This is a fun race largely because it's small and very low production. The course is pretty. Sometimes it's along the lake, sometimes deep in the woods, and the first … MORE
This is a fun race largely because it’s small and very low production. The course is pretty. Sometimes it’s along the lake, sometimes deep in the woods, and the first mile or two are on the road.
It’s small enough that everyone parks at the lodge, there are indoor bathrooms in the lodge lobby. I don’t recall seeing any on the course, but I may have missed them. There were at least one or two places where they could have placed them, one of which I know did not have any.
I didn’t stay at the lodge but if you are from out of town I would recommend it. There is nothing within 15+ minutes driving from the start line, and the lodge looked quite nice. The breakfast buffet would have been welcome after the race if I’d been staying there. The start line is at a lower parking lot of the lodge, one or two minutes walking from the front door.
The aid stations were amply stocked, and not staffed, which saved on cost, I’m sure. They had far more than far bigger races have with a lot more volunteers. Mostly only water but they had a variety of snacks. No energy gel that I can recall, so if you need that you should bring your own. They had chili at the end but if you are a vegetarian like me that won’t be super helpful, but I did appreciate that they had it. I love seeing hot and homemade food after races.
The course. The course was nice. The one downside of the course was that with the race taking place in the late late fall the ground was covered with leaves. I’m not a regular trail runner. Of my 25+ half marathons maybe only 5 of them have been trail runs, and none in the year before this one. So I’m probably more likely than most to trip up on roots and rocks, but I tripped five times and fell (and rolled) once. A guy in front of my tripped and fell pretty hard. Another guy tripped up on some roots but didn’t fall. Nothing to do about this except change the month of the race. Mostly it was pretty flat but there were a few hills.
If you are local’ish and need a December race, this is a great one. Don’t travel too far for this one though; nothing much in the area. Florence is worth a visit, Athens is worth a visit, and so is Decatur, so if you have a couple of days to spare, the region is worth a visit.
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Fun race, where is the river monster?!
This is a fun race largely because it's small and very low production. The course is pretty. Sometimes it's along the lake, sometimes deep in the woods, and the first … MORE
This is a fun race largely because it’s small and very low production. The course is pretty. Sometimes it’s along the lake, sometimes deep in the woods, and the first mile or two are on the road.
It’s small enough that everyone parks at the lodge, there are indoor bathrooms in the lodge lobby. I don’t recall seeing any on the course, but I may have missed them. There were at least one or two places where they could have placed them, one of which I know did not have any.
I didn’t stay at the lodge but if you are from out of town I would recommend it. There is nothing within 15+ minutes driving from the start line, and the lodge looked quite nice. The breakfast buffet would have been welcome after the race if I’d been staying there. The start line is at a lower parking lot of the lodge, one or two minutes walking from the front door.
The aid stations were amply stocked, and not staffed, which saved on cost, I’m sure. They had far more than far bigger races have with a lot more volunteers. Mostly only water but they had a variety of snacks. No energy gel that I can recall, so if you need that you should bring your own. They had chili at the end but if you are a vegetarian like me that won’t be super helpful, but I did appreciate that they had it. I love seeing hot and homemade food after races.
The course. The course was nice. The one downside of the course was that with the race taking place in the late late fall the ground was covered with leaves. I’m not a regular trail runner. Of my 25+ half marathons maybe only 5 of them have been trail runs, and none in the year before this one. So I’m probably more likely than most to trip up on roots and rocks, but I tripped five times and fell (and rolled) once. A guy in front of my tripped and fell pretty hard. Another guy tripped up on some roots but didn’t fall. Nothing to do about this except change the month of the race. Mostly it was pretty flat but there were a few hills.
If you are local’ish and need a December race, this is a great one. Don’t travel too far for this one though; nothing much in the area. Florence is worth a visit, Athens is worth a visit, and so is Decatur, so if you have a couple of days to spare, the region is worth a visit.