Victoria Niedzielski's Staging Area

Vacation Races will never disappoint; they always put on an amazing show. They are a great series to run for any first-time runners. Great expo, great swag, high-quality shirts, AMAZING medals, and delicious post-race snacks. I did the Black Bear Double–5K on Friday evening (hot) then half marathon Saturday morning. 3 medals! This was a beautiful course in the Smokies. The courseis gradually uphill, but I didn’t really feel it, so don’t let that intimidate you. It does have some smaller rolling hills. I trained for this on hills, so I was okay with that. Some parts of the road is tilted, uneven, which led me muscles to ache after a bit more than usual. Most of it was shaded, but for the last 3 or so miles we were in the sun. I weirdly got my 2nd best half marathon time on this course which was a pleasant surprise. We then spent the rest of Saturday and Sunday completing the Trifecta, which is a great way to see beautiful parts of the parks. Run this race, you won’t regret it!

I came down from NY to run this race. The expo and post-race celebration was great–which made up for a meh swag bag. LOTS of food, vendors, beer, massages–it was great. I cut 10 minutes off my PR on this course! It is mostly flat with some verrrrry slight up and downhill. I would NOT call this course “hilly.” We had some “cooler” Florida weather which ended up being perfect race weather (for a New Yorker). The race started at 7:15AM so I think even if it was hotter, the early start time would have made up for that. THE MEDAL IS AMAZING! This was a great race–very well put together. I would definitely come back down next year and do it again, or do a different BDR location.

You should definitely train on hills if you’re running this race. I trained in Chestnut Ridge. Be prepared for a few miles of steady uphill. Ellicottville is beautiful–especially in the fall. This is a run with a view! The post-race celebration was at the Ellicottville Brewing Company–gotta love that post-run free beer! But I kind of wish they had more food options for the runners. I only saw bananas, yogurt, cliff bars, and banana water. Since this wasa Halloween run, it was fun to see all of the different costumes. The medal is awesome though! I will for sure run this race again.

Not only was this my first half marathon, it was my first race ever. Since then I’ve ran a few more, and Vacation Races definitely ranks up there with race quality. The expo we great, we got plenty of emails with updates, the tech shirt is of really good quality, and the medal is amazing! I love their cup-free initiative; plus the pouches they provide are reusable. Now, the Grand Canyon half is not in the park. There are no views of the Canyon. VR made this very clear. But the park is right there anyway so I was not disappointed at all! I would be wary of the elevation, especially if you are coming from more sea level areas. It can really make your head and lungs ache. The course is very pretty and was nice to run. It gets a little traily but nothing crazy. Watch out for roots or rocks though so you don’t trip. It’s also kind of hilly so keep that in mind when training. Also the weather can be unpredictable; Arizona does not equal hot! It was cold and snowy on this day in May 2015! Nothing I wasn’t prepared for. I’d recommend the Grand Canyon Half Marathon to anyone. I look forward to running more Vacation Races.