Lauren Dogan's Staging Area

Pre-race: They sent out a lot of pre-race emails with plenty of information. They described the corral system but didn’t say which corral we would be in until we received our bibs.

Packet pickup: It was in the downtown convention center, very close to the race start. The bib and shirt pickup were very well organized. There were lots of booths and lots of people going in all directions. Near the entrance/exit they had a map on the wall to place a sticker for “Where Yinz From?” which was neat to see.

Start: Race morning there were plenty of portapotties near each corral entrance. However each corral blocked off an entire city block so the only way to get around a corral was to walk a block away, which we had to do for bag drop off at the end of the corrals then backtrack to get to corrals B and C. There were people checking bibs at the corral entrances, but after I was in corral C I saw lots of corral D and E bibs walking through C to get to D or E. Lots of pacer options and they were easily spotted in the corrals. Corral A started at 7am, then everyone moved forward. Corral B started around 7:10. Corral C started at 7:20. At 35 degrees F at the start I started shivering while waiting for each corral to be started. But, once I got moving I warmed up quickly.

On-course aid/signage: Fluid stations were well placed with plenty of tables on both sides of the roads – about 4 tables of water then 4 tables of electrolytes. Signage was also done well — several blocks of half/full marathon split ahead, then a few blocks with cones, signs, and volunteers down the center of the road to prepare for the split, and additional signs on the bridge after the split to indicate which distance that side of the bridge would be running. Mile marker signs were made of steel (steel city), very sturdy, and easy to see.

Lots of crowd support. I would say the first 5 miles of the course was shoulder to shoulder filled with people cheering. I really enjoyed the course too, with three bridges to cross in the half marathon, Oakland / University of Pittsburgh then Shadyside for the marathoners. Even the neighborhoods without interesting buildings had crowd support.

Relay: I ran the marathon but I from my viewpoint the relay was well organized. 5 legs spaced about 5 miles each with warning signs, timing mats, finish arches, bib announcer, and flags to show where each bib number should wait.

We arrived early and parked at the start/finish. Race day packet pickup was easy inside the gym. Long sleeve shirt plus they were giving away previous year’s shirts so that was a pleasant bonus. The course was well marked with cones, ample course marshals, and large flour arrows. The 5k portion of the course had a lot of turns that split from the 10 Miler with 1/2 mile to go. The portion of the course for 10 Miler only was out-and-back on a paved trail, rolling hills, cow pasture, highway noise, and a wooded section. The aid stations were done well — one water-only stop on the 5k portion, one aid station along the out-and-back with caffeine or no-caffeine Gu gels and water or Gatorade, and an aid station just before and after the 10 Miler turn around with water. The last 1/2 mile of the course for both distances was a slight uphill. In addition to overall awards, there were first master, first grand master, and age group awards. The race was a good mix of hills and flats, had plenty of volunteers, and a good selection of post-race food (fruit, cookies, chips, granola bars, fruit snacks).

Buses to the start were a bit confusing. Pre-race instructions did say that there would be two different pick-up locations at the shopping mall, but in the dark with no signs so one person on my bus needed to be dropped off early because he got on the wrong bus. Pre-race instructions also did not say that the marathon/50k bus would take a full 30 minutes to arrive at the start. Since this is a desert race, the temperature increased about 25 degrees over the course of 5 hours, and there was no shade on course. The course itself is easy with some incline in the first mile and very slight downhill for the remainder of the course. The majority of the race is along one road that becomes more busy and loud the later in the day and closer we got to Tucson. The landscape did not change. There were few places for spectators, but they did a great job when they could. One aid station ran out of electrolytes. The finish did, thankfully, have shade and there were snacks (granola bars, chips, fruit) for finishers.

Being that this is a Thanksgiving morning race, you can expect to find families racing together. There are two options for registration: timed run or untimed walk (discounted fee). The untimed walk does not receive a timing bib and they line up in a separate area from the timed participants. After all timed participants get through the start line then the untimed participants may begin. The timed participant starting area has corral suggestions but many casual runners and walkers do not appear to line up accordingly. So, you can expect to spend quite a bit of weaving around slower people in the first half mile of the race. The course was slightly hilly for Roanoke, there was one water stop on course, and multiple places with live music.

This year there was drizzle at the start of the race however it was still a fun event. Course was a bit challenging due to many turns and congestion. Fun finisher’s medal and post-race banana and granola bar were welcome. 2404 timed finishers this year plus lots of untimed participants make this Roanoke’s most attended race of the year.

2019 race review: The scenery was very nice with a view of the lake. One particular aid station was handing out full-size bottles of Gatorade. The post-race party had bottles of water and wine tickets but no food whatsoever. Apparently there was poor communication with the wine vendor where race staff thought they were providing food but the vendor did not. Race swag: the shirt was a very loose cotton tank top (I do not like tank tops) and a pint glass with the race logo (logo melted off on the first time in the dishwasher).