This is a 5K trail race in Bedford, NH. It was incorporated into Millennium Running's Happy Hour Hustle Race series which are 5Ks that take place on Thursday evening about … MORE
This is a 5K trail race in Bedford, NH. It was incorporated into Millennium Running’s Happy Hour Hustle Race series which are 5Ks that take place on Thursday evening about once per month from May through September. This race started at a school and there was good pre race communication and easy parking. Bib pickup is the day of the race and was easy. There were a few vendors at the start/finish area. There is no swag except some stuff from vendors which is fine for a short race but is why I docked a sneaker. There were 200 runners for the 5K and how the race worked is there were 100 cones lined up and two waves and runners went one by one. It was as organized as the time trial starts Millennium used during the pandemic but it worked very well to keep the trail from being too congested. There was both a 5K and a 2K option. The 2K is one loop. The 5K does 2 loops. The first loop is the same as the 2K but you go on to continue another loop instead of run to the finish line. On the second loop 5Kers turn and run an extra ~mile section before completing the second loop. This was a nice way to set up the race as the 2K loop was quite easy. There were some roots and minor changes in elevation but it was all runnable and not very technical. Even if you are intimidated by trail running or just hate trailing running you could walk the 2K and still participate. The extra mile added to the 5K however was quite hilly and technical. Nothing crazy this was easy than the dirt cheap races in Rochester but if you want to run this part you need hill training and trail training. My trail shoes are still packed away somewhere as I am in the middle of moving so I did use road shoes. Trail shoes would be better but it was not so technical that they are 100% necessary. Scenery was nice. The woods in NH are pretty. A few parts were on sports fields and not quite as nice. For the finish you ran around the field to the finish line. I was still rather slow and one of the later runners. However don’t worry the announcer at the end was awesome and she still cheered me on and complimented the pattern on my shorts. No issues being the back of the pack with this race. At the end there was a small beer festival with 5 or 6 local beers to try (I did not participate). They also had a barbeque with hot dogs and hamburgers. I asked if there were veggie options and was happy they said they had veggie burgers and got me one. The only issue with being such a slow runner is they were out of ketchup so if you are big ketchup fan you better push yourself. Overall this was a fun race and a nice challenge. I would definite recommend it if you can squeeze it in your Thursday and it would be a great intro to trail running course for those curious about trail running.
Trails to Veggie Burgers
This is a 5K trail race in Bedford, NH. It was incorporated into Millennium Running's Happy Hour Hustle Race series which are 5Ks that take place on Thursday evening about … MORE
This is a 5K trail race in Bedford, NH. It was incorporated into Millennium Running’s Happy Hour Hustle Race series which are 5Ks that take place on Thursday evening about once per month from May through September. This race started at a school and there was good pre race communication and easy parking. Bib pickup is the day of the race and was easy. There were a few vendors at the start/finish area. There is no swag except some stuff from vendors which is fine for a short race but is why I docked a sneaker. There were 200 runners for the 5K and how the race worked is there were 100 cones lined up and two waves and runners went one by one. It was as organized as the time trial starts Millennium used during the pandemic but it worked very well to keep the trail from being too congested. There was both a 5K and a 2K option. The 2K is one loop. The 5K does 2 loops. The first loop is the same as the 2K but you go on to continue another loop instead of run to the finish line. On the second loop 5Kers turn and run an extra ~mile section before completing the second loop. This was a nice way to set up the race as the 2K loop was quite easy. There were some roots and minor changes in elevation but it was all runnable and not very technical. Even if you are intimidated by trail running or just hate trailing running you could walk the 2K and still participate. The extra mile added to the 5K however was quite hilly and technical. Nothing crazy this was easy than the dirt cheap races in Rochester but if you want to run this part you need hill training and trail training. My trail shoes are still packed away somewhere as I am in the middle of moving so I did use road shoes. Trail shoes would be better but it was not so technical that they are 100% necessary. Scenery was nice. The woods in NH are pretty. A few parts were on sports fields and not quite as nice. For the finish you ran around the field to the finish line. I was still rather slow and one of the later runners. However don’t worry the announcer at the end was awesome and she still cheered me on and complimented the pattern on my shorts. No issues being the back of the pack with this race. At the end there was a small beer festival with 5 or 6 local beers to try (I did not participate). They also had a barbeque with hot dogs and hamburgers. I asked if there were veggie options and was happy they said they had veggie burgers and got me one. The only issue with being such a slow runner is they were out of ketchup so if you are big ketchup fan you better push yourself. Overall this was a fun race and a nice challenge. I would definite recommend it if you can squeeze it in your Thursday and it would be a great intro to trail running course for those curious about trail running.