Barry Music's Staging Area

To me, the thing that stands out the most about this race were the amenities; things that were provided to make your race experience better… On Friday, there were volunteers EVERYWHERE; helping you park, ensuring that you were in the right line, answering questions and my favorite, the s’mores. On Saturday, the volunteers were assisting with traffic control, which could have been a nightmare and parking. After the bus ride to the starting line, there were plenty of port-a-johns, hot coffee and hot chocolate, bananas and plenty of Vaseline… in case you forgot. There was a young lady on the mic that kept us informed and entertained at the same time. There was a raffle and awesome prizes, even though I didn’t win… and this was all before the race.
You cannot say enough about the gorgeous scenery, this was running through the Appalachians as you would imagine it to be. The weather was warm and very sticky, but we were warned ahead of time of this and encouraged to hydrate and watch our electrolytes.
The start was a little congested, but only because we were restricted to one lane of a two lane road. Things began to thin out after a mile or so and any vehicles we did encounter were courteous and supportive. We did have to watch for bicyclists coming from behind, but they were usually good about announcing their presence and encouraging us as they rode by.
Aid stations were plentiful and once again, the volunteers were supportive and encouraging. The only part of the course that would bear a caution is at times, the pitch of the road was pretty steep. I did read about it beforehand, but actually experiencing it was another matter… not too tough, but be prepared.
At the end, that medals are by far my favorite half marathon and 5K medals. The Black Bear Challenge medal is pretty cool too.
If you are looking for a fantastic, destination race, this needs to be on your list… Great job VR and most importantly, THANK-YOU Volunteers… you were awesome.

The course is hilly and difficult, but not too difficult if you train for hills.
Start line was at Camden Yards and was very nice. I wish they would have a wave start, because the start was a bit congested. the course was nice with lots of community support. It seemed like every neighborhood we traveled through had crowds cheering us on.
The finish at the harbor was nice but a little crowded. Medal was awesome.
Overall, very nice race…