Julie Ford's Staging Area

I enjoyed the race and the course had many scenic views. The medal and shirt were decent. Post race featured good donuts and a lobster roll. The only negative was the traffic coming back into town. It seemed a bit chaotic and it seemed as though it was the runner’s responsibility to hop across lanes of traffic with no volunteers to help. Overall it was a good race and a good choice for Massachusetts.

This is a race I love to support every year. The people of the town of Adrian have such a great attitude and loving hearts. The course has alot of uphill but doable. The swag is great with good quality LS wicking shirts and the “medals” are handmade by the HS shop class. Post race food is good. Highly recommend to support a town and the local HS track.

We heeded the warnings about parking and arrived early. We scoped out the parking situation beforehand so we did not have any difficulties. We parked at a school and had a short walk to the start/finish area. Overall it was a good race and well supported. The bike path portion of the full marathon was average but got through it and back to the street portion of the race. The race shirt and medal were both of good quality. We enjoyed visiting the Raleigh area!

Great race all around. Absolutely no complaints. Just the right amount of runners where you don’t feel crowded but yet not lonely. Somehow I didn’t look at the elevation profile and was pleasantly surprised by the net elevation loss, leading to a PR! The indoor waiting area at the school pre-race was a plus. Friendly volunteers and pockets of crowd support. Pretty fall scenery and the unexpected run through a cemetery. Nice little swag items in the pre-race bag. Hot soup and chocolate milk at the finish. Hotels seemed a bit pricey and ended up staying in Brattleboro, VT so we had a short drive in morning of the race. Great race for NH. Highly recommend! Quality shirt and medal.

This was my first trip to Switzerland and wanted to incorporate a race. We chose the right race! Even though I “only” ran the half it was a wonderful experience. Race logistics were easy. Bib is your train ride back into town but we also used the bib to explore the Gornegrat the day before the race. The views were spectacular. Post race area was great and well spread out. A pasta dinner was included. We returned to have a bartwurst after the race and stayed to watch the awards. Award winners got huge wedges and wheels of Gruyeres cheese! I highly recommend this race!

This is a must do race and ranks tied for my #1 slot in the race with the best “experience”. The people of Millinocket are wonderful. Please be sure to research the history of the race. There is no official entry fee but everyone is expected to support the town in some way. Options include donating to the local food bank, buying items at the artisan fair (which is actually the bib pick up), eat at local restaurants shop at local stores. There are no official aid stations but there are plenty of “pop up” stops with enthusiastic people serving everything from water, warm maple syrup shots, and lots of Fireball. Be prepared for any type of weather and have your own water and nutrition just in case. This year it was rainy but some years it can be bitterly cold. All of the mile marker signs are hand made and some are very fancy. Unfortunately we did not get the view of Mt Katahdin this year due to the rain. Be sure to participate in the Crankle 2K Friday night. A local aritsan has wood medals for sale and a local business offers shirts/hoodies. Book lodging early if you want to stay in town. I highly recommend the Baxter Park Inn. If you go please consider having dinner at the American Legion the night before the race for spaghetti and pancake dinner. Plenty of businesses offer warming stations before and after the race and there is a fire pit near the finish line. Do yourself a favor and RUN THIS RACE! It won’t be a PR but your heart will be filled by the end.

This was my first time to Baltimore and traveled solo (no rental car). Getting to the race was easy by the train but was glad to have other runners with me. I stayed downtown at the Hilton. I only walked around Camden and the immediate area to get to the expo and Inner Harbor. Other than that I did not feel safe venturing too far away. The race itself had great execution. The medal was top notch and I like the UA long sleeve shirt. The course was hilly but not overly so. The zoo area was nice other than that I was not impressed. I have run some other larger city marathons and this one would be at the bottom of the list for scenery. Baltimore is a failing city and it is sad to see. I am not disappointed that I ran the race but it is not a race I would go back for. The finish line area was nice but nothing spectacular for post race food although you did get 2 beers included.

What an incredible experience with absolutely gorgeous scenery. I thought I was prepared by doing lots of training runs at 5-6000 ft but adding another few thousand feet of elevation makes a big difference. It is a difficult course but oh so worth it. Come prepared with lots of water and food but I thought the water stops on course were good. The bus ride to the start is an adventure in itself but it all adds to making a very memorable event. Plan to come and enjoy the jaw dropping scenery, get a PW (personal worst), and save some energy for the hills at the end. The RD is very friendly as well as everyone in the town of Ennis. It is a smaller race but I never felt alone on the course and all of the other runners were encouraging of one another.

I had a wonderful time in Baton Rouge! Everything was top notch. The best part was the finish line festival! I couldn’t believe all of the local food and beer samplings. The medal was very nice. I really enjoyed the course , especially the area around LSU. Overall a great January marathon .