Russell Haller's Staging Area

This is a event that goes around Virginia Beach’s Mount Trashmore. It says on the road trail that goes around the actual hill so its a pretty flat course. Road Rage Events put on nice events and always have pretty cool SWAG to give away for all their events. They also give out same day age awards. If your looking for a race in the area this is a good one to participate in as there was a good turn out.

This was a very fun event to do on Memorial Day, to honor he Fallen and Freedom. You run though the Yorktown Battlefield area and it was a very fun experience. I absolutely love the shirt that they gave out for SWAG, and the medal you got for finishing top 3 overall, Masters, and Age Division by 5 Years was nice. It was also an Age Graded team event so its always cool when they put those on. They had snacks and giveaways and had a nice tribute speech at the end of the race. Very memorable and overall a great time.

This event was a trail race, and the course was very well kept. It had some hills but nothing too extreme, so it was pretty fast for a trail course. As always with J&A they put on fantastic events with great giveaways and SWAG. You got your athletic event t-race shirt, finisher medal, a bag (would be good for make-up or accessories) a rose to give to that special mom, beer, donuts. They also had other companies selling stuff at the event and had a live band for the after party. Its always a good time with J&A and I always look forward to running the events they hold.

This was the main event to the Tidewater Striders Spring Festival. its a 6.55mi down and back, if you did the Marathon it was 2 laps of the down and back. It was very well organized. The SWAG was nice, as you got a technical event shirt, and medal. If you won overall, masters, or age division by 10s you got awards as well. If you ran the Marathon and you Boston Qualified you got another award as well. Its a nice and easy flat course but if you need a crowd for motivation this is not the one as there are not many spectators on the course.

This is a nice 10K though the historic Yorktown, VA. It starts off with a pretty steep short hill climb but its not too bad in my opinion. This year it is part of the area’s 3 Club Challenge Medal, and the Hampton Roads Super Grand Prix events. There were prize money for top runners overall and masters, as well as awards to be mailed out to age divisions. The packet pick up was easy and the after party was nice we the obvious free beer but also Tropical Smoothie so that was nice. It was a very fun and enjoyable event and a nice race to do if your looking for races in the Hampton Roads area.

My Rankings for the Race:

Overall – 26
Male – 19
Division – 2

Its a J&A event so its going to be awesome. The Expo is Great, The SWAG is great, The after party is Great, This was an easy course nice and flat so if you are looking for a PR this is a good race to participate in. It was a very windy on this day and you ran into the wind for the last portion of the Marathon. There are always lots of people to cheer you on and motivate you so it was a really fun day. This is at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront and finishes at the Neptune Statue so that’s always cool. You also get to run through 2 military bases so that is always a great experience for non-Military people. I was doing really well until about the 20.5mile mark and then I started to have leg problems but I was able to push it out and finish and still get a PR. I look forward to continued progression as hope to get Boston Qualified one day.

This is a well put together Marathon, it is a point to point so that is really neat. There are aid, and water/Gatorade stations all over the course, the water stations were ever 2 miles and water/Gatorade were every 4 I believe. They gave you an energy gel twice throughout the course, and lots of people were around to cheer you on!!! The route took you though a lot of scenic and historic areas. I highly recommend this event!!!.

This is a straight down and back flat course. The only SWAG you get is a pair of Gloves (They are nice though) and if you purchased the series SWAG you got a nice hooded long sleeve shirt. This is race 3 of 3 of a race series held by the Tidewater Striders, to get you ready for the Shamrock Marathon. There are plenty of water/Gatorade points and they give out lots of GU along the way as well. Very well organized and a great fun small event to prepare you for bigger events.

This is a very well set up event, The course is Half trail and half road and you run the same loop 10 times every hour on the hour for 10 hours for a total of 50K. J&A as always is a great host, the set up at base camp was phenomenal, with coffee, water, nuun, snacks/food soup, Honeystinger gels etc. Through out the event they had a raffle at the start of each loop and if you missed it the continuously kept reminding you of the numbers. For me this this was a little challenging mentally and physically as the most I ever ran was 20miles, but they kept the motivation up and kept me going if your looking for a challenge and in the area I highly recommend this event.

This was my first off-road trail race. It was a good experience as I have only done road races up to that point. It was very well organized, with proper markings and aid/water stations set up along the way. My inexperience got the best of me as while going through the woods on the tight bike trials I took a couple of falls. It was a lot of fun and I would recommend it.

This is a nice way to start the year. Its a down and back 5k on the Virginia Beach, Board Walk. Its nice and flat. The day was a little windy and chilly so good thing it was only a 5k as it was a quick race. The only SWAG you get is a towel. If you place in overall, masters, or your age you do get a medal so that is nice as well. There is an after party, I did not attend so I’m not sure how that was. But overall its a nice way to start the year off running.

The weather for this event was really cold. You run though downtown Norfolk, VA, and the event is held fight next to the Nauticus Battleship Wisconsin so it is very scenic. You got great SWAG, Beer and food for finishing the event, and it had a live band performing old rock songs. Its a really fun event and a must for anybody in the area.

This is a fun 5k to run, you get to run though down town and you go though some neighborhoods. This run has a bridge you must cross so there are some up hill points so beware if you don’t like that. They do give you beer and pizza for participating along with the SWAG. They also give you Medals at the event for placing in your age bracket as well.

This was a fun little event to kick of J&A Wicked Series. They had a lot of stuff going on such as a costume contest, and a live DJ. This event you get a T shirt and a finisher medal. Its very well put together and a very enjoyable event to participate in.

The 2022 race was canceled due to weather so I ran it virtually. The SWAG is nice just like all the J&A races I look forward to 2023, you get a t shirt, and a finisher medal. This event also has the shell yeah challenge which is doing both the 5k and half marathon.

This was my first race I ever signed up for. I hit my goals I wanted to achieve so that was pretty cool. This race goes though Busch Gardens and it is hilly, all though the lights are set up, its day light so you really don’t get to enjoy them. They do give you a free pass to the park during the regular season the next year, and a discount for the Christmas Town that year as well as a Chick-fil-A card for an item. You also get an event shirt, and a finisher medal.