Karen Jorenby's Staging Area

This race was well done. The after party was one of the best I’ve seen with food trucks and a well stocked beer and wine tent situated at the end of the race so we could watch the marathoners come it. Live music. The scenery was nice but not amazing. Swag was cool in that they had someone there adding little extras to your race shirt, I got a red crab! Cool place to visit with great seafood; check out Acadia National Park while you are in the area.

The bus transportation is smooth, but you need to plan for it. It’s a great place to vacation to, take in Red Rock Canyon, Fire of the Valley and Zion while you are there.

It’s not necessarily a beautiful run, it zig zags through town and residential areas, but the mountains in the background were beautiful. The race shirts and expo were really nice and so was the medal.

This was my first Rock-n-Roll half marathon. Unfortunately, the cool rain was relentless; it never stopped. The full marathon was actually cancelled the morning of and the half race start was delayed. No doubt in my mind, had the weather cooperated, this would have easily made my Top 3 list. Much of the race was through old Savannah, fun if you like history.

What a fun place to visit!

Wow, you start with a pretty good hill and then have a huge hill about mile 7, when you weren’t running up hill it felt like a gradual and continuous incline. There was a long distance of running straight, along a road, not much for turns or curves, so that was a bit boring. It was very challenging but also a very well run race. The packet pick-up was very quick and COVID friendly and the sweatshirt was really nice. However, the medal was huge, almost to the point of obnoxious.

This race is well run. The swag is nothing great, but medal is pretty nice. This is a flat and fast course, a PR ripe for the picking, if the weather cooperates.

A small college town that has some nice spots to eat and relax when done but gets pretty busy after the race.

I set my PR with this race and broke the 2 hour mark, so it was a great race in that regard; but I was a little disappointed in the scenery. I was expecting better, more scenic views. Several miles of the race were ran along a major highway that had a significant amount of traffic. There were a couple significant hills and there were also some miles through a park or on a trail, but for the most part, it was along the road. The expo the day before was really good, race swag was a nice LS athletic shirt. This is the first and only race I’ve ever done following a pacer, I am not sure I would have hit the sub 2 without him. He was great; visited the whole time, and keep me on track for my goal. Mankato is a nice town, some restaurant options for after the race that are near the finish line. Our hotel was within walking distance of the finish so that was also a major bonus.

The scenery for this race is just beautiful. A trail through the Black Hills of South Dakota has you immersed in tall trees, wildlife, and peaceful streams; yet not an overly challenging course. A bus takes you to the starting line and it’s mostly downhill from there.

There are plenty of Port-A-Potties at the start as well as the bag drop. Time gates are used but since it is a gravel/rock trail for most part, it is a little congested at the beginning but it doesn’t take long for everyone to spread out. It’s almost entirely down hill with the exception of one pretty good incline about mile 7. On this day in 2016, it was hot, but they had cold watermelon (awesome!) as well as all the standard fruit and bagels at the finish line. This is a very well organized race. Deadwood is a great town with several entertainment and eating options. If you want a destination race in South Dakota, this is a great one.

This is a well organized race. It starts and finishes at the same park with plenty of parking, so really nice to not have to worry about shuttling back to your vehicle. The course goes through the South Dakota State University Campus, but other than that, it’s pretty much a residential run.

With the exception of one short, but very steep hill, it is a pretty flat course. If the wind isn’t blowing, it is the perfect course for a PR, but beware, South Dakota is known for it’s wind. The weather for this run was beautiful, but some years, it’s cold and wet.

The half marathon swag is just a short sleeve shirt and there isn’t an expo but packet pick-up is quick and painless.

This race ran through the city of Sioux Falls, SD. Some of the race was on a bike path and hand some nice park views but much of the running was on the street. It was touted as flat and fast, but there were a large number of short but significant inclines, most due to street layouts and not mother nature. When we finished we had to stand in a significant line to get our snack; it took a long time just to get a banana. This is a point to point race, so after the banana you had to get on the bus or find a ride to get back to your car. It has potentially improved since I ran it, but wouldn’t recommend this one.