This is a small race. The course is pretty, rural, flat'ish with a few hills, and just a real pleasant run. Much of the course, maybe the second half, is … MORE
This is a small race. The course is pretty, rural, flat’ish with a few hills, and just a real pleasant run. Much of the course, maybe the second half, is along an old Rails to Trails path and is quite pretty. The course is a loop and after you finish you get a nice coffee cup to fill up with chicken noodle soup. The cup is a nice change of pace from the typical tee-shirts that races usually give.
The race organization is fine, nothing above or below average, particularly for a small race. There are indoor bathrooms, which is ALWAYS a plus. And because it is a small race there was no waiting in lines at the bathrooms, which is, again, always a plus. Parking was easy, and plenty.
The morning I showed up for the race I had a hard time finding the starting line. Turns out the race was cancelled due to rain and either an email hadn’t gone out or it hadn’t gone out in time, I can’t remember… but I wasn’t the only one who hadn’t gotten the email. There were quite a few runners who came to run. The race organizer showed up as well, just in case people showed up. He told us the course and it was still marked, so all of us who showed up went ahead and ran, and then invited us to come back and run the rescheduled race again, which I did. So although he was nice, I do think the communication could have been made a little sooner. But maybe not. Who knows. Anyway, it all worked fine in the end.
The namesake Hound Dog is at the race and loves attention, and ran the race as well. It’s in a small, small town and I don’t recall any lodging nearby. We stayed at a B&B in Pulaski, which is a cute town with a lot of history. There is a great little town just south of Elkmont, in Alabama, called Athens. This is a town with a lot of Southern character in the historic town square. Recommend visiting if you are in the area for a run. The Rails to Trails path is worth running even if you aren’t there for an official race. And the trail ends beside a little store that sells homemade farmed goat cheese products.
This race has been discontinued, I think, which is a shame. If it starts back up it is worth a drive out to do the race. I did it twice and that’s probably enough for me. I liked it, but there are a lot of other races I’d like to do and unlike, say, Bridge Street Town Center Half Marathon, in Huntsville, or the Chattanooga Marathon (which I’d do every year if schedule permitted), two times is probably enough for this race.
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Great small town race
This is a small race. The course is pretty, rural, flat'ish with a few hills, and just a real pleasant run. Much of the course, maybe the second half, is … MORE
This is a small race. The course is pretty, rural, flat’ish with a few hills, and just a real pleasant run. Much of the course, maybe the second half, is along an old Rails to Trails path and is quite pretty. The course is a loop and after you finish you get a nice coffee cup to fill up with chicken noodle soup. The cup is a nice change of pace from the typical tee-shirts that races usually give.
The race organization is fine, nothing above or below average, particularly for a small race. There are indoor bathrooms, which is ALWAYS a plus. And because it is a small race there was no waiting in lines at the bathrooms, which is, again, always a plus. Parking was easy, and plenty.
The morning I showed up for the race I had a hard time finding the starting line. Turns out the race was cancelled due to rain and either an email hadn’t gone out or it hadn’t gone out in time, I can’t remember… but I wasn’t the only one who hadn’t gotten the email. There were quite a few runners who came to run. The race organizer showed up as well, just in case people showed up. He told us the course and it was still marked, so all of us who showed up went ahead and ran, and then invited us to come back and run the rescheduled race again, which I did. So although he was nice, I do think the communication could have been made a little sooner. But maybe not. Who knows. Anyway, it all worked fine in the end.
The namesake Hound Dog is at the race and loves attention, and ran the race as well. It’s in a small, small town and I don’t recall any lodging nearby. We stayed at a B&B in Pulaski, which is a cute town with a lot of history. There is a great little town just south of Elkmont, in Alabama, called Athens. This is a town with a lot of Southern character in the historic town square. Recommend visiting if you are in the area for a run. The Rails to Trails path is worth running even if you aren’t there for an official race. And the trail ends beside a little store that sells homemade farmed goat cheese products.
This race has been discontinued, I think, which is a shame. If it starts back up it is worth a drive out to do the race. I did it twice and that’s probably enough for me. I liked it, but there are a lot of other races I’d like to do and unlike, say, Bridge Street Town Center Half Marathon, in Huntsville, or the Chattanooga Marathon (which I’d do every year if schedule permitted), two times is probably enough for this race.