Tommy Rutherford's Staging Area

My favorite parts of the race:
– Pre-race was a good setup, lots of bathrooms, easy start, plentiful parking.
– Very scenic route, especially if you’ve run all the other green belt options.
– Swag is cool; medal, shirt, Boise 4 add-ons.
– Support was sufficient and friendly. Typical water, electrolytes, and occasional gels.
Areas for improvement:
– Race merging – Most of the Boise races do this and it’s often frustrating. It’s the practice of starting the races in a sequence that has marathoners, halfs, 10Ks, 5Ks, all finishing at the same time. I’m certain it helps coordinate volunteer support, but it is terrible if you’re in the last few miles of a marathon and you’re forced to navigate the sea of strollers, walking walls, kiddos, pets, etc. Those folks deserve a good time too, but it’s less than optimal placing them in the path of the longer distances especially during those final crucial miles.
– Course directions – generally speaking, this was decent, especially in the first 20 miles as I think there were so many signs, flags and helpers, the course was like following the Yellow Brick Road. It faded quite a bit in the final miles leading me to one wrong turn which I was able to remedy with a short backtrack, but in the last mile or two, there was also a helper that had a sign saying “Full” with an arrow pointing in the wrong direction. Ultimately they cased me down and got me back on track, but why?!? That was some straight Road Runner vs. Wile E. Coyote shenanigans. It didn’t ruin n the experience, but definitely something I hope they look at for next year.
– Finish line – It’s a bit chaotic. They have all races finishing at the same time so you are likely to run into a horde of people and you’ll need to swim through to find medal and nourishment areas. There’s also family and friends in this area, which I kinda like, but it increases the volume 2-fold, so perhaps the first 25-yards of finish could be a runners only area? It’s only an issue if you are performance focused as I suspect if you are in it for the race party vibe, this is probably a plus. Overall, good race that could be great with some small tweaks!

Pre race pickup was ok. It was fast enough, there were some good options, but vendors were sparse. Additionally, paid parking is kinda lame (they fix this on race day via a pass). The swag is just ok. On one hand, the shirt was cool and the medal is potato themed, but beyond that, not much. The bib is ok, but not the name variety. As for race-day, this is where it comes up short. They use the Boise Greenbelt, which is one of the worst venues I’ve run on. As a place to do a private jog, or to take the kids, or walk the dog, maybe scooter around, it’s wonderful, but part of the problem is that all of this is present when you are running, and this makes it challenging. I was actually struck by a scooter during my marathon effort, and although it was more of a nuisance than a significant impact, it shouldn’t happen. It’s one of those races where it’s so congested over the first 3 miles, you’ll either be jumping curbs or walking behind groups out for a stroll. Once you get through, it’s not a particularly challenging course, but as stated, you need to stay alert as all manner of bike, scooter, etc stand ready to surprise you on the many twists and turns. Fortunately, water, electrolytes, and aid was well equipped, so that’s not a concern (and the volunteers were pretty great)! But then towards the end of the race they inexplicably mix all races together (full/half/10k/5k). This is an absolute mess, I even saw some folks getting turned around in the confusion. Not ideal. The end was a bit lackluster this year, no reading names of finishers, just the medal and snacks. With all the beautiful area around the state, it may be better if they get this race off the Greenbelt in years to come. Love that it’s a charity, love that there were enough bathrooms, loved the on course volunteers, loved the giant potato. An Idaho potato themed race has so much potential, but to me, it was still a bit undercooked.