I was on call this weekend but didn't need to go into work so I decided to see what the closest race to me was on Sunday that still had … MORE
I was on call this weekend but didn’t need to go into work so I decided to see what the closest race to me was on Sunday that still had registration open and found this one. It is located in Lawrence MA which is right by the NH border and about a 15 minute drive for me. As I signed up last minute I did not do early packet pick-up. The races starts at an Italian Restaurant which is a great place for the post-race party. There is parking by the restaurant and also easy street parking nearby. It is part of a 3 week series of St Patrick day themed races in neighboring towns in Northern MA. I only did this race. Packet pick-up was easy and you got a nice long sleeved shirt. This is a fairly large race with 600 participants. The race was pretty well organized. It was chip timed at the start and finish. The course was a loop around Lawrence. It was pretty flat with just a few minor inclines going over the river but nothing that was much of a hill. It was not a scenic course at all. It also was kind of an annoying course as some of it went through busy streets and you had to go on the sidewalk. There were lots of course marshals and it was well-marked and there was an aid station with water at the half way point. There were lots of back of packers so it was fun despite the lack of scenery. At the finish line you get a medal and bottle of water. The medal is nice for a shorter race. I find New England races don’t often given medals for shorter races so I appreciated getting one. There was a very nice post race party in the restaurant with salad, bread and pasta. The pasta was all vegetarian. One was just marinara sauce and another had cheese. I think the marinara one was vegan but I didn’t confirm. Overall I thought the race had great swag and post-race party for a short race, good production but not a great course. As I live only 15 minutes away, I would do this race again if I were in town but wouldn’t plan around it.
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Nice Swag and Theme but Bad Course
I was on call this weekend but didn't need to go into work so I decided to see what the closest race to me was on Sunday that still had … MORE
I was on call this weekend but didn’t need to go into work so I decided to see what the closest race to me was on Sunday that still had registration open and found this one. It is located in Lawrence MA which is right by the NH border and about a 15 minute drive for me. As I signed up last minute I did not do early packet pick-up. The races starts at an Italian Restaurant which is a great place for the post-race party. There is parking by the restaurant and also easy street parking nearby. It is part of a 3 week series of St Patrick day themed races in neighboring towns in Northern MA. I only did this race. Packet pick-up was easy and you got a nice long sleeved shirt. This is a fairly large race with 600 participants. The race was pretty well organized. It was chip timed at the start and finish. The course was a loop around Lawrence. It was pretty flat with just a few minor inclines going over the river but nothing that was much of a hill. It was not a scenic course at all. It also was kind of an annoying course as some of it went through busy streets and you had to go on the sidewalk. There were lots of course marshals and it was well-marked and there was an aid station with water at the half way point. There were lots of back of packers so it was fun despite the lack of scenery. At the finish line you get a medal and bottle of water. The medal is nice for a shorter race. I find New England races don’t often given medals for shorter races so I appreciated getting one. There was a very nice post race party in the restaurant with salad, bread and pasta. The pasta was all vegetarian. One was just marinara sauce and another had cheese. I think the marinara one was vegan but I didn’t confirm. Overall I thought the race had great swag and post-race party for a short race, good production but not a great course. As I live only 15 minutes away, I would do this race again if I were in town but wouldn’t plan around it.
Meh
If you’re planning on picking up your bib on Saturday and sticking around for dinner at Salvatore’s, make sure you have a reservation! Flat course on boring town roads. … MORE
If you’re planning on picking up your bib on Saturday and sticking around for dinner at Salvatore’s, make sure you have a reservation! Flat course on boring town roads.