This was the inaugural year for this race. It is located in Amesbury, MA right on the MA/NH state border and a quick 25 minute drive from where I live. … MORE
This was the inaugural year for this race. It is located in Amesbury, MA right on the MA/NH state border and a quick 25 minute drive from where I live. I was happy to find 2 very local half marathons this weekend after all the driving last weekend. There were a few production issues as expected for an inaugural race but overall I was happy with the happy half marathon. There was good pre race communication with all the info needed emailed and on the race website. There was an option for pre-race packet pick-up but I had plans with my dad Saturday afternoon so got it the morning of the race. It started at a park in Amesbury. There was a nearby parking lot and also plenty of parking downtown. It was a smaller race with a little over 100 participants in the half. Packet pick-up went smooth. Along with bib you get a very, nice Enjoy Your Life brand jacket. Definitely nicer than the shirts you get with most races. The start was a bit of a mess because there was not nearly enough porta potties so the half had to be started about 5 minutes late. Not the end of the world but hopefully they order more porta potties next year. There were no waves or corrals but as I said it was a small race field so not a big deal. The race starts with a short portion through downtown Amesbury. The race is open to traffic and while it was well marked and there was a lot of police support, I did think this section could benefit from having the street closed or at least coned off as there was a lot of traffic. The vast majority of the race is on quiet, country roads which did not need to be closed to be safe. The course is pretty cool in that it starts in MA but then you cross the state line in NH and loop around before going back to MA. It would only count for MA though for most clubs as it starts and finishes in MA. It is very scenic and you get all of the best New England scenery. Some farmland, some woods, some lake views. However it is very hilly. The hills were pretty unrelenting. The course was very, very, very well-marked. There were also a ton of police support and course marshals for such as small race. I think there was more than Newport. I knew I would be slow given the hills and how much I pushed myself yesterday so I was alone most of the race and appreciated never having to worry about being lost. My biggest production complaint is there was not enough aid on course. There were only 3 aid stations with water and gatorade and you only passed them once because it’s a loop. At one point you went 5 miles without an aid station. I knew this as there was good communication and I brought water but it’s pretty standard for road half marathons to have aid stations every 2-2.5 miles so I’d recommend they add at least 2 more. There was also only 1 porta potty on the entire course at mile 3.7. This is not usually when I need a bathroom break but I used it to be safe since I knew there wasn’t another one. In terms of back of the pack friendliness this was definitely better than most MA races. It had a 3:30 time limit and not the 3 hours a lot of them had. I knew I would be close to 3:30 but that I shouldn’t have a problem making the time limit. Not unexpectedly I was last pretty much the entire race. Other than running alone there were not much issues being last. Around the halfway point I saw one of the race staff in a truck with all the signs drive by me and thought “here we go again the race staff is cleaning up before I get there even though I’m under the time limit” but nope the staff member just drove to the next area that required clean up, parked and waited for me to pass and then cleaned it up a few minutes after I left so nothing was cleared away before I got there. I cannot figure out why the other races I did couldn’t do this and had to clean up simultaneously with me. The only issue is they did let the volunteers leave but they left plenty of water and gatorade and didn’t pack away the aid station until after I passed. The race staff, police and volunteers were also very encouraging as I passed and never made me feel like a burden. After you go through the countryside you then go back to downtown Amesbury. I really didn’t like this part at the end as there was a lot of traffic so I ran on the sidewalk. I do think for future years if the race gets bigger they should look into closing down these streets or at least one lane to make it safer. The finish line was a bit anti-climatic being last as pretty much all the other participants left but I was cheered on by the race staff and volunteers and got my medal. The medal is fine. It spins and has the Enjoy Your Life logo. It’s a bit smaller than most of my other half marathon medals. It’s a bit below average but with the really nice jacket overall the swag is good for the race. Even though I was last I was happy I finished well within the margin of the time limit. They had a nice post race brunch. I liked that it was heathlyish with frittata, sweet potato hash, and a blueberry coffee cake. There was still food left for me even if the party was empty. It was a bit cold but still tasted good. One of the volunteers offered to get me a beer but I declined since I don’t drink. Overall I thought this was a pretty good race. It had really nice scenery and a nice jacket for swag. I do hope they fix some of the production issues and continue to improve the race. While it wasn’t the best experience in the back as there was not a lot of back of packers, it was better than most MA races. I would definitely recommend this race to locals but I think there are still a few things to be worked out for me to highly recommend it to 50 staters but it’s not a bad option if it works best with your schedule and if you are a 3:00-3:30 finisher this may be a very good option given there are so many MA races with 3 hour time limits. As no one was over 3:30 I am not sure how strict they are with the time limit. Overall I would do this race again if it worked with my schedule especially since it is so close and I’m interested to see how it grows and improves.
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Happy with this as an Inaugural Race
This was the inaugural year for this race. It is located in Amesbury, MA right on the MA/NH state border and a quick 25 minute drive from where I live. … MORE
This was the inaugural year for this race. It is located in Amesbury, MA right on the MA/NH state border and a quick 25 minute drive from where I live. I was happy to find 2 very local half marathons this weekend after all the driving last weekend. There were a few production issues as expected for an inaugural race but overall I was happy with the happy half marathon. There was good pre race communication with all the info needed emailed and on the race website. There was an option for pre-race packet pick-up but I had plans with my dad Saturday afternoon so got it the morning of the race. It started at a park in Amesbury. There was a nearby parking lot and also plenty of parking downtown. It was a smaller race with a little over 100 participants in the half. Packet pick-up went smooth. Along with bib you get a very, nice Enjoy Your Life brand jacket. Definitely nicer than the shirts you get with most races. The start was a bit of a mess because there was not nearly enough porta potties so the half had to be started about 5 minutes late. Not the end of the world but hopefully they order more porta potties next year. There were no waves or corrals but as I said it was a small race field so not a big deal. The race starts with a short portion through downtown Amesbury. The race is open to traffic and while it was well marked and there was a lot of police support, I did think this section could benefit from having the street closed or at least coned off as there was a lot of traffic. The vast majority of the race is on quiet, country roads which did not need to be closed to be safe. The course is pretty cool in that it starts in MA but then you cross the state line in NH and loop around before going back to MA. It would only count for MA though for most clubs as it starts and finishes in MA. It is very scenic and you get all of the best New England scenery. Some farmland, some woods, some lake views. However it is very hilly. The hills were pretty unrelenting. The course was very, very, very well-marked. There were also a ton of police support and course marshals for such as small race. I think there was more than Newport. I knew I would be slow given the hills and how much I pushed myself yesterday so I was alone most of the race and appreciated never having to worry about being lost. My biggest production complaint is there was not enough aid on course. There were only 3 aid stations with water and gatorade and you only passed them once because it’s a loop. At one point you went 5 miles without an aid station. I knew this as there was good communication and I brought water but it’s pretty standard for road half marathons to have aid stations every 2-2.5 miles so I’d recommend they add at least 2 more. There was also only 1 porta potty on the entire course at mile 3.7. This is not usually when I need a bathroom break but I used it to be safe since I knew there wasn’t another one. In terms of back of the pack friendliness this was definitely better than most MA races. It had a 3:30 time limit and not the 3 hours a lot of them had. I knew I would be close to 3:30 but that I shouldn’t have a problem making the time limit. Not unexpectedly I was last pretty much the entire race. Other than running alone there were not much issues being last. Around the halfway point I saw one of the race staff in a truck with all the signs drive by me and thought “here we go again the race staff is cleaning up before I get there even though I’m under the time limit” but nope the staff member just drove to the next area that required clean up, parked and waited for me to pass and then cleaned it up a few minutes after I left so nothing was cleared away before I got there. I cannot figure out why the other races I did couldn’t do this and had to clean up simultaneously with me. The only issue is they did let the volunteers leave but they left plenty of water and gatorade and didn’t pack away the aid station until after I passed. The race staff, police and volunteers were also very encouraging as I passed and never made me feel like a burden. After you go through the countryside you then go back to downtown Amesbury. I really didn’t like this part at the end as there was a lot of traffic so I ran on the sidewalk. I do think for future years if the race gets bigger they should look into closing down these streets or at least one lane to make it safer. The finish line was a bit anti-climatic being last as pretty much all the other participants left but I was cheered on by the race staff and volunteers and got my medal. The medal is fine. It spins and has the Enjoy Your Life logo. It’s a bit smaller than most of my other half marathon medals. It’s a bit below average but with the really nice jacket overall the swag is good for the race. Even though I was last I was happy I finished well within the margin of the time limit. They had a nice post race brunch. I liked that it was heathlyish with frittata, sweet potato hash, and a blueberry coffee cake. There was still food left for me even if the party was empty. It was a bit cold but still tasted good. One of the volunteers offered to get me a beer but I declined since I don’t drink. Overall I thought this was a pretty good race. It had really nice scenery and a nice jacket for swag. I do hope they fix some of the production issues and continue to improve the race. While it wasn’t the best experience in the back as there was not a lot of back of packers, it was better than most MA races. I would definitely recommend this race to locals but I think there are still a few things to be worked out for me to highly recommend it to 50 staters but it’s not a bad option if it works best with your schedule and if you are a 3:00-3:30 finisher this may be a very good option given there are so many MA races with 3 hour time limits. As no one was over 3:30 I am not sure how strict they are with the time limit. Overall I would do this race again if it worked with my schedule especially since it is so close and I’m interested to see how it grows and improves.