NH 10 Miler

I did the full 10 miler a few years ago and the relay with my dad last year so those reviews have more detail. This year I planned to do the relay with my dad initially but he was unable to run it so I ended up doing the relay with a friend from a running club. My friend is a walker which was fine as I was planning on taking this race easy and allowed me to see how the race is from the back of the pack. This year I decided to arrive really early to get good parking. I arrived around 6:45 and parked right by the start. There is plenty of parking but if you arrive late you may have to park close to 1 mile from the start. This year the race shirt was a polyblend shirt not a tech shirt but I liked the color and design more than last year. The relay is incredibly well-organized and timed. I went second again. The buses leave right after the runners start so you can cheer on your relay partner and arrive at the halfway mark a few minutes before the first runner passes. Since my partner walked she was one of the last participants to pass the halfway mark so I was near the back. However this race is very back of the pack friendly and it was no big deal at all. All the aid stations completely well stocked with water and gatorade and one had maple syrup. Course is hilly but doable. Finish line and post race area was all still up near the back and it was an exciting and encouraging finish. The medal is great for a race shorter than a half marathon. Overall this is a great event I’d recommend to everyone no matter your pace.

I ran the full 10 mile race 2 years ago during the pandemic. It was a well produced race but very rainy that day which affected the race experience. I decided to do this race again since there was an event in Boston this weekend I wanted to go to. I was initially going to sign up for the full 10 mile race but my dad has been having some health issues and wanted to do the race but he wasn’t sure he would be able to do the 10 miler so we decided to do the relay together. The production on the relay particularly the shuttle buses was outstanding. For the race there is race day packet pick-up or you can go to the store the day before. This is a very popular race as it is part of a big New England race series so there are a ton of participants. Makes it a fun environment but parking was a pain. We arrived about an hour early and we still had to park over half a mile away so arrive early if you want to park close. We picked up our packet the day of the race. For the relay you each get a bib and ankle timer and each participant gets a shirt. The shirt is nice quality but I personally didn’t like the design and color scheme (black shirt with red writing) that much this year. My dad did the first leg since he likes the start of the races the best and I did the second leg. For the relay the second leg participants take a shuttle to the half way point. The race starts at 8am and the shuttle leaves around 8:05 just after the last participants cross the start area and the shuttle starts in an area with a great view of the start line where you can see all the participants start and cheer on your relay partner. It then takes about 10 to 15 minutes to get the relay exchange which allowed about 5 minutes and then you got to see the fastest runners go past you which made waiting entertaining by being able see everyone run by. There was also an announcer right before the relay exchange who called out the runners passing and also called out the bib numbers of relay participants who had a different color bibs than the full 10 milers so you could be ready in the exchange area. This was extremely impressive how organized the relay way. The race course is more described in my last review and it is a pretty NH course though not as pretty as a fall race. It is very hilly but the second leg is net downhill so not as bad but there are 2 large hills in the second half. Weather was perfect today which allowed for a better running experience than 2 years ago. I exceeded my expectations and was able to run everything except two big hills that I walked and finished my leg just over an hour and had one of my best race paces since coming back from injury. You get a really nice medal at the finish line and there were plenty of snacks and non-alcoholic drink choices. There is also a post race party with free beer at a local restaurant if interested. Overall this is a very good race. It is between 4 and 5 sneakers this year with the perfect weather and outstanding relay production I bumped up the score to 5 sneakers. It’s again not a race I would go to NH for alone but if it is the same weekend as an event I want to do in NH or Boston I would definitely do it again.

I am originally from NH and now that I am back on the East Coast I am planning to visit quite a bit as long as covid rates stay low in both NH and NY therefore I was very happy to hear the Millenium Running in NH is planning to hold all their fall events with social distancing protocols. I was very impressed by the organization of this race and the ability to host a race with over 500 runners safely. Each runner was placed in a wave based on predicted finishing time with faster runners in earlier waves so there is less passing. Each wave is limited to 99 participants and each gets a number 1 to 99 and stands at a cone 6 ft apart based on their number then every few seconds a new runner goes. Each wave is given a time for parking, packet pick up and entering corral to avoid large congregations. Parking was easy but since I was in a later wave I had to park kind of far. Packet pick-up was that morning (or the option of early pick up at the store but I arrived too late the evening before). You got bib and T-shirt. Only issue with shirts and really only production issue is they were out of men’s mediums (I switched to choosing men’s sizes since women’s sizes are too unpredictable) but they had women’s larges left which ended up being a perfect fit for me. I have mixed feelings about the shirt. It is tech and fits nice. I like how the race logo has the elevation profile incorporated in the image but the color is kind of an ugly charcoal grey. The start went quite smooth and I like how they personally introduce each runner before they start adding more excitement to the start line. The weather at the start was gloomy, cool and slightly drizzly which I actually like running in weather like that. The course itself is quite tough and very tough for a road race. They aren’t lying about the hills. It was pretty nonstop up and down for the whole race. This year the race was run the reverse direction as usual so the runners ran against traffic and roads didn’t need to be closed. With the wave starts, spaced out runners, and lots of signage it felt safe running on the open roads. This changed course meant the steepest hills were up front which is better but the finish was not downhill which is worse. There were 3 water stops with small water bottles and the last 2 had small powerade bottles. This seemed very hygienic but not very good for the environment. So many half full water and powerade bottles in the garbage. I hope they get recycled and even though I prefer to run lighter I plan to use my hydration pack next race to reduce the waste. The course went around a pretty lake and the views of the lake were nice. The rest of the race was pretty (it’s hard to find a not pretty 10 mile in NH) but not as pretty as a New England race in the Fall. The hills were tough and this had probably the second toughest hills I dealt with on a road race after the Chinatown Firecracker 10K but after those mountain trail races I can’t give it a 5 star in difficulty (but it may be that difficult for exclusive road runners). About halfway through it started to rain hard and I no longer liked the weather (I can’t always expect perfect weather now that I am out of LA). Most of the race was road but the last mile was on the rail trail. Normally I’d like some easy, non techinical trail at the end of the race but not in the rain as it was muddy and hard to avoid puddles. Also the last mile was a slight incline so it was a tough end. At the finish line they called out all the runners as they crossed another nice personal touch. Given the hills and weather I was happy to finish under 2 hours. At the finish line there was water, powerade, fruit cups, coconut bars, bananas and apples. You were also given your medal. The medal was amazing. It was huge and by far my largest medal from a non half or full marathon. However it didn’t have the year but from what I saw online was a different medal than last year. I will forgive RDs this year for not putting the date on the medal since they may not have been 100% sure the race would happen when they ordered them. This was not the most pleasant race with the rain which was not the race’s fault but was very organized and felt very safe. I’m not sure in a year with multiple races to choose from that I would choose to visit NH for this race alone but if I had another reason to be in town the week of the race I would absolutely run it again. I hope Millenium Running can keep holding their events like this as I am hoping to run the New England Half and Manchester City Full. But their cancellation policy is more than fair offering credit to any future Millenium Running event so low risk to sign up for their races if you are local or visit NH a lot.