Cider Hill Farm 5K Summer Run
Amesbury, MA
- 5K, Kids Run
- Trail (Unpaved)
- Official race website
This unique Farm 5K race series will feature three exhilarating races, all set within the scenic grounds of a beautiful farm in Amesbury, MA. The varying seasons here in New England will offer a different race experience at each of the three events. The series is designed to promote health … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Jul 11):
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | |
| H (°F) | 80 | 77 | 92 | 85 | 87 |
| L (°F) | 61 | 61 | 77 | 66 | 59 |
Find Nearby Lodging (hotel, rental, etc.):
Fool Me Twice!
I did this race last year and it had a slightly different name and it was just awful (see review below). I was not planning on doing it again and … MORE
I did this race last year and it had a slightly different name and it was just awful (see review below). I was not planning on doing it again and was just going to go to a yoga class this morning but the 50 state half marathon club started this “tri state challenge” for 2026 to try to get at least 314 miles in 3 states (my states are NH, MA, and NY) and I couldn’t say no to a 5K so close to where I live. Plus the website said there was a lot of improvement from feedback. I will admit there was a lot of improvement but it still sucked. Pre race communication was fine but they still did not emphasize enough how difficult the race was. They at least didn’t allow strollers this year though (runners with strollers are totally cool just not in technical trail races for safety reasons). There were about half as many runners so it was much less chaotic than last time. Packet pickup was easy and included a nice short sleeve shirt. The farm is super cool and it is fun to feed chickens and see goats before the race. It started on time and it was a similar super rough course. There was less of the annoying going through the vines in the beginning but there was the same uneven terrain and evil hills. They said they got rid of a hill but I think they added another. It was so hilly. It was well marked and there were two aid stations. And for better or worse the course was the correct distance this time. Of course that was definitely worse for my finishing time which was pretty bad as I mostly walked. The medal was super nice for a 5K. The biggest improvement was the post race area. The set up for the apple cider donuts and the cider was much smoother and less chaotic and I got a donut this time. I was also excited they had non-alcoholic cider and not just hard cider and soda like last time. Overall there were some improvements but its just such as rough course. But it’s also not tough enough to feel badass like a trail race. Also it’s mostly unprepared fun runners and walkers (this is not a judgmental thing as people should be able to just have fun with races but this is a tough course even if you train regularly) which makes the environmental much less fun as everyone is miserable compared to a trail race where people know what they signed up for. The farm is nice and I’ll visit the goats and chickens some time again but next year I am just doing yoga.
False Advertising
This is a "5K" that takes place on a cider farm in Amesbury, MA which is located at the NH/MA border. This was an inaugural event and I was happy … MORE
This is a “5K” that takes place on a cider farm in Amesbury, MA which is located at the NH/MA border. This was an inaugural event and I was happy to see it as it is under 30 minutes from where I live and there weren’t really any other options for races. I had a lot of issues with this race and I do not feel the company was very open about the race to try to attract as many participants as possible. They advertised it as a fun, exciting event for walkers and runners of all abilities and it worked as around 800 people registered for this event. But it was a really tough, hilly and technical course and no where on the website did they mention it. Personally if it did, I still would have done the race as I enjoy a technical 5K challenge once in awhile as long as I know what I signed up for but I’m sure most of the participants would not have and honestly it would have been a much better time with just 100-200 participants who were ready for the challenge instead of a super crowded race with miserable participants. Pre race communication was fine in terms of the logistics for getting to the race, packet pick up, etc. I arrived at the farm and it was lovely and I fed some chickens and picked up my packet. The lines were kind of long since there were so many people. Packet included bib and a polyblend shirt. The shirt is fine in terms of design but it is not specific to this race as this company hosts races at other apple orchards. I did review the race course on the website and saw it had 200 feet of elevation gain so I did think it would be a fairly difficult course but since it never said difficult and wasn’t even that explicit about being trail, I assumed the difficulty would be similar to the race I did on the vineyard in RI. A lot of the people at the race were more fun runners looking for a social event to run and drink cider. This is totally cool and races that are more social and fun should exist and not everyone needs to be serious but these people were not ready for what was to come and if you are to advertise a race as “fun” you need to let people know how tough it is. I also doubt anyone who doesn’t run regularly knows what 200 feet of elevation gain in a 5K means which was the only hint this was a tough race. We went off in a huge pack and it was a mess. The first mile was going back and forth though rows of vines. There were way too many people for a race like this. It definitely should have had waves (or accurate advertising so less people signed up). The vines were also on a small hill so it was an up and down each row and on grass so you had to walk your footing. This part though wasn’t terrible other than the crowd. However we then went on some dirt roads and there were 2 crazy climbs. Really steep hills. One had an aid station. There was then a section through the woods. It wasn’t super technical but was more technical than we were prepared for. I would have worn trail shoes if I knew this. Another big issue is there were strollers on course. I looked at the website after and it did discourage strollers but said you could run with them. You absolutely could not. It was not safe (again not a problem with people racing with strollers, it’s just not safe on trail races like this and should not have been allowed). Then finally we went down and I could see the finish was in sight. However the finish line came in sight at about mile 2.25 on my Garmin. I was both relieved it was over but also disappointed the course was so short. My Garmin said it was 2.6 miles. It also said there was over 300 feet of elevation gain. I know Garmin’s are not perfect but there is no way I had a 13:00 min/mile pace as I walked like 80% of this race with how crowded it was so the course was definitely short. There is a medal but again it’s not specific to the race though I like getting a medal for a shorter race. There was cider donuts and hard cider. However the lines were huge. There should have been some basic food at the end that didn’t require waiting in line. Also if you didn’t drink, the non-alcoholic option was a can of soda. I feel like they should have non-alcoholic cider or at least the lemonade or cold brew coffee the farm sold as an option. Anyways I didn’t wait in line for my donut and diet coke as I had to leave to make the boilermaker expo. Overall this race was terrible and the company seems super sketchy and was not open about how hard the race was as a cash grab to get so many participants. I would never do this race again or another one of the spiked apple cider 5K events.