Heber Rosa's Staging Area

This is a medium size race (about 3200 runners for the half in 2024). Runs together with the full marathon. Course is flat with only a couple of down and up on underpasses. It is a great running tour of the Fargo core, passing through nice neighborhoods and the main downtown district. The route usually includes a paved trail bordering the Red River. That would’ve been a great scenic area. But this year they changed the route at last minute due to flooding in the preceding week. Safety first !! I’m cool with that. Lots of cheerful locals along the way. Excellent volunteer and hydration support. If you have North Dakota in your racing bucket list, this is a fantastic choice.

One of my favorite races (x4) because there so much to do in DC. Also the weather is usually very nice. This year (2024) was perfect, sunny and temp in the low 50s F (low 10s C) at race time.
This is a large venue race with 12,000+ runners in 20 corrals. Plenty of porta-potties, but with so many runners, there is going to be a line.
Easy to get to the expo and start/finish using the Metro. The expo was a bit lackluster this year. Mostly RnR stuff with a few additional vendors.
Race is point to point, but start and finish are very close to each other and to the National Mall. The RnR website has a downloadable map.
The first 5 1/2 miles is easy-ish, with some gentle up and downs thru wide avenues and recognizable landmarks. Then you get to the Rock Creek Parkway that runs thru a nature park. This is the “peaceful” part of the race until mile 7.5 when you reach this “monumental” climb. It is only 0.2 miles, but is 100 ft straight up !! Save your energy because It takes power to get up there (don’t worry just about everybody walks this, even with the drill sergeant at the beginning of the climb encouraging everybody). This is the climax and hardest part of the race.
Now you’re running thru the nice neighborhoods of DC. Up to mile 9 is “rolling hills”. After that is mostly downhill picking up speed once you make the turn at mile 10.5 into N Street toward the Capitol. You got one last short uphill after mile 12.5, then is down and fast to the end.
Water stations are every 2 miles and long enough not to have to bottleneck at the first tables (but happens anyway). I was surprised not to see electrolytes drinks but only in a couple of the stations. There is one gel station at about mile 8.5 .
Lots of people cheering along the way, a few bands playing along the way, and very lively band at the end. There is simply water, granola bars/chips/bananas at the end. There is one beer/ (glass of) wine included, but you need ID (I know, who runs with their ID?!). Therefore, bring your ID to the expo to get the (I’m old enough to drink) wrist band, and bypass the screening right after the race, if you want your adult beverage.
As a plus, a few warmer than usual days before the race brought most of the cherry blossom trees in the area to an earlier bloom. Nature is spectacular !!

Pros:
– This is in the very large race category. It is obvious that a lot of details were considered in the preparation before, during and after the race. Overall very well managed.
– Point-to-point course. For me that is usually a “con”, but the start and the finish are only a few blocks away. Both are easily accessible from all downtown hotels, especially near the Convention Center.
– Excellent pre-race communication. Very good race app.
– Gigantic expo with all the leading shoes and racing gear brands present.
– Post race recovery area inside the Convention Center is enormous, with multiple port-a-lets and changing area. Only accessible to runners. They include a most pleasant served breakfast! (scramble eggs, sausages, mini pancakes and biscuit) and snacks (bananas, fruit bars, cookies, ice cream) with a large section of multiple tables to sit and enjoy it. This is followed by a wide organized spectators meeting area.
– In race hydration stations were plentiful (every 1.5 to 2 miles (2.5-3.5 Km)). All having electrolyte drinks first, then water.
– Medical and security personnel all along the course.
– Very enthusiastic volunteers and cheering crowd through the entire course.
– Relatively easy flat course (but .. see cons below). No bridges. (FYI: For Race Raves lower difficulty score is better/easier).
Cons:
– Very popular and crowded race (14K for the half plus 10K (?) for the full) running together until the course splits just after 8 miles. I think is fun but don’t expect a personal best unless you are in the front corrals (some decent times for elite international runners getting ready for the Paris Summer Olympics).
– Not exactly a “scenic” route. There a some beautiful neighborhoods in the mid part of the race. Not much shade. But because is January this isn’t usually an issue. Bring your sunblock and running shades, though.
– Hydration stations only in one side of the road which create some confusion and bumping with such a wide field of runners. I’ve been in other very large races having signs about a quarter mile before the oasis, letting runners know that hydration is ahead to the left or right. This race doesn’t have such signs.
– The area immediately after the finish line was quite narrow leading to very slow and chaotic flow of runners into the post race area.
– Race shirt and medals were just too ordinary. You can barely make that the medal is from Houston. You get your T-shirt in the post race area after completing the race, I guess because the expo is so packed.