Michael McCormick's Staging Area

Somewhere after the first quarter I started power walking most of it. That hurts. I wasn’t trained for the course, but despite the strict cut off and them reopening the roads in the afternoon, I asked the guy who was packing up for my shirt and medal and I got it. If you like me want a scenic running experience in Ireland this was certainly that. But I’d recommend just doing the half instead. The best beach and ocean views are on the first half and much of it is just the same type of bushes and farm fields after that you will have seen on the half as well. I didn’t know how strict cut off would be in Ireland. The traffic certainly did open up and that’s dangerous in these narrow Irish roads. But if you’re on time it won’t be a big issue like it is for the back of the pack. I had a few people behind or in front the whole way until the last couple miles where an inspiring guy in a wheelchair and another bloke passed me one last time. Like many millions of others Ireland is an ancestral homeland and it was special to me to run there while on a family holiday. I hope you’ll get to run the Dingle (half) Marathon too. Just register as soon as it opens or it’ll sell out.

I’ve been doing several races including several half marathons so I’ve had to drop out of one or two as well from overdoing it recently. I’ve got to prioritize doing the races that I think I’ll like the best. So glad I went to this one. If you like downhill scenic courses like me you’ll love this. The scenery is great. Maybe not the absolute best available scenery because Utah has multiple beautiful canyon runs. This one certainly has those great mountain views you’d expect and it has an especially nice stream running along the road for several miles. What sets this one apart is that the second half outside the canyon remains mostly gradual downhill and is still a pretty run. Other similar races often have you doing your last few miles on boring city streets in the sun which tends to add to your exhaustion toward the end of a race. Not this one.

In my experience there are things that can always be a little better with runs out on by any running events company. The same is true here. Bathroom lines are always long at the start. Bus lines are always long at the end of the bussing period. One review says it is cold at the start but I found it comfortable compared to other Utah canyon runs. A sweatshirt was plenty to stay warm which I wore for the first 2-3 miles and left as a donation. Runtastic does a great job especially for a local (as opposed to national) company. It is impressive. Sure, I’d love a free protein bar in my swag bag, but protein powder in the bags was a cool bonus this year. I’m tired of races always having Gu gels which doesn’t sit well for me, but I bring my own so it is fine.

As others mentioned the community support is good. They do chalk on the path too which is fun to look at and I tapped at least 3 Mario power up mushroom signs for a burst of energy. God bless those suffering from cancer.

This year I started looking to get into trail running and ultras. This is a great local option for a relatively short one. Beautiful scenery. Not too complex. Bus to the start. Finish near your car. Cool medals and T-shirt.

This 5k is in a beautiful nature area near a gorgeous lake. Running on snow and seeing the snow covered mountains makes it that much more beautiful and unique. They have a wonderful pancake breakfast afterward. Out of the ten 5k I have done I want to attend this one again the most. Compared to other events, information seems less available and it wasn’t obvious finding it the start line this year. It draws few people which could be a pro or con. While there are no finisher medals it is more likely to place with fewer attendees.

This was my first half and I did five more that year. In the end the only ones I thought were scenic and awesome enough to do again were the canyon runs. Turns out I like downhill canyon runs. In hindsight all such runs after having done a bunch seem to have issues with chilly temps while waiting as you are supposed to take a bus up so early and a host of other factors. I don’t really mind too much although I do wish organizers could always start on time and volunteers always were trained better to answer common questions and there are other issues I frequently encounter. Despite any issues it is beautiful and I want to do it again. My race results may have been lost with a big batch of them as I currently can’t pull them up but I got all the data I needed when they were up.