This is a 15K that takes place in Buffalo and starts and finishes at the Flying Bison Brewing Co. This was a very convenient race for me as I had … MORE
This is a 15K that takes place in Buffalo and starts and finishes at the Flying Bison Brewing Co. This was a very convenient race for me as I had plans in Toronto Saturday evening and was planning to spend the afternoon in Buffalo for WNY VegFest which was the same day as this race. Usually I wouldn’t need a hotel but since I didn’t want to drive from Toronto to Rochester and back to Buffalo (Buffalo is between Rochester and Toronto) I did stay in a hotel for this race. I stayed in the Holiday Inn Express in downtown Buffalo which was about a 5 to 10 min drive to the race. Packet pick-up is required before the race. I got it Saturday afternoon on my way to Toronto and it was easy at the brewery and included bib and a nice long sleeve (though not tech) shirt. Race day morning was easy. The race starts at 7:16 (716 is Buffalo’s area code). There is plenty of street parking by the brewery. One complaint is there did not seem to be enough porta potties but I didn’t have to go. The start and finish are the same location and it is chipped time at start and finish. The course is sort of a loop. It is a really nice course. The first mile isn’t too scenic but then you get to downtown Buffalo and it is really nice. The next about 4 miles are downtown and you see most of the best sights of Buffalo. Then there are about 2 miles of an out and back along the lake and then back to the brewery. It is a similar course to the Buffalo half marathon/marathon. Basically most of the best sites of the half are seen on this course so if you aren’t up for a half or full marathon but want a running tour of Buffalo this is great. Streets were also closed and it was well marked. There were mile markers and a clock at the 5K and 10K mark. The course is a bit hilly for Buffalo though. I wouldn’t call it a hilly course but it is also not flat. There were frequent aid stations but one minor complaint is most just had water. Only the last had electrolyte drinks and there was no nutrition on course. If I was running this more competitively I would bring gels or chews with electrolytes. My other negative about the race is there were not many spectators but it’s not really the races fault and the race doesn’t really go through many residential neighborhoods. There were plenty of runners around (even near the back of the pack) and volunteers so even without spectators it was a fun atmosphere. Even though I was still slower than usual and doing run-walk intervals I was very happy with time and I am finally starting to see progress. I managed to finish 10 minutes faster than the boilermaker. We were lucky this morning wasn’t as hot as yesterday which helped my time but it was still very humid. I also didn’t fall apart as much at the end and had more consistent splits than I’ve been having. At the finish you get your medal which is a nice medal of the Buffalo skyline. There is a finish fest with beer if you drink and lots of food. There were hot dogs, bagels with PB&J, fruit, granola bars, yogurt, etc. I was planning on eating a ton of food at Vegfest so I just ate half a bagel with PB&J to hold me over. Overall this was a great race. I will definitely do it again if I can especially if it is again the same day as Vegfest which was about a 5 minute drive away from the race. This is one I would highly recommend for locals. I would also recommend this to out of towners if you are hoping to visit Buffalo/Niagara Falls in the summer and want to add a race to your trip.
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Great Urban Race
This is a 15K that takes place in Buffalo and starts and finishes at the Flying Bison Brewing Co. This was a very convenient race for me as I had … MORE
This is a 15K that takes place in Buffalo and starts and finishes at the Flying Bison Brewing Co. This was a very convenient race for me as I had plans in Toronto Saturday evening and was planning to spend the afternoon in Buffalo for WNY VegFest which was the same day as this race. Usually I wouldn’t need a hotel but since I didn’t want to drive from Toronto to Rochester and back to Buffalo (Buffalo is between Rochester and Toronto) I did stay in a hotel for this race. I stayed in the Holiday Inn Express in downtown Buffalo which was about a 5 to 10 min drive to the race. Packet pick-up is required before the race. I got it Saturday afternoon on my way to Toronto and it was easy at the brewery and included bib and a nice long sleeve (though not tech) shirt. Race day morning was easy. The race starts at 7:16 (716 is Buffalo’s area code). There is plenty of street parking by the brewery. One complaint is there did not seem to be enough porta potties but I didn’t have to go. The start and finish are the same location and it is chipped time at start and finish. The course is sort of a loop. It is a really nice course. The first mile isn’t too scenic but then you get to downtown Buffalo and it is really nice. The next about 4 miles are downtown and you see most of the best sights of Buffalo. Then there are about 2 miles of an out and back along the lake and then back to the brewery. It is a similar course to the Buffalo half marathon/marathon. Basically most of the best sites of the half are seen on this course so if you aren’t up for a half or full marathon but want a running tour of Buffalo this is great. Streets were also closed and it was well marked. There were mile markers and a clock at the 5K and 10K mark. The course is a bit hilly for Buffalo though. I wouldn’t call it a hilly course but it is also not flat. There were frequent aid stations but one minor complaint is most just had water. Only the last had electrolyte drinks and there was no nutrition on course. If I was running this more competitively I would bring gels or chews with electrolytes. My other negative about the race is there were not many spectators but it’s not really the races fault and the race doesn’t really go through many residential neighborhoods. There were plenty of runners around (even near the back of the pack) and volunteers so even without spectators it was a fun atmosphere. Even though I was still slower than usual and doing run-walk intervals I was very happy with time and I am finally starting to see progress. I managed to finish 10 minutes faster than the boilermaker. We were lucky this morning wasn’t as hot as yesterday which helped my time but it was still very humid. I also didn’t fall apart as much at the end and had more consistent splits than I’ve been having. At the finish you get your medal which is a nice medal of the Buffalo skyline. There is a finish fest with beer if you drink and lots of food. There were hot dogs, bagels with PB&J, fruit, granola bars, yogurt, etc. I was planning on eating a ton of food at Vegfest so I just ate half a bagel with PB&J to hold me over. Overall this was a great race. I will definitely do it again if I can especially if it is again the same day as Vegfest which was about a 5 minute drive away from the race. This is one I would highly recommend for locals. I would also recommend this to out of towners if you are hoping to visit Buffalo/Niagara Falls in the summer and want to add a race to your trip.