The Mark Twain Redding Road Races begin and end at stunning Hoyt Campground in West Redding, Connecticut with a starting time of 8:00am for the half and 8:35am for the 7 miler. All races are on bucolic country roads that have runners passing a horse farm, a waterfall, a railroad …
MORE
The Mark Twain Redding Road Races begin and end at stunning Hoyt Campground in West Redding, Connecticut with a starting time of 8:00am for the half and 8:35am for the 7 miler. All races are on bucolic country roads that have runners passing a horse farm, a waterfall, a railroad bridge, wetlands, streams, lakes, an historic schoolhouse circa 1789, while finishing at the campground. The course can be categorized as challenging and rolling (with plenty of short hills but none that would be classified as long). There are also plenty of downhills and areas of flat running, so runners should have no problem settling into a comfortable pace.
The Jumping Frog Frenzy (Kids’ Fun Run) of 3/4 of a mile is entirely on Hoyt Campground and will occur before the start of the other two races (at 7:30 am).
Runners of every race will receive a gorgeous, in-house designed, finishers medal, an in-house designed performance shirt and numerous other special surprise race goodies. It is our goal to have The Mark Twain Redding Road Race be the friendliest and best supported race of its kind in this area, or any area, for that matter, while benefiting numerous Redding, CT charities.
LESS
One last hurrah
This year was sadly the last year for this race. Luckily it went out with amazing weather, great swag as always, and tons of hills. As the race tag line … MORE
This year was sadly the last year for this race. Luckily it went out with amazing weather, great swag as always, and tons of hills. As the race tag line says, small town, big hills.
RD is the BEST! Swag and prizes too!
John and Terri McCleary are the most hospitable RDs you'll ever find! They bring in Olympic world class guest runners -- they put SO much into making sure all the … MORE
John and Terri McCleary are the most hospitable RDs you’ll ever find! They bring in Olympic world class guest runners — they put SO much into making sure all the runners leave with a BIG smile and an armful of unique swag, gifts and prizes! Terri even bakes homemade cookies that are to die for (or get slightly injured for)! This race in this little town will surprise you! It’s a gem!
A Great Race
Beautiful area, you start at a farm running through a field, pass a golf course, go into a park. It's very organized and great donuts when you're finished. MORE
Beautiful area, you start at a farm running through a field, pass a golf course, go into a park. It’s very organized and great donuts when you’re finished.
The hills have hills
This was a fun race, even if it was raining the whole time and beyond hilly. I mean...15 hills in total and they all sucked. Coming from about an hour … MORE
This was a fun race, even if it was raining the whole time and beyond hilly. I mean…15 hills in total and they all sucked.
Coming from about an hour away, I picked up my race swag and bib before the race on race morning. The system was streamlined and runners got a nice tech tee and a smattering of other goodies including a cowbell and license plate frame with the race logo.
The race starts and ends at New Pond Farm, so there literally are cows! The course was open, but there is very little traffic in Redding on a Sunday morning so that was no issue. The course itself is primarily on roads, but there are a couple of stretches of trails. That being said, they are very groomed and trail shoes are not remotely required. There are some nice views of back country Redding and one backyard even contained a curious emu wondering what all the humans were doing.
The race offers an early start for the half marathon as well as 7 mile and 5k options (you can also do the Mighty Cow Challenge and do both the half and 5k if you’re crazy and fast enough).
The race medal was quite large and nice, being provided by GoneForARun.com, and the post race spread of food included soda, fruit, donuts, etc.
But did I mention the hills? I mean they were killer. Definitely throw in some hill repeats and weight training if you want to get competitive with this one because by the time I was on hill 13/15 the words “you have got to be effing kidding me” (effing being replaced by expletives) definitely came out of my mouth.
Oh and race photos are free!
Hills, cows, and fun
New favorite race! I ran the "Mighty Cow Challenge," which was a 5k immediately followed by the main half marathon race. It was the first time I have ever run … MORE
New favorite race! I ran the “Mighty Cow Challenge,” which was a 5k immediately followed by the main half marathon race. It was the first time I have ever run more than the half marathon, and I was a little injured. Thanks to the community, amazing runners and race organizers, I STILL enjoyed the race more than ever!
Upon packet pickup, I was blown away by the beauty and serenity of New Pond Farm. “Run for the Cows” is no joke! The race is literally surrounded by dairy cows and begins and ends on the farm, with the last few meters through a barn and across a grassy yard.
I enjoyed the rural beauty of the course, as we passed ponds, woods, small waterfalls, and creeks. It was almost pretty enough to distract me from the rolling hills of the course! What makes this race stand out is the obvious dedication and passion from the race director. There were SO many signs, all of which made me laugh and made it a very fun time. Categories of signs included: cows, hill marker (identifying how many of the 15 major hills runners had left), mile markers, inspirational quotes and more.
For a small race (capped at 1000 runners this year), it was EXTREMELY well organized. I was even able to grab a bagel and water before starting my race, which was unexpected and awesome. There were masseuses available after the race, as well as a small but sufficient first aid tent. Post-race food was pizza, bagels, baked goods, and fresh milk and chocolate milk from the farm! Highly recommend!
Beautiful race
This race was generally a delight. It would have been enough to get one of my best-looking and favorite race shirts I have, but it's got many more things going … MORE
This race was generally a delight. It would have been enough to get one of my best-looking and favorite race shirts I have, but it’s got many more things going for it. The scenery is gorgeous – rolling hills through lush green Connecticut countryside. Course is quite challenging, more so than I expected. Lots of distance options – 5K, 7 miles, 13.1, and 16.2 (“The Mighty Cow” – the 5K plus the 13.1, at least in 2017 when I did it), and a kids’ 1K or 1 miler, I forget which. The race start was a short loop in a grassy area which was narrow, slow and crowded, but the rest of the race was more spacious – on pavement, except for about 1 mile later in the race which was on trail. Weather was excellent, still cool for spring. Expo and race organization and refreshments and other swag (besides the awesome shirt) were excellent.