Kaitlyn Gerber's Staging Area

I love this race. I ran it for the first time in 2019 (hence the review) and plan to run it again in the future once races are back post-COVID. The scenery is incredible, the aid stations were well-placed, and the race was well-attended without feeling overly-crowded. Race packet pickup also went very smoothly the morning of the race.

There are a few caveats that I would flag for people who haven’t run this race before. First, it is HILLY. The race course covers a series of up-and-down hills from miles 4 through 10, followed by a gradual incline/decline in miles 10-12. My watch said I gained around 550 feet of elevation on the course, and the earlier hills were around 100 ft. of elevation each. Most of my training was on flat ground and I struggled on some of the larger hills. Pace yourself accordingly.

Second, the race started fairly late in the day – I think around 11 a.m. Although it was around 45 and cloudy when we started, by the end it was 65 and sunny, so be prepared for it to warm up a lot during the race. A lot of runners were wearing warmer gear and I imagine the last few miles would’ve been tough.

Otherwise, it was a great race that I’ll definitely be revisiting in the future!