Holly Layman's Staging Area

I have participated in every Spacerock from the very beginning, and I have always loved it! (I can only speak to the 5k, as that’s the only distance I’ve raced.) Overall, I love the environment, the vibe, and the people! The race organizers pretty much have this down to a science. However, there were just a couple of hiccups. The 5k course is fairly well marked, but while I was waiting for my son to finish the half marathon after I’d finished my race, I noticed there were quite a few people running the longer distances who had taken a wrong turn towards the end of the course. (Luckily, my son wasn’t one of them.) I ended up directing some of those runners toward the finish for a little while. The other hiccup was with the swag bags. Instead of handing them out during packet pickup, they were handed out on the day of the race. There was some communications breakdown between the race organizers and participants resulting in people who were registering last minute getting bags while people who had registered ahead of time did not get theirs (my son and myself included). To me, that just didn’t make any sense. On the bright side, the organizers were very apologetic and sent out an email explaining (partially) why and how that happened, and that swag bags would be mailed to those who didn’t get them. On the one hand, it’s not a big deal. But on the other hand, considering how much race entry costs, I’d definitely like the swag! My only other criticism is that at that finish, they ran out of the electrolyte sports drink. They did have plenty of water, but when my son finished his race, he really was hoping for a sports drink. We ended up walking back to an aid station on our way out so he could get some.
Other than those hiccups, the race was well organized. I enjoyed myself and look forward to next year’s race!
ps – One of the things the organizers do is put on a course preview run. My son and I weren’t able to make this year’s, but we attended the previous year’s. I think it’s a fantastic thing and hope the organizers continue to have preview runs. The other thing I love is all the free race photos! Those are always fun to look at!

I have run every single Spacerock and loved all of them! The iconic setting alone is worth it, but the fun and friendly atmosphere along with the smoothly produced event make it that much more enjoyable. This is the one event I make sure not to miss!