Roll is a good organizer, so things are mostly smooth.

What is different than other Rock N Roll races:
-The Expo is non-existent. It is really just a bib pick-up.
-There is limited water. No water on the course for the 5k. For the half, they gave out bottles of water a few times during the race.
-It was a bit of a pain in the butt to get to the start/finish.
-This race (like other European races I’ve done) have urinal tents in addition to the regular port-o-potties – I wish US races would add this!! It speeds things up.
-I didn’t think that there were many bands along the course, but that didn’t bother me.
-Of all the races I’ve done, this is the only one that did non-alcoholic beer at the beer tent (no alcohol was available at all). That shocked me. For Ireland?

It’s great race weekend and a nice place to visit. I would definitely recommend.

I ran the inaugural Rock N Roll Seattle Marathon in 2009 and liked that course better (more scenic). If I remember correctly, in 2009 you HAD to take the shuttle to the start. Transportation to the start in 2017 was a bit more chaotic. I took Uber, which was fine, but I would recommend either allowing more time than you think for driving or ride-sharing to the start or take the shuttle. Traffic was sort of bad. This created a scenario where the back corrals were packed because some of the faster runners arrived late and had to start with those of us that are a bit slower. That, in turn, causes some tension when things are crowded the first several miles.

This race had a blue mile mid-way through the half–which I always fine quite moving.

The expo was a decent size. I liked the medal and shirt.

The day before there was a 5k (I think it was the 1st time they had a 5k) and I would recommend it.

The Palisades cliffs make for beautiful scenery – and quite a bit of climbing. This race is in Fort Lee, NJ – just over the George Washington Bridge from NYC. Small race (less than 300 runners) with a nice community feel. Despite the challenge of the uphills, I really enjoyed this race. The course is out and back and run on both paths and trails. A decent number of water stations, not a lot of port-o-potties, though. Nice shirt and medal.

I had heard that the course was hilly – which it was – but it wasn’t as bad as I expected. You get the bridges out of the way at the start. This was a new course this year. They need to work out some kinks.

The start was a bit of a mess. It was difficult to get to the corrals. And then after crossing the finish line, you had to walk about a half mile to the finisher’s celebration area (which was annoying). And by the time I got there, everything was taken down. Also, the photographers at the finish line were distracted (texting) and weren’t taking photos. Yes, I was cranky (and probably hangry) at the finish.

There were some nice scenery – parks, river – but lots of not great scenery, too. And, I was surprised by the lack of spectators.

The volunteers were nice. If you ran the challenge (Saturday’s 5k and Sunday’s marathon) you got an extra medal plus a sweatshirt. I enjoyed St. Louis and was glad to see the Arch in person. I just was sort of disappointed in the race itself. I expected more.

This is a typical Rock N Roll race – 2,300 full marathoners & 13,000 half marathoners. The half marathoners started 90 minutes after the full, so there wasn’t the usual bottlenecking of the combined races.

Strangely, there was more security at the expo than at the race itself.

Very little spectators and the course is fairly nondescript. I had hoped we’d run by more of the famous sites.

There was a “blue mile” for those men and women of the military who lost their lives while serving. It was the most moving part of the day (even though it was on one of the worst hills of the course).

At the end, you receive a medal and a finisher’s jacket.