John McCusker's Staging Area

Great Staff, volunteers, and support crews. Day before: Expo was at Belfy High School. Small, but friendly local vendors. Number pickup was a breeze, and t-shirts were great. Spaghetti dinner was in the school cafeteria, served in trays, with a nice servers and desert. I met Hatfield after for a picture. The closest hotels are in Pikeville. I stayed in the Hampton Inn, nice place, but get a room that does not face Hambly Rd. It is a lot quieter.
Race Day: Parking was easy. Very short walk 50 meters to the yellow buses that are lined up. Nice conversations on the bus about the race and our races on the way to Matewan. The bus drops you right at the starting line, with plenty of port-a-potties there. A bugler plays the national anthem, then the races starts. Small group, around 150 runners. The hills start right way, mainly rolling. The course will take you through old historic and mainly abandon properties. The Swing Bridge was destroyed in the February Flood, so a slight change in the course. The first 6 miles were rolling and good, then the fun started. You turn left and run on a gravel road next to the rail road tracks, that lead you to the golf course, where you run around the golf course, some tricky hills, just follow the orange flags. Run under some train bridges. I heard a runner coming up behind me, but never passed me, but when I turned around to look it was a deer running with me. She then run up the hill. There were two more in the bushes also running. Passed the Sally McCoy house. Then the toughest part of the race, the Hill at Mile 10. Once climbing that the finish is ahead, just keep the Dairy Queen on your mind, as you might want to stop. Hatfield and McCoy wee at the finish with their shotguns. Nice large finisher medal and a large Ball Mason Jar as I won 2nd place in my age group. Mile markers at every mile. The Water Stations at every mile with the friendliest people ever! Nicely decorated, with snacks. Coming up to a station, they yell out, “water or Gatorade?” and they run over to you. They even filled up my bottles. Then they ask “where you from?” One station had a pig in a cage “Property of the McCoys. If this is your Pig, Prove It’ “The feud is over…We kept the Pig.” The volunteer said, “don’t steal my pig. :)”
This was an enjoyable Half Marathon, so different than any of the 55 other ones I have run.

New Smyrna Beach has been overbuilt, and didn’t plan parking lots. Arrive early, as this is the most challenging part of the race. Once settled in, the race itself is great. It starts on time with about 350 people in the 5K. It spreads out pretty quick as you run down Flager Ave. There are no Sharks, but Roosters on the course! There are many turns but nothing crazy, and a street with a sand base. Not too scenic, all small houses. First water stop is about 1.8 miles in, and they did have donuts there. Course is measured perfect. Nice big finisher medals, pint glass, t-shirt, and a Big Challenge medal. I would do the race again.

Great downtown, especially with the Festival of Trees. Stayed at Embassy Suites, just steps from the start, finish, and Expo. I ran the 10K then the 5K back to back. Both courses were scenic and finishing through all the decorated Christmas Trees, and inside the convention center. Number pickup line was long, but moved. Expo was medium sized, but fine and helpful. HTC needs better swag for purchase, as it was very minimal. Finisher medals were fine, but small compared to other half and marathon races. Hard to find a pasta dinner within walking distance. Yes, I still would recommend this race. I enjoyed it!

My first International Race. Small Expo. Bus ride to start. Unclear where pot-a-potties were. Found them outside on side street next to start. Many runners thought they were inside the mall. Nice start. Long streets. A little confusing toward the end, as there was no one to direct you on the course. Finish line area was fine. A nice Medal and extra shirt. I could never find the buses to go back to the hotel, so I ended up on the train lines, which was easy, but luckily, someone showed me where to go and how to pay my fare. This would be a locals race, perhaps training run, but still fun.

Done this race many times and enjoyed it every time. Fast Group or Slow Group corrals. Nice Out and Back Flat course. Nice Medal. T-shirt, VIP Tent, Expo. Nice staff and runners. I made some friends.