This is a well-organized small town race. Packet pickup is super easy, I got mine the day before but it was also open the morning of the race. Parking was … MORE
This is a well-organized small town race. Packet pickup is super easy, I got mine the day before but it was also open the morning of the race. Parking was simple and very close to the finish line. The race itself had plenty of aid stations with water and electrolyte beverages, volunteers were friendly, and the post-race party featured items like pizza, fruit and granola bars. Great race to check New Hampshire off your list if you’re doing the 50 states!
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Rolling hills, beautiful fall foliage!
This is a well-organized small town race. Packet pickup is super easy, I got mine the day before but it was also open the morning of the race. Parking was … MORE
This is a well-organized small town race. Packet pickup is super easy, I got mine the day before but it was also open the morning of the race. Parking was simple and very close to the finish line. The race itself had plenty of aid stations with water and electrolyte beverages, volunteers were friendly, and the post-race party featured items like pizza, fruit and granola bars. Great race to check New Hampshire off your list if you’re doing the 50 states!
Lovely town, organizers and participants
Really sweet, small race with lovely views. Get in on the local spaghetti feeds and post race massages! The course wasn't overly difficult with rolling hills- the most challenging part … MORE
Really sweet, small race with lovely views. Get in on the local spaghetti feeds and post race massages! The course wasn’t overly difficult with rolling hills- the most challenging part was feeling lop-sided from the running on the road side slant for the majority of the race. The road wasn’t closed but the shoulder was plenty wide and I was never concerned about traffic. Great community, great race!
Very challenging course!
LOTS of hills, and it's an open course, where you share the road with traffic. For the most part, drivers were respectful of runners, but others came quite close with … MORE
LOTS of hills, and it’s an open course, where you share the road with traffic. For the most part, drivers were respectful of runners, but others came quite close with no regard of runners. Everyone ran on the shoulder.
It’s a small town race, and there were maybe around 300 runners when I ran it. Besides all the challenges of the race, my favorite part was running along newfound lake, just beautiful!! All the volunteers were friendly, showers were available to runners (cold), and we were given lots of coupons (free beer at a local pub, and 15% off runners alley~this alone was amazing!~)
Medal is small, but the t-shirt was great quality soft cotton. Overall a good race for someone who is looking for a challenge. Still think it was worth running it.
Well Run Smaller Event
Pros: Out and back, very cool swag, high energy finish with music and food (pizza!), pretty course, morning of packet pickup, and walker friendly. Cons: No pacers, need to catch … MORE
Pros: Out and back, very cool swag, high energy finish with music and food (pizza!), pretty course, morning of packet pickup, and walker friendly.
Cons: No pacers, need to catch the bus for the half an hour before the start.
Beautiful, but HILLY race!!!
It was a beautiful, well-organized small-town race. Extremely hilly… they keep on coming till the very end. The views of the Newfound lake were absolutely beautiful. Is not a PR … MORE
It was a beautiful, well-organized small-town race. Extremely hilly… they keep on coming till the very end.
The views of the Newfound lake were absolutely beautiful.
Is not a PR race, but the beauty of the course is totally worth it. I will absolutely run it again if I can.
Lovely small race with lots of support
Lovely small race with lots of support from friendly volunteers. Be aware - this race is, however, an open course. You share the roadway of a two-lane road with traffic. … MORE
Lovely small race with lots of support from friendly volunteers. Be aware – this race is, however, an open course. You share the roadway of a two-lane road with traffic. Lots of signs to warn traffic, but I ultimately found this nerve-wracking.
Great race Support and good marathon
Its simple packet pickup and small town race great race support team and wonderful pasta dinner Good aid stations and course support Beautiful Course with Rolling Hills. save energy for … MORE
Its simple packet pickup and small town race
great race support team and wonderful pasta dinner
Good aid stations and course support
Beautiful Course with Rolling Hills. save energy for last miles
Hilly & Scenic Course
I was doing the Maine Half Marathon on Sunday and was already planning to stay at my parent's house in NH Friday night so decided to make it a double … MORE
I was doing the Maine Half Marathon on Sunday and was already planning to stay at my parent’s house in NH Friday night so decided to make it a double and do this half marathon Saturday morning. This is located in Bristol which is about a 40 minute drive north of Concord. This is a small but not tiny no frills race with about 150 marathoners and 250 half marathons. The finish line is at a school in Bristol. Easy and scenic drive up there. The marathon is a loop. For the half you are shuttled to the half way point of the marathon and it is a point to point. I got packet pick-up the morning of the race. It is in the basement of the school. It was easy and included a nice long sleeved tech shirt and some coupons and information pamphlets about NH. I then went on the school bus that took us to the start. Shuttles seemed well organized. It was a cool morning. Perfect running temp but cold for standing around waiting to race so they kept one bus for runners to stay warm in. There were porta potties at the half start but the line was very long. As I said this is a no frills race. There is not timing mat at the start. Just a banner that says start. Still everything was organized and started on time. As this has a small field and the half and full had different start line it took everyone very quick to go past the start so you’d only lose a few seconds at most not having the timing mat. The course is rolling hills back to the school. It is a beautiful course with fall foliage and lovely lake views. One of the prettiest courses I’ve done in the northeast. It was very well marked and easy to follow. One negative is the roads were open. It was at first on quiet country roads which was fine but the last couple miles were along a main highway and there were cars zooming past. There were signs to watch for runners and a large shoulder to run on so it’s didn’t feel unsafe but it also could have been safer. The course is very hilly. It is about the same as the Rochester half marathon in terms of total elevation but at least the half is net downhill. The first few miles were relatively flat and more downhill. The middle was very hilly and rough and the end was mostly downhill. If you did hill training you could get a decent time though it’s not a PR course. There were plenty of aid stations about every 2 miles. A little closer together closer to the end when you need more. Finish line again just a banner but there is a timing mat and a clock with your time. My finishing time was fine for the amount of hills. I was aiming for about 3 hours. The medal is tiny. Just a little medal of NH. I wouldn’t be surprised if they have been giving the same medal for 20+ years. There was good post race food and festivities for the size of the race with the typical fruit, granola bars, bagels along with pizza including cheese. They also had students hold a bake sale. Overall this was a good race. It was not my favorite half marathon for NH and wouldn’t be my first choice as I’d prefer a bigger race with bigger medals and closed (or at least coned off) streets, but if you prefer low frills, smaller races or want to combine NH with Maine this is a good choice.
Beautiful Scenery
Beautiful scenery, course wasn't too hard. Rolling hills, but mostly down hill. There were plenty of water stops, and really nice people. The shirts were nice and medals could have … MORE
Beautiful scenery, course wasn’t too hard. Rolling hills, but mostly down hill. There were plenty of water stops, and really nice people. The shirts were nice and medals could have been a little better.
Good scenic Fall race event
This is a point-to-point race which I love. This race had some up and down during the first half (ie mix of inclines and down hill). Travel logistics was very … MORE
This is a point-to-point race which I love. This race had some up and down during the first half (ie mix of inclines and down hill). Travel logistics was very easy. There was plenty of parking available at the high school (site of the Bib pick up) close to the start and finish. The scenery was great throughout the course.
Hills and Thrills
The first half of the course has rolling hills. Most of the uphills had a downhill right after which was nice. Good amount of water stops. Almost no crowd and … MORE
The first half of the course has rolling hills. Most of the uphills had a downhill right after which was nice. Good amount of water stops. Almost no crowd and only a small number of participants. I wish I had more information about race day before getting there.
Beautiful fall colors
It is a beautiful time to run and see the fall colors. Starts and finishes in a quaint New England town with most of the course around a scenic lake. MORE
It is a beautiful time to run and see the fall colors. Starts and finishes in a quaint New England town with most of the course around a scenic lake.
Beautiful
The volunteers were great! The food after was awesome! Last but not least the scenery was beautiful! My headphones broke and I had to run without music. It sucked, but … MORE
The volunteers were great! The food after was awesome! Last but not least the scenery was beautiful! My headphones broke and I had to run without music. It sucked, but the views made it worth it! There was a lot of hills but the other runners where awesome kept on motivating others to keep going! Very nice
Pretty, hilly, basic race
The New Hampshire Half Marathon is a beautiful, scenic and hilly course, which circles Newfound Lake. The half marathoners are actually taken to the marathon halfway point by bus and … MORE
The New Hampshire Half Marathon is a beautiful, scenic and hilly course, which circles Newfound Lake. The half marathoners are actually taken to the marathon halfway point by bus and start at mile 13.1 while the marathoners start at mile 1. The course has gorgeous views and often shows great fall foliage colors.
This is a small-town-feel race: little to no spectators, no fancy frills, but a great, challenging and rewarding course. The race medal is basically the same every year but the shirt changes. Post-race free showers and massages are available. This is a great race to double with the Maine Marathon (the next day) for those trying to finish 50 states on a budget.
Fall foliage season, bare-bones race
This is a runner's race in that there's very few bells and whistles to the organization. The start has no timing mat, the medal is a tiny, copper trinket, and … MORE
This is a runner’s race in that there’s very few bells and whistles to the organization. The start has no timing mat, the medal is a tiny, copper trinket, and the t-shirt’s neon green tint was a bit gaudy. However, I really enjoyed the race nonetheless because of the gorgeous fall colors all around me. The course is hilly, so be prepared for some elevation change, but it’s not the worst. Enjoy the flatness of miles 10 – 16, because before and after that you’ll be dealing with constant incline. Post-race showers were available and they were a blessing.