Julie Ford's Staging Area

I participated in this race to knock out Oregon on my quest for 50 half’s in 50 states. I’ve not been so pleasantly surprised by a race as I was with this one. I expected just another small town race with “nothing to write home about”. I was so wrong! From the first communication with the race director, Mark, to the post race food, I would rate this as one of my top 5 favorite races. Yes, it was on the smaller scale, yes, it was in a small town. That didn’t stop it from exceeding all expectations. The cost was low, but I bought the custom race shirt. Still, for the money, this race rocks! The hooded lightweight shirt was fantastic – wore it home on the plane! The communication from the race director was concise and accurate. When he says the last bus leaves at 7:00am, it leaves at 7:00am. When the description of the race says “the first mile is uphill”, the first mile is uphill! But the next 6 were down and oh so beautiful. You are running through a paved rain forest! The scenery and foliage were gorgeous. The post race food was abundant and delicious! The volunteers were incredible – friendly, helpful & encouraging! Overall, this was a well produced half marathon with great scenery, volunteers and a great race director! If I lived closer, I’d do this race every year!

Good communication about the race. Beautiful start into the city to see historical buildings. So close to the Liberty Bell, would have been exciting to see it on the route too! Start and finish is by the famous museum steps in the Rocky movie (da da da, da da da)! Shirt and medal was ok (black shirt is just blah) and post race snacks were just ok. Volunteers were great. Most of the course outside of downtown was along the river. It was fun seeing the sculls and crew teams racing.

Good race to knock out New Mexico for a 50 state quest. It’s in January and weather was very nice. Start line communication was difficult to hear and it wasn’t that clear that there would be 2 laps around the track at the end. The course was nice and ran along a dry creek/river bed on a paved path. Post food was good and volunteers great. Shirt was a 1 although I liked the logo, it’s not a shirt I would use to train for other races. If I had my druthers, I’d run a small town race like this as opposed to a huge rock n roll production.

I have to admit, this is the ONLY trail run I do. There is a 15k (50k too) race also and if you do both you are awarded the challenge medal and shirt! I run this every year. I look forward to it and train in hills for it. It is run so smoothly and Melissa, the race director, has it down to a science. Shirts are always top quality and design is beautiful. Medal is well thought out also and something to be proud of. Post race food is the absolute best. Everything about these races is top notch. All of the Bass Pro Fitness series races are just as well run!

I remember the course wasn’t anything to write home about, but that post race party was! The live band was awesome! Think wedding reception music with a few thousand people! Oh and the bourbon tasting! Holy smokes! The food, the soups, the people! The long sleeve shirts were awesome too (run a bit small so size up). Medal was awesome too! Expo was meh. Race morning parking was plentiful on the streets. We signed up for one of the post race dinners – well worth it! Loved this race!