This is a race on the fourth of July in Irondequoit (a suburb of Rochester) that has a 10K and a 2 mile option. Last year I ran the 10K. … MORE
This is a race on the fourth of July in Irondequoit (a suburb of Rochester) that has a 10K and a 2 mile option. Last year I ran the 10K. This year due to my injury I walked the 2 miler with my parents. More details are in my review from last year. This year they did not have enough shirts and they were first come, first serve. We were kind of late to packet pick-up so didn’t get shirts. They are just cotton T-shirts which I really don’t need more of but I instead think they should have shirts based on when you register not based on when you pick up packet. Course is chipped time at finish only with a different start and finish line. The 2 mile course is a lollipop loop. It is pretty hilly though not as bad as the 10K. The scenery is just neighborhoods but there are so many spectators and neighbors with unofficial aid stations and sprinklers cheering runners on that I added an extra sneaker to the scenery. I was disappointed there were no medals this year. Last year there were teeny generic medals but they were kind of cute. There also wasn’t any post race food. They did give a coupon for free chicken at chik-fil-a but I don’t eat chicken so I can’t use it. There were a few things that could make this better but it is still a fun, festive 5K. It is now becoming a family tradition so we will probably do it again next year.
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Festive Fourth of July Race
This is a race on the fourth of July in Irondequoit (a suburb of Rochester) that has a 10K and a 2 mile option. Last year I ran the 10K. … MORE
This is a race on the fourth of July in Irondequoit (a suburb of Rochester) that has a 10K and a 2 mile option. Last year I ran the 10K. This year due to my injury I walked the 2 miler with my parents. More details are in my review from last year. This year they did not have enough shirts and they were first come, first serve. We were kind of late to packet pick-up so didn’t get shirts. They are just cotton T-shirts which I really don’t need more of but I instead think they should have shirts based on when you register not based on when you pick up packet. Course is chipped time at finish only with a different start and finish line. The 2 mile course is a lollipop loop. It is pretty hilly though not as bad as the 10K. The scenery is just neighborhoods but there are so many spectators and neighbors with unofficial aid stations and sprinklers cheering runners on that I added an extra sneaker to the scenery. I was disappointed there were no medals this year. Last year there were teeny generic medals but they were kind of cute. There also wasn’t any post race food. They did give a coupon for free chicken at chik-fil-a but I don’t eat chicken so I can’t use it. There were a few things that could make this better but it is still a fun, festive 5K. It is now becoming a family tradition so we will probably do it again next year.
Red, White & Hills
This is a 10K race in Irondequoit, another suburb of Rochester. This was the 49th year of this race. My parents decided to join me for this one and my … MORE
This is a 10K race in Irondequoit, another suburb of Rochester. This was the 49th year of this race. My parents decided to join me for this one and my dad also did the 10K and my mom did the 2 miler. For packet pick-up you could either go the day before and get it the morning of. We went to see a baseball game Saturday evening so got the packet the morning of the race. The packet pick-up and start of the race were at a Catholic school in Irondequoit. The packet included the bib and a very cheesy T-shirt. It is grey with this Eagle/American flag design that looks like a cheaply done tattoo. It was kind of a funny shirt. The 2 miler starts 30 minutes before the 10K. The start of both races was pretty simple. There was no start line or timing mat. We just lined up and the RD said go and we went. There was a mass start and about 300 participants spilt between the 10K and the 2 Miler. The first part of the course was along a highway. I liked the first 2ish miles. They were rolling hills but net downhill and it was a pretty shaded area up to Durand Eastman park. This road was closed for the first 2 miles. I did not like the next mile. It was an unshaded slog along a busier part of the highway that was coned off and was more uphill. I was making good time the first two miles and lost so much time on the third. I had a goal to run under 1:10 but after the third I realized that it was going to be tough to reach my goal especially because the last 3 miles are mostly uphill. The next 3 miles while slow were so much fun. It was through neighborhoods and there were so many spectators which was wonderful given how few spectators there were at races last year. The race had 3 official water stops but the neighborhood had many unofficial water stops and friendly neighbors were spraying runners with their hoses and sprinklers. Since I wasn’t going to reach my goal anyways I had fun interacting with the spectators and took water from most of the stops which mostly had cute kids who were so happy to help out. Near the end there is a brutal hill. Then it is the finish line which did have an arch and timing mat. My time was terrible. It was my slowest road 10K but I still had a lot of fun. My dad loved the course (except that 3rd mile on the highway) since he loves hills and liked that it was a “old timey” race. My mom also enjoyed her 2 miler. At the finish line you get your medal. It is the teeniest, generic medal but eh it’s better than nothing. There was also water bottles, bananas, and bagels for the runner and some carnival food you could purchase. This was definitely not my favorite 10K race in terms of elevation profile as the uphill second half is not a great way to have a fast time and it felt more uphill than downhill but it was really fun with all the spectator involvement and a festive way to start July 4.