Kyle Lovelace's Staging Area

Overall this was a very well run event. It was very cost effective which means no frills or extras but all that is clearly laid on in the website

What went well – Great communication leading up to the event. More than enough parking and open space at the starting area. The course was relatively flat and has plenty of signage/directions along the way. The event staff that interacted with were friendly and helpful

What could have been better – Its kind of hard to be critical because this was a lower cost event so you should not expected a lot of things that were not promised. You’re not going to get a course photographer, gels/snacks at the aid stations, run support from the community, course volunteers providing directions but again it was never promised

Bottom line – if you’re local and/or need to cross Rhode Island off your list then this is a great option. If you prefer a big production with a lot of runners and community support to keep you motivated then this might not be for you

I saw all the raving reviews about the race before I registered and they were are 100% correct, this is a great event that was very well organized

The expo flowed easily and had some great vendors and merchandise. Race day morning was a little bit congested and made it difficult to navigate to your coral so I ended up getting into an earlier one (I heard and saw a lot of people doing the same). The course was great but the run support was even better (except for the Kleenex stations. There were SO MANY used tissues on the course)

The only issue I had was how congested the post finish line area was. It seemed excessively fenced off as they tried to filter runners to the party area. I was just trying to leave and head back to the hotel and it took forever to get through all the people. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t an amazing event. Just something that could have been better

What went well – The starting area was in a park area that offered sufficient space for all the participants so you didn’t feel too crowded. Plenty of aid stations along the way. Once you left the downtown area, a lot of the course was in parks or nice neighborhoods. There were a few food vendors and a band in the park afterwards that gave a nice festive vibe

What could have been better – The first couple of miles went through a very unattractive downtown Wilmington. You go from a nice river front park immediately through decaying abandoned factories, a steel mill, the largest tent village I have ever seen and run down apartments. There were no waves and it was way too congested for over a mile from the start. The aid stations only had water and Gatorade; I didn’t see any sort of gels but one did have bags of chips from a sponsor and bananas which aren’t exactly easy to consume while running. The swag was very average and it would have been nice to have a distance specific medal. There was plenty of merch but it was probably the most generic designs you can imagine. Very little to no run support in case you look for that. Granted it was cold and a little rainy at times but even before and after the rain the crowds were pretty non existent

Course – It was very cool to be on a real runway and they even had a couple of planes that you could walk up to and take pics with. That said, the scenery got boring very fast. To be fair, that’s about what you should expect. It’s a runway, not a walk along the beach

Aid Stations – There was just one but it was a 5K and 10K so you shouldn’t need anything more than that. Seemed to be well stocked

Swag – Typical tech shirt that you would get from most events. I’m pretty sure it was the same shirt from last year but in a different color

Race Production – Great job with the shuttle buses to and from the event. Parking was at a much larger location than previous years and it went off without a hitch. Probably wouldn’t hurt to have people show their bibs to get on the bus. I heard at least a few people at the event say they hadn’t signed up and just ran it anyway. Kind of sad considering it is for a charity

Verdict –I am very happy I did it and loved the cause that PTI raises money and awareness for. Not sure I would feel the need to do it again but anyone interested should at least try it once

Course – was the Swamp Rabbit Trail so it was basically like any other converted railroad track. The first mile or so was pretty congested given the width of the trail and number of runners. Could have used a couple of waves to spread out the field. There were mile markers but no other signage. Granted 95% of it was a straight trail but once you got downtown there were several turns and not a single one had signage or volunteers directing runners. You had to hope you were following other runners and not a random person on the trail going a different direction. The trail is a net drop in elevation and went pretty fast outside of the congested areas

Aid Stations – pretty frequent and most seemed to be stocked with Gu packets and of course water and/or electrolytes. One of the later aid stations was bone dry with no fluids. I don’t think I have every seen one empty before on any race

Swag – the shirt was on par with other tech shirts you would get at other events. Great logo that is nice and prominent on the chest. Considering the cost of the race it would have been nice to have a separate shirt for the half marathoners and 5K runners. The finishers medal was a pretty weak. Small and not very creative. Like if you got it at a charity 5K event you would still be disappointed

Race Production – the few staff and volunteers that I interacted with were very nice but that was literally just two people. I asked one of them where the bus that we purchased a ticket to was located and they had no idea. They told me where they thought it was it was completely the wrong location. I didn’t see a single sign or person directing people where to find the bus. Thank goodness I found it by just walking around the entire area

Verdict – it was still a nice time because the weather was perfect, the other runners were very cool and polite. The finish area was very attractive being in a nice part of downtown Greenville. It’s not a bad race but I wouldn’t go out of my way to do it again

The course was more technical than I expected compared to other trail runs I have done. A LOT of rocks and roots that were quite often hidden by leaves. That’s not a knock on the event, just be prepared to be challenged

Aid stations, volunteers, course guides and event staff were amazing as they always are with Trivium events. The pre-race instructions were helpful because I had never been on this course and it reliefed some stress that I had being in a new place

I love the hoodie and ‘award winner’ coffee mug. The hoodie was an additional option and I wish more races would offer upgrades like this. The shirt design was very pixelated (as seems to often be the case with their events) and the wooden finisher metal was a disappointment

The later start provided a little bit of warmer weather and helped those who had a busy Thanksgiving the day before

I could definitely see me doing this event again next year!

I see why this event gets so much hype! Great energy, production, swag, aid stations and finish

Pros: Finishing in the end zone of the stadium. Sounds a little corny but being tossed a football and crossing the goal line was actually a very cool way to end the race. The course was relatively easy and had amazing traffic support from police and volunteers. The local Elks club served everyone hot dogs and burgers that which was very gracious of them to do for us especially considering the cold and rain

Cons: Parts of the course could be described as ‘Where you don’t want to be in Huntington alone at night’. I would love if there had been a way to swap those parts out and see more of the campus. It’s not uncommon, but charging for pics was a little disappointing when you factor in the price point of the registration fee

Im trying the 50 State thing and this was my pick for West Virginia so I don’t think I will do it again but would definitely recommend it to others who are local and/or needing an event in WV

What else needs to be said but you’re running inside Yankee frickin’ Stadium. Not just the start or just the end of the race but the entire race!

Course – you start off running a few laps around the main concourse before heading down to field level where only staff and players are allowed. From there you actually run on the field and take two laps around the warning track. There was a video cameraman on the field that was projecting runners onto the jumbotron screen. It gets a little challenging from there as you take steps up to the 400 level for another lap before heading down the ramps back to the main concourse and finish line

Race Production – top notch and you could tell it was a professional event planner in charge that took full advantage of stadium amenities. You parked in the parking deck attached to the stadium that made for a very short walk to check-in inside the team store, which flowed very fast. Corrals were based on your expected finish and they were paced well enough that it wasn’t crowded at all on the course. While you waited for your corral, you could wait in the Delta Sky Box that had food and drinks for sale. Your friends and family were welcome in the Sky Box too so they could watch and cheer you on

Swag – nice long sleeve tech shirt and medal that were definitely above average quality

Verdict – I will absolutely do this event again and would love to make it an annual trip with the family