I was in Tennessee for the Memphis St. Jude Half Saturday and was planning to go Nashville for the next couple of days and couldn't resist a double. This sounded … MORE
I was in Tennessee for the Memphis St. Jude Half Saturday and was planning to go Nashville for the next couple of days and couldn’t resist a double. This sounded like a really, fun christmas’y race but it was only okay. The Santa Hustle series holds races thoughout the country and I’d imagine others are similar. The review from last year pretty much described it perfectly though they did make one very literal change from that reviewer’s suggestion. The race is only $60 and I’ll start with the major positive. This race has really nice, fun christmas themed swag for the price. You get a really nice, zipped sweatshirt and a nice fleece headband. The race is at a park in Nashville and there is race day packet pick up or the option for the day before. I got it race day. There was okay pre race communication. There was good parking instructions but I could not find the time limit. I could’ve sworn I remembered it being 3:30 when I signed up which I didn’t think would be a problem but as I said in my last review I was recovering from a cold and wasn’t sure I could finish it in 3:30 and I could not find a time limit on the website. In the end there did not appear to be one but that would have been nice to have known. Packet pick up was easy. The rest of the start was okay. There were not nearly enough porta potties. Luckily I went pretty early but there was a huge line when the race was starting and the line merged with the runners on the start line making the corral quite chaotic. There were pacers up to 3 hours which helped spread everyone else. It was chip timed but it was just scanners not a mat and it only appeared to scan at the finish so it was essentially gun time. This was generally wouldn’t matter much in a smaller race like this with a few hundred runners but it was not clear and everyone was taking their sweet time going through the corral and several runners started late as they were still in the porta potty. I only realized the scanners were only reading our time at the end when I saw my results were a minute slower than my Garmin and figured out what happened. The rest of the race was fine. It was the same Y-shaped out and back described in the first review. It was a pleasant park to run in but not very distinctive. It’s a good course for a cheaper race that utilizes public space but don’t sign up expecting a tour of Nashville. The christmas theme was not that apparent during the race and they really could have done more. There was just one christmas aid station around mile 1 with cookies and candy canes. This is where they listened to the first review’s advice rather literally and did have Little Debbie’s for the cookies. It was the gingerbread cookies. I do think this was a better choice than oreos. There were a few other aid stations but they were all generic with just water, some had gatorade and most had gels and bananas. They had whole bananas. I appreciated some real food but it’d be better to have the bananas cut in quarters as I can’t eat an entire banana during a race and had to waste about half of the banana I took. Course was well marked and there were volunteers at the more confusing Y section. One thing I really liked it there was a sweeper on a bike with a cart attached. He was very nice and not an annoying sweeper who tried to force you to go faster. I asked him about the time limit and he reassured they would let everyone finish and he was there just to clean up after everyone passed and make sure everyone was safe. There were also mile markers but they were very plain. This is where I really think the race could be elevated and it wouldn’t take much work. It would have been awesome if there were christmas decorated mile markers and signs throughout the course with christmas cheer and christmas jokes. Perhaps loudspeakers blaring christmas music at aid stations. Other than participants in christmas gear and the first aid station nothing felt particularly christmas’y. The course is also very hilly. My Garmin recorded nearly 1000 feet of elevation gain. I was very happy to finish under 3:30 with the hills and how I was feeling. The finish line was a bit anti climatic as there weren’t many back of packers. It was just the RD and a few volunteers cheering me on. I got my medal which is nice and has a jingle bell. However there were 3 people behind me and I only saw 1 medal left after me so unless there were some hidden ones I think they may have ended up with 5K medals. Post race snacks also somewhat disappointing with just granola bars though I did like the energy drink samples. I do think some hot Cocoa and christmas cookies (even Little Debbies) would have been better. Overall I thought this race was okay. It had nice swag and was a nice but not too exciting course on a public trail. There just wasn’t enough christmas stuff to make it extra special. Since I was in Nashville anyways I’m glad I ran this race. I would recommend it to locals for the swag but it’s not a race I would go out of my way for. I would do another Santa Hustle if there was one within driving distance but wouldn’t go out of my way to do another one.
Nice Swag but not Christmas'y enough
I was in Tennessee for the Memphis St. Jude Half Saturday and was planning to go Nashville for the next couple of days and couldn't resist a double. This sounded … MORE
I was in Tennessee for the Memphis St. Jude Half Saturday and was planning to go Nashville for the next couple of days and couldn’t resist a double. This sounded like a really, fun christmas’y race but it was only okay. The Santa Hustle series holds races thoughout the country and I’d imagine others are similar. The review from last year pretty much described it perfectly though they did make one very literal change from that reviewer’s suggestion. The race is only $60 and I’ll start with the major positive. This race has really nice, fun christmas themed swag for the price. You get a really nice, zipped sweatshirt and a nice fleece headband. The race is at a park in Nashville and there is race day packet pick up or the option for the day before. I got it race day. There was okay pre race communication. There was good parking instructions but I could not find the time limit. I could’ve sworn I remembered it being 3:30 when I signed up which I didn’t think would be a problem but as I said in my last review I was recovering from a cold and wasn’t sure I could finish it in 3:30 and I could not find a time limit on the website. In the end there did not appear to be one but that would have been nice to have known. Packet pick up was easy. The rest of the start was okay. There were not nearly enough porta potties. Luckily I went pretty early but there was a huge line when the race was starting and the line merged with the runners on the start line making the corral quite chaotic. There were pacers up to 3 hours which helped spread everyone else. It was chip timed but it was just scanners not a mat and it only appeared to scan at the finish so it was essentially gun time. This was generally wouldn’t matter much in a smaller race like this with a few hundred runners but it was not clear and everyone was taking their sweet time going through the corral and several runners started late as they were still in the porta potty. I only realized the scanners were only reading our time at the end when I saw my results were a minute slower than my Garmin and figured out what happened. The rest of the race was fine. It was the same Y-shaped out and back described in the first review. It was a pleasant park to run in but not very distinctive. It’s a good course for a cheaper race that utilizes public space but don’t sign up expecting a tour of Nashville. The christmas theme was not that apparent during the race and they really could have done more. There was just one christmas aid station around mile 1 with cookies and candy canes. This is where they listened to the first review’s advice rather literally and did have Little Debbie’s for the cookies. It was the gingerbread cookies. I do think this was a better choice than oreos. There were a few other aid stations but they were all generic with just water, some had gatorade and most had gels and bananas. They had whole bananas. I appreciated some real food but it’d be better to have the bananas cut in quarters as I can’t eat an entire banana during a race and had to waste about half of the banana I took. Course was well marked and there were volunteers at the more confusing Y section. One thing I really liked it there was a sweeper on a bike with a cart attached. He was very nice and not an annoying sweeper who tried to force you to go faster. I asked him about the time limit and he reassured they would let everyone finish and he was there just to clean up after everyone passed and make sure everyone was safe. There were also mile markers but they were very plain. This is where I really think the race could be elevated and it wouldn’t take much work. It would have been awesome if there were christmas decorated mile markers and signs throughout the course with christmas cheer and christmas jokes. Perhaps loudspeakers blaring christmas music at aid stations. Other than participants in christmas gear and the first aid station nothing felt particularly christmas’y. The course is also very hilly. My Garmin recorded nearly 1000 feet of elevation gain. I was very happy to finish under 3:30 with the hills and how I was feeling. The finish line was a bit anti climatic as there weren’t many back of packers. It was just the RD and a few volunteers cheering me on. I got my medal which is nice and has a jingle bell. However there were 3 people behind me and I only saw 1 medal left after me so unless there were some hidden ones I think they may have ended up with 5K medals. Post race snacks also somewhat disappointing with just granola bars though I did like the energy drink samples. I do think some hot Cocoa and christmas cookies (even Little Debbies) would have been better. Overall I thought this race was okay. It had nice swag and was a nice but not too exciting course on a public trail. There just wasn’t enough christmas stuff to make it extra special. Since I was in Nashville anyways I’m glad I ran this race. I would recommend it to locals for the swag but it’s not a race I would go out of my way for. I would do another Santa Hustle if there was one within driving distance but wouldn’t go out of my way to do another one.
Great swag, ok course, terrible cookies
So I registered for this course because of the Christmas-y website and description. I'd have Christmas cookies at the aid stations and everyone would be dressed like Santa, or so … MORE
So I registered for this course because of the Christmas-y website and description. I’d have Christmas cookies at the aid stations and everyone would be dressed like Santa, or so I thought. The course was decent and was along a greenway the entire time, which was nice. I think this course would be nice for a spring or fall race since it is tree-lined much of the time. It was a bit more out-and-back, and then out-and-back again than I’d have preferred. Sort of like a Y-shaped course, where you start at the bottom of the Y, then run the left side of the Y, then back to the down, and then up the right side of the Y, then down again, and then back up the left side of the Y again, then finally back to the the bottom of the Y. A minor complaint, tbh. It seems the course is this way because they simply ran out of greenway at the top end of the Y segments.
The volunteers and race organizers were also friendly and helpful, which has always been my experience at the races I’ve done. When it’s 30 degrees outside and you stand there behind a table for two or three hours to hand out water or gel, you deserve a “thanks” from the runners.
The Santa hat and tech sweatshirt were also fun. Loved seeing everyone wearing the red shirt and Santa hat.
But… I would not run this race again. This is a Christmas race and is advertised as having Christmas cookies. But there were not actually any Christmas cookies. There were multiple aid stations, but only the first two had anything sweet to eat. The first station had packaged cookies. Oreos, Famous Amos, that sort of thing. The second station had M&Ms, Snickers, and other similar candy. Maybe bring in Little Debbie holiday cakes? They are more moist and I won’t choke on the crumbs. All other aid stations had only water, or water and sports drink, and I think a few had gel. My beef is, if you advertise Christmas cookies, then perhaps put actual Christmas cookies at the aid stations. The finish line food was water and more of the packaged cookies. There were bananas and trail mix as well, but no hot chocolate, or candy canes? Hey, it might be a minor thing, but these days with so many half marathons if you want to stand out as a race better than the rest, then do what it takes to stand out. And also, advertise the race accurately. I think this race has a lot of potential, and it already has a good course and great volunteers, but it does need to up its game a bit so that the actual race matches the advertising. Or keep the same race and change the way it’s advertised.
Parking was ample, and easy, and very close to the start line. There were port-a-poddies at the start line, and packet pickup was easy. This was a small race… maybe only 300 people running all distances? Anyway, there is lots to like here, but in future years please bring out the cookies and hot chocolate, or cider, or coffee, or candy canes! 🙂