L.E. Sunshine Fulmer's Staging Area

I ran this race April 22, 2023. This is a very small, local race organized by the UCC church in Dover: there were only about 40 runners. It was well-organized with minimal, but clear, instructions via email and on the website ahead of race day, and easy packet pick up on the morning of the race. I love the tshirt (I’m wearing right now, in fact); it’s one of my favorite race shirts in my adventures so far. Neither the tshirt or the medal have the date or year on them, I figure that it is because it’s such a small race, this saves some production costs (no big deal for me; I record in sharpie the race details on the back of my medals anyway). The post-race snacks were lovely: homemade chili, cookies, local pizza, and more, all hosted by church members. I got to meet Lorraine, who made the chili. 🙂 My only complaint with this race was the course: the route had runners running **with traffic** on the right-hand side of the road, on roads that were totally open to vehicles. If I were running in my neighborhood at home, I would have worn bright colors and been running safely on the left side, facing traffic. By contrast, this course felt unsafe. Trucks passed by us with barely an elbow’s length of space, and our backs were to oncoming traffic. Because the race was so small, runners were spread out and cars probably didn’t even know a race was taking place. The course was a major concern, and I’ll email the race director to let them know. Things would have been so much safer if they had directed runners to run against traffic on the left side (and giving us a heads up to wear brightly colored running gear would have been a good idea, too), but aid stations and volunteers were all located on the right-hand side, directing runners to stay to that side. Yikes. Other than this issue, the route was fine; nothing gorgeous or exciting, but a generally nice route through some town and country roads, crossing the Cochecho River twice. The course was mostly flat or rolling hills on paved roads, with the exception of a short trail section leading to a footbridge and one long hill at mile 8. We stayed in nearby Portsmouth, NH for the weekend, which I recommend. Overall, I probably wouldn’t run this race again, but did enjoy the overall low-key and friendly nature of the event.

I ran this race March 26, 2023. The weather was absolutely perfect, and the course was smooth sailing on a paved rail-trail. There was a hill at mile 7 or so, but it wasn’t too bad; the rest was pancake flat and mostly shaded. Race spectators were fun: there was a group giving tequila shots calling themselves “South of the Border,” including music and signs mimicking those retro billboards all the way to Florida. Very funny. The timing of the race this year coincided with DC’s cherry blossom festival, so you can imagine all the gorgeous flowering trees along this race route. Swag this year included a small medal and a pretty cool trucker-style running hat. Post race snacks were good and pretty typical (I think bananas and bagels) and there was a physical therapy tent available for treatment, which is always nice. The race was medium-sized, which was perfect for me (I don’t love the huge races), parking was easy, and communication ahead of time was simple and smooth. I highly recommend this race if you are aiming to PR. I wasn’t really trying for a PR, and got within a couple of minutes of mine. The timing of this race in the spring and the simplicity of the course make it one I would definitely run again.

This was Day #3, Colorado, in the four day race series. The trail changes a little from year to year, we are told. This year, the Colorado day was a beautiful couple of miles down towards the San Juan River, which included two miles (four total) of deep sand. It was the most challenging day by far. A great deal of fun, but definitely difficult. The trails also included narrow cliff-side areas, rough rocks, etc, like Day #2 Utah did. See my review for Day #1 for more details on the whole race.

I ran this race November, 2022. The weather was an unusual 70 degrees with slight breeze, and it rained for about 20 minutes late in the race (just when I needed it). This was not typical weather for the Finger Lakes this time of year. So that was lucky, and if you do this race, be prepared for chillier weather. This is a well-produced, organized race, with good swag (nice jacket and medal), and no frills.

This race is put on by Southern Tier Running Club (STRC). The course starts at SUNY Corning Community College, runs two loops around the campus buildings and parking lots, then proceeds through some lovely mountaintop neighborhoods with distant views of hills and foliage. Miles 1-4 are easy for spectators to get to. The last several miles are on country roads with some traffic, including the last two and a half miles along West Caton Road, which was pretty busy.

This course is hilly. Mile 7-8, along Spencer Hill Road, is the most significant hill, with a mile-long, steep incline. Some runners call it “religion hill,” I heard, because it is so challenging that “runners will find religion,” I guess, lol. Before mile 7, there are also lots of shorter, tough hills as well. After mile 8, it is almost (but not all) downhill. While the official description on the race website minimizes the hills, “The course has rolling hills with an overall elevation loss of 701 feet,” this belies the fact that so many hills makes for a challenging race, even if there are lots of accompanying downhills.

For a smaller race, there was solid on-course support and aid stations with water, Gatorade, and gels. Packet pick up (once we found it) was easy, indoor bathrooms at the start and finish were convenient, and race officials did a good job directing runners and holding off traffic.

Other than the nice swag, this is a no-frills race. The start line consisted of two orange cones with a starting chip pad, and there is not a pre-race expo, or music. It is a smallish local race that is well organized by STRC. A post-event celebration inside the American Legion adjacent to the race finish had food, which was mostly gone pretty quick. Family and guests of the runners were welcome to the celebration, too, which was nice. Afterwards, we went to the Corning Museum of Glass which was phenomenal. I highly recommend going there if you are in the area.

Overall, I wouldn’t run this race again, but probably would do another produced by Southern Tier Running Club (with fewer hills, lol).

I ran this race April 10, 2022, and got a PR. It is a flat, paved course through the towpath and near the nature center, with only a couple tiny hills over the bridges (as other reviewers have noted). The weather the day I ran it was in the 30’s at start, but good for racing and it warmed up by the end. Race communication was minimal; I would have liked more info on details and at least a little bit of “yay, the race is next weekend” kind of hype, but there was none. In fact, there was so little communication I was worried I got the race date wrong…but this kind of thing may be fine for others. lol. The medal was sweet: a good size, not huge, with images of the canal and towpath, and the date. The shirt was unremarkable. Others have mentioned post-race beer and celebration, but maybe this was a pre-covid thing? When I ran it in 2022, there was an inflatable arch at the finish, an announcer, and music, but no real post-race celebrations, and not a lot of people. A couple of vendors and nonprofits had tables, which was nice, but there wasn’t a celebration to speak of. We stayed at the Drury Plaza Hotel downtown, which had great rates for the weekend, and spent several hours at the Cleveland Zoo during our time there. Overall, I would recommend this race for someone who lives in the Cleveland area, but it is not a very travel-worthy race (unless you’re aiming for 50 states, and it fits your schedule, like it did mine).

I ran this as my first ever half marathon in April 2013. The course is a gorgeous combination of Allentown’s Little Lehigh Parkway, some roads, through paved paths in Cedar Beach park, and a finish in the Allen High School track and football stadium. One of the best features of the race was having bands play music throughout the course. Local rock bands, blues, funk, marching bands, and more were staged along the route — a totally enjoyable and unique experience. Some parts of the race are along the parkway, which is made up of tightly packed small gravel (I’ve heard it called cinder), and not very technical, but road runners should be aware that the race is not entirely on paved roadway. There are a couple of old bridges across the Little Lehigh Creek, including the beautiful covered Bogart’s Bridge. The finish line is in a stadium where you have to run slightly uphill, which sounds awful, but it actually was very fun with more great music and crowds which all had a good view of entering runners. Overall lots of community support. The race expo the day before was large and full of fun swag. Race day weather was absolutely perfect – mid 50’s and sunny. If I found myself back in town on race day, I would definitely run this well-produced race again.