Kaili Nielsen's Staging Area

Much of the course was through parks which was appreciated both for the lovely scenery and the shade from the trees. The course was fairly easy (a nice treat after doubling with the Mt Rushmore Half the day prior… which was… NOT easy). I loved the hoodie in my swag bag…. I have sooo many running shirts and love hoodies in general so this was a great change up.
Unfortunately, it really didn’t seem like there were enough porta-potties for the size of the race, either at the start or on the course. While I faired ok in that department, the lines were still super long when the race started.

Well organized, city run. Great race side music. Everything went smoothly from start to finish and plenty of porta-potties before and during the race. The course followed the bay and through some sweet neighborhoods. Had my first Lobster Roll from the truck afterwards and it was everything, HIGHLY recommend making that part of your race experience. Nice little beer garden near the finish where you can drink and cheer in the rest of the runners.

This is a challenging course- surprisingly, the 3500 ft climb to the summit wasn’t the hard part. The trail is technical, snow or mud covered in places. Some snow sliding was unavoidable this year (wish I would have worn my gloves for this). I can’t believe how well organized and supported this race is for the remoteness of the majority of the course. Climbing, views, wind, rain, mud, snow, downhill running, and comradery were all a part of this race. Oh- and I was grateful for the gear requirements, the top was a whole different ball game than the bottom and I was glad to have extra layers.

VR is a well oiled machine; everything went off without a hitch. Great race support, organization and photo ops. On a clear day, I’m sure the course is stunning, with low overcast and no view of the mountains, I found it a bit boring. That said, weather and temp was perfect for race day! I struggled dealing with the elevation coming from sea level.

This was the most beautiful and challenging course I’ve run. There was never a dull part- but don’t get too lost in the beauty, this course requires focus for every foot fall (I got distracted on an easy, level part and completely ate sh**). The weather called for light rain (my favorite!) but race day brought freezing rain all morning and then thick snow fall as the race got underway…. found out later from a local that the nearest weather station rarely accurately predicts the park weather. Moral of the story, be prepared for anything and if you’re traveling, pack your whole kit whether you think you’ll need it or not. I was under prepared for the conditions and was lucky not to have had a more serious outcome.