Lance Null's Staging Area

The Garry Bjorkland half shares its course with the second half of the Grandma’s marathon.
The half marathon starts 105 minutes before the full (giving the half time to mostly finish before the full), but that also means that half runners have to get up before ‘Disney early’. (3am for me). It is mandatory to take a bus to the half start. There are several sites to catch busses at.
This year they went to a 3 ‘corral’ system, and the ‘corrals’ filled up fast. Faster runners need to get to the start earlier to get a forward spot. Fortunately as a BOPer, it was easy to get in the back.
I loved the course. Gentle rollers with a net downhill, along the north shore of Lake Superior, back into Duluth. It could be a very fast course.
Packet pickup is held at the DECC. There is plenty of paid parking, and many vendors. There is also a pasta dinner available.
Also plenty of beautiful sightseeing in the area, whether permitting.

Rock ‘n Roll San Diego is a fun gem on my race calendar. You spend a weekend in San Diego, you run a net downhill course, and if you like a drink or 12, there is the mile 4-5.5 gauntlet of beverages available.
San Diego is not flat. There are plenty of rolling hills throughout the race, but there are not many killer hills. (The downhill at mile 9 is a steep one.)
Lodging can be a little pricey, so bring a friend and split the cost. Don’t need a car, so you can Uber or bus from the airport, and you can walk to most places around town, or take the trolley (light rail).
Pre-race choose your porta potty lines well. The ones near the back have long lines, while the ones near the front (by the low corral numbers,) have a lot shorter lines.
The half marathon course takes you from Balboa park, thru Hilcrest, North Park, back thru Balboa park and finishes downtown (near Little Italy).
The expo (and post race) is at Waterfront park. Parking is scarce, so walk, trolley, or FRED your way to and from the area.
Plenty of places to eat in the area, but you might want to get a reservation on race weekend. The Queenstown Public House is where we ate after the race this year.
For the more casual runner who wouldn’t mind a drink or two, there is fireball, tequila, beer, mimosas, tequila sunrise, and a myriad of other drinks (including a few made to order stops) in mile 4-5.5. Enjoy. I ran better after a shot or two. And of course there are plenty of official water and electrolyte stations on the course. This year, the featured electrolyte was Mortal Hydration.
This race offers something for the most serious runners, or the BOPers like me.

As one of the 6 world majors, getting into the race is not easy. But the race now has charity entry spots making it easier to gain entry.
Expo packet pick up lines are long for certain groups (charity runners?), for other groups, short. Especially on day 1. If you want official branded merchandise get there when it opens and fight the crowd. There was >1hr wait to enter the merchandise area after packet pickup, and I arrived at the expo 30 min before it opened. (although I did get a slow line for packet p/u).
Race shirts are available for purchase, but are an extra cost, and the sizes run small. (Japanese 3x is more like a US XL)
No drinks (other than small boxed water) is allowed in the start area, so drink down before you arrive.
The corrals move efficiently to the start, but you are in a mass mob. It will carry you along for the first few miles before it begins to thin out.
The race course is pretty flat. There are a few rolling hills, but none are very high or long.
Course support is excellent! The aid stations are divided into 5 groups, based on the last digit of your bib number (but many runners couldn’t figure that out.) Pocari Sweat was the electrolyte of the race. Plenty of porta potties and restrooms along the way. The early ones can have lines of up to 20 minutes! (They list wait times at the entrance to the area.)
The cutoffs for the race are real. The second cutoff is probably the hardest for slower runners. Overall it is about a 14:15 pace (or so) to meet all of the cutoffs.)
The exit to the race is a little bit of a maze. You are routed out based on your bib color. So if you are meeting family or friends, figure out where you will be exiting, or meet up at the family area. (which I never found.)
Make sure you give yourself several more days post race to explore the city and/or country!! (I explored Tokyo and Osaka this trip.)

The 20th edition of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona featured a new course for the half marathon and the 10k replaced the full marathon.
There are supposedly 53 legacy runners left, now that the marathon and half marathon legacy runners are combined.
The new course starts on Mill avenue, conveniently near a light rail stop, making travel to and from the race very easy. There are also nearby parking structures if you chose to drive in.
The course runs over the bridge, past the zoo, through Papago park and out into Scottsdale, before turning around on a parallel path back to Tempe town park.
Packet pickup is at the Phoenix convention center, which is also easily accessed via light rail.

For the first time in 20 years a portion of the 110 freeway was shut down for an event.

The race started and ended near light rail stations, so getting back and forth pre and post race was pretty easy. Located in South Pasadena, there were plenty of lodging options – especially when combined with the light rail.

Actually running on an LA freeway was a fantastic experience. We definitely were faster than rush hour traffic! We ran from Orange Grove St down to almost I-5.(26th ave)

Race shirt pickup – post race (if you couldn’t pick up the day before) was a total cluster… It took 45 minutes post race just to get the shirt.
They also ran out of medals at the end, but will be mailing medals to those who missed out.

The other side of the freeway was open to bicycles and there were walkers & fans along the course – a great time.

Hopefully this will happen again in the next 20 years.

Unfortunately, this seems like a one and done for Rock ‘n’ Roll, but it was a beautiful event.
The elevation and hills on the course made it a tough first half of the race, but the beautiful views of the city made it worth it.
The aid stations were will stocked and manned, and the volunteer support was fantastic.
We ran by the Capital, The Salt Lake Cemetery, The University of Utah, and Liberty Park.
There was plenty of post race refreshments, a beer garden that offered a soft drink option, and a post race band.
Public transportation to/from the airport was easy, and if you had a vehicle, visiting the Great Salt Lake and Donut Falls were great side trips.

The inaugural Visalia Half Marathon was a good start to the Run the Velley series of half marathons.
The race was an out and back course that started and finished in Cutler park on the East side of town, along the St. Johns River. The course is flat, but the temperature creeps up as the race progresses. It does get warm. (or hot in some people’s opinion.)
The race runs along the St. John’s river, up to the Riverway Sports Park, before adventuring out on streets along the edge of farmland. There is some shade in the first (and last) part of the race, but until more of the trees mature, the middle part of the course is open and hot.
There are 4 aid stations (which you pass both ways), but you may want to grab more than 1 cup.
Good course support and outstanding volunteers.
Medal is nice, and so is the race shirt.
Post race includes breakfast burritos (with a vegetation option), chocolate milk, and beer. (in addition to water and sports drink).
It would be nice if the race started earlier – to avoid some of the heat, but that may be limited by the park opening time and permits.

The 2023 Theme for the 10K was Monsters Inc.
As usual, this is an early morning Disney race, so catch a quick nap on the bus.
This race takes place around EPCOT, and around the boardwalk along crescent lake.
There is plenty of photo opportunities during the race, so get your money’s worth and have some fun.
The course is very flat, with overpasses being the “hills” of the course.
Great course support with water & electrolyte. Fun Disney themed medal, food box, water and electrolyte drink at the end of the race.
Not the cheapest race, but if you want to have fun, it is worth the investment.

The race is held on Camp Roberts Army Reserve Base, so you must have a REAL ID to participate. You also have to get your vehicle pass before entering base, so give yourself an extra 10 min.

I really enjoyed the course. It is mostly an out and back course, but the turn around is at 8.5 miles, so the return is much faster. (And that is great mentally).
With a small field, you can really enjoy the scenery, while still having someone to chase.
Swag is OK, and race supports a good cause.
I’m a repeat runner, and will be back again!