This is a summer half marathon or 5K located near Rochester, NY produced by Yellow Jacket Racing. I used to live in Rochester and did this race every year I … MORE
This is a summer half marathon or 5K located near Rochester, NY produced by Yellow Jacket Racing. I used to live in Rochester and did this race every year I was there and had done the half marathon twice and the 5K once when I was injured. It’s a special race to me since it was my first road half marathon I did after the pandemic and the stars were aligned for this to be my 52nd half marathon in 365 days to level up to the Sun which is the highest level in Half Fanatics. I was initially going to stay local this weekend but the only local half marathon was by Yukan who has 3 hour time limits and I didn’t think I could finish a half marathon in 3 hours in the summer so I decided to travel to Rochester to do this race since it has a 3.5 hour time limit. This is a fun weekend to travel to Rochester as it is Pride weekend which for some reason they celebrate in July not June. The race takes place on Saturday and there is race day packet pick-up. They recommend you pick up your packet before at Fleet Feet. I initially was not planning on arriving in Rochester until close to midnight on Friday but my work was canceled on Friday due to the Crowdstrike Outage so I arrived early enough to get my packet Friday. It was easy to pick up at the store and included bib, tank top and coupons. The tank top this year is black. I like black tank tops as I have a lot of fun colored running shorts. There was good pre race communication and it was very clear where to go in the morning and where to park. The race starts at 7am and weather looked beautiful. It was perfect running weather most of the race though it did get a little hot by the end but it was about 10 degrees cooler than my last 3 half marathons. In general Rochester is hot but less hot than most of the country so it’s not a bad place for a summer race. It’s a pretty small race with a couple hundred runners so there are no designated waves or pacers but the start is on wide streets so it’s easy to spread out. The first about 2.5 miles are in a state park by Lake Ontario. This part is shaded and nice. The next 8 miles are on farmland. This part has been slightly different each year I have done it. This year it was a 4 mile square you do twice. I like the farmland it is very pretty but this part is not shaded so it can be hot. It’s a little boring doing a double loop but it helps with race strategy since you know what is coming. The last 2.5 miles are in the park and the last mile or so is right by the lake and beautiful. The race was very well organized. Roads weren’t closed by they were quiet and with lots of course marshals so it was safe. There were 4 aid stations, 2 you passed twice that had water and gatorade. While I do feel this is sufficient for most half marathons, I’d prefer a couple more for a summer half marathon. The volunteers were great though and it was recommended you carry additional water. It’s a pretty quiet race but there are a few spectators. My favorite thing about this course is the elevation profile. This course is perfect for me. It has about 150-200 feet of elevation gain with no true hills but lots of slight inclines and declines. I tend to be fastest on courses like this and today was no exception. I was shocked at how fast I was. I guess I just really, really wanted to get to the sun. I was able to complete the first 7 miles all under 13 minutes. I then started to feel a little over heated and knew I couldn’t maintain this pace but with smart planning could finish under 3 hours which as I stated above I didn’t think I would be able to do in the summer. This is where the double loop helped as I strategically walked the hotter and more uphill sections and ran the sections where the breeze and shade helped out. As a result I had my fastest half of the year and was about 30 minutes faster than my usual time. I guess I could have stayed in New England this weekend lol (I’m actually very glad I did this race as I would have been stressed the whole time if I had to finish in under 3 hours). The finish line is nice and by the beach. The RD remembers me since I did a lot of their races and cheers on the runners. There were cooling towels, water, snacks and post race breakfast burritos that were vegetarian (but not vegan). I was very happy that I both finished a half under 3 hours and made it to Sun level and was happy this ended up being the race where it happened. I do really enjoy this race especially the area by the beach and the elevation profile. I definitely recommend it to locals or people who live 6 hours away and need a half marathon with a 3.5 hour time limit. In terms of 50 staters, I think there are more iconic NY half marathons such as NYC or Buffalo, but as it can be hard to get new states in the summer if you need NY and want a summer race this is a good one.
Staring at the Sun
This is a summer half marathon or 5K located near Rochester, NY produced by Yellow Jacket Racing. I used to live in Rochester and did this race every year I … MORE
This is a summer half marathon or 5K located near Rochester, NY produced by Yellow Jacket Racing. I used to live in Rochester and did this race every year I was there and had done the half marathon twice and the 5K once when I was injured. It’s a special race to me since it was my first road half marathon I did after the pandemic and the stars were aligned for this to be my 52nd half marathon in 365 days to level up to the Sun which is the highest level in Half Fanatics. I was initially going to stay local this weekend but the only local half marathon was by Yukan who has 3 hour time limits and I didn’t think I could finish a half marathon in 3 hours in the summer so I decided to travel to Rochester to do this race since it has a 3.5 hour time limit. This is a fun weekend to travel to Rochester as it is Pride weekend which for some reason they celebrate in July not June. The race takes place on Saturday and there is race day packet pick-up. They recommend you pick up your packet before at Fleet Feet. I initially was not planning on arriving in Rochester until close to midnight on Friday but my work was canceled on Friday due to the Crowdstrike Outage so I arrived early enough to get my packet Friday. It was easy to pick up at the store and included bib, tank top and coupons. The tank top this year is black. I like black tank tops as I have a lot of fun colored running shorts. There was good pre race communication and it was very clear where to go in the morning and where to park. The race starts at 7am and weather looked beautiful. It was perfect running weather most of the race though it did get a little hot by the end but it was about 10 degrees cooler than my last 3 half marathons. In general Rochester is hot but less hot than most of the country so it’s not a bad place for a summer race. It’s a pretty small race with a couple hundred runners so there are no designated waves or pacers but the start is on wide streets so it’s easy to spread out. The first about 2.5 miles are in a state park by Lake Ontario. This part is shaded and nice. The next 8 miles are on farmland. This part has been slightly different each year I have done it. This year it was a 4 mile square you do twice. I like the farmland it is very pretty but this part is not shaded so it can be hot. It’s a little boring doing a double loop but it helps with race strategy since you know what is coming. The last 2.5 miles are in the park and the last mile or so is right by the lake and beautiful. The race was very well organized. Roads weren’t closed by they were quiet and with lots of course marshals so it was safe. There were 4 aid stations, 2 you passed twice that had water and gatorade. While I do feel this is sufficient for most half marathons, I’d prefer a couple more for a summer half marathon. The volunteers were great though and it was recommended you carry additional water. It’s a pretty quiet race but there are a few spectators. My favorite thing about this course is the elevation profile. This course is perfect for me. It has about 150-200 feet of elevation gain with no true hills but lots of slight inclines and declines. I tend to be fastest on courses like this and today was no exception. I was shocked at how fast I was. I guess I just really, really wanted to get to the sun. I was able to complete the first 7 miles all under 13 minutes. I then started to feel a little over heated and knew I couldn’t maintain this pace but with smart planning could finish under 3 hours which as I stated above I didn’t think I would be able to do in the summer. This is where the double loop helped as I strategically walked the hotter and more uphill sections and ran the sections where the breeze and shade helped out. As a result I had my fastest half of the year and was about 30 minutes faster than my usual time. I guess I could have stayed in New England this weekend lol (I’m actually very glad I did this race as I would have been stressed the whole time if I had to finish in under 3 hours). The finish line is nice and by the beach. The RD remembers me since I did a lot of their races and cheers on the runners. There were cooling towels, water, snacks and post race breakfast burritos that were vegetarian (but not vegan). I was very happy that I both finished a half under 3 hours and made it to Sun level and was happy this ended up being the race where it happened. I do really enjoy this race especially the area by the beach and the elevation profile. I definitely recommend it to locals or people who live 6 hours away and need a half marathon with a 3.5 hour time limit. In terms of 50 staters, I think there are more iconic NY half marathons such as NYC or Buffalo, but as it can be hard to get new states in the summer if you need NY and want a summer race this is a good one.
Scenic & Flat
This is my third year doing this race but first time doing the 5K. This race is located in Hamlin Beach State Park near Lake Ontario about 30 minutes from … MORE
This is my third year doing this race but first time doing the 5K. This race is located in Hamlin Beach State Park near Lake Ontario about 30 minutes from Rochester. I got my packet the day before at Fleet Feet but they do offer same day packet pick-up. This year the tank top is a navy blue. I like the color and will use it. Race is well organized and they give clear directions about where the park. The entire 5K is in the park and is very scenic with some views of the woods and a lot of it along the lake. It is usually hot but most of the 5K is shaded. The 5K though does not go through the farmland like the half. The farmland is not shaded so the half is hot but the race has an early start time of 7am. The course is pretty flat. The 5K had about 40 ft elevation gains. No hills just some inclines and declines. It is normally a fast course but I am super out of shape from not running for a month to recovery from injury. There were mile markers on the course and a water stop in the middle. Finish line is set up well. There is an arch and you are cheered on by the race team. It is chip timed but only at the finish. I wasn’t setting any speed records today so that didn’t bother me. At the end you get a medal. One disappointment is it is the same medal as last year. It’s a nice enough medal but giving the same medal gives less incentive to do the race every year. I do really enjoy this race so I probably will continue to run it. This year they were able to have normal post race food and had breakfast burritos including a vegetarian (though not vegan) option. There were also chips and bananas. Overall this is a very nice, scenic and flat local 5K or half marathon.
Peaceful, Pretty Race
This is my second year running this race. Last year it was my first road half marathon since the pandemic so it has a special place in my heart but … MORE
This is my second year running this race. Last year it was my first road half marathon since the pandemic so it has a special place in my heart but now that I am running road half marathons pretty regularly I would say this is a very good but not quite great half marathon. This year it was held on its usual date the second weekend in July. This race is located in Hamlin State Park along Lake Ontario and is produced by Yellow Jacket Racing. There was packet pickup the day before. Packet included bib, a packet of powerade gel, chapstick and the race tank. It is a nice technical tank and perfect to wear to the race. This year it was grey which is not my favorite color but better than last year’s white. The race started at 7am. Luckily it was cooler today than it had been with highs in low 70s but the race still felt very hot as there is very little shade. There was a mass start. Again there was no timing mat at the start but this wasn’t a huge race with a little under 200 participants so it’s not that big of a deal since everyone passed the starting line quickly. The first 2 miles are in the park which is the only shaded part. After the park is about 9 miles of farmland. This year they had to alter the course pretty last minute due to construction on the original course so it was different farmland than last time. It is nice and pleasant farmland but as I’m now almost always running by farms in races it was not as exciting as the first time I did this race. I saw some nice horses at one of the farms. I also saw a deer in the park. After the farms it is two miles back in the park. The last mile is along the beach and is gorgeous and cooler with shade and a breeze. There were 4 water stops with just water. This was communicated so I was prepared with my extra salty clif blocks but gatorade would have been nice. The volunteers at the aid stations and street corners were very nice and encouraging. This was of course very well marked with signs and volunteers at every turn so you could not get lost. The course elevation profile is so nice. It is flat but not quite pancake flat so you get to use some different muscles. About 200 feet of elevation gain total. My 2 complaints about the course and why I took a sneaker away from production and overall score were the lack of mile markers and lack of porta potties on course. Last year there were big mile markers. I’m not sure if there were porta potties last year. I didn’t need it but I saw a poor runner emerge from the bushes due to the lack of them. I know YJR is super busy with races right now and curveballs like construction on courses keep being thrown at them along with all the changing covid guideline curveballs so I’d imagine that’s why some details were missing. The finish area was really nice and exciting along the beach. The RD cheered us on. My time was quite fast today especially since it felt very hot in the unshaded farmland. I didn’t get under 2:30 but it was my fastest half in a while since I’ve been slower when I realized it was more fun to just run races every weekend then spend weekends training for races. At the finish line you got the same snacks I am now sick of and the medal. The medal was really nice and shiny and was different than last year even though it doesn’t have the date. While this wasn’t quite as exciting a race as last year when I hadn’t done a road half in like 6 months, it was still a very nice local race that I will continue to do. It was nice to have a mass start and more water stops than last year but hopefully next year things can be completely normal with water and gatorade, mile markers, porta potties and a barbecue at the end with vegetarian options!
I'm not in Los Angeles anymore!
I have no idea if this race was really this great or only seemed this great because it was my first long-distance road race in exactly 5 months (if there … MORE
I have no idea if this race was really this great or only seemed this great because it was my first long-distance road race in exactly 5 months (if there is a silver lining to this pandemic it is that ordinary things that we used to take for granted become extraordinary), but I was so happy to be running this race. I was also so lucky to be running this race. I signed up for this race last winter (pre-covid) once I took a job in Rochester as it was initially scheduled my first weekend in Rochester and thought it would be fun to do. Then covid happened, registration for the race was paused and only those who were signed up already were allowed to do it due to NY state group size regulations. Also luckily the race was pushed back 1 month as I would have had to self-quarantine during the initial date. If I could give an extra star for production with all the planning and hoops that had to be jumped through with NY state park restrictions I would. The RD had to call me to confirm I was not living in CA (when I registered I didn’t have a place in NY yet so used my CA address) and I had to send my lease as proof. I have absolutely no issues with this and understand why NY state has these restrictions but this is just an example of everything that went into this race to produce it safely and in accordance with local guidelines. Packet pick up was outside fleet feet the day before and very easy. Although they also had day of drive through packet pick up if you couldn’t make it though it was discouraged to do it. Packet included a tech tank top. I liked that they gave a tank top you can actually use while running in the summer. The design was nice and simple but I wish it wasn’t white since it’s a little see through. The start of the race was like a well oiled machine. Runners were assigned to waves in groups of 15. Waves were assigned based on when you registered and they tried to put people who appeared to be running together i.e. same last name in same wave. This seemed like a very fair way to do it. There were 3 corrals set up. 1 with temp check, one to wait and one at start and every 3 minutes a new wave went through each corral. The corrals had markings where to stand 6 ft apart. I really liked this start while it was a little complicated and you had to time things perfectly, it was exciting to start with a group even if it was a small one and I liked it more than the rolling one hour time window approach most of the other races I’ve done during covid have used. The course starts in Hamlin state park and the first 3 miles are through a pretty wooded street. I will warn you there is very little shade and it can be hot. It has been an extremely hot and humid summer here. We were lucky today wasn’t as hot and humid as it had been but it was still hotter and more humid than I’d prefer. Then you leave the park and run the next 7 to 8 miles through farmland. As I was running past fields of corn and farmhouses this is where I realized I am not in Los Angeles anymore. I actually really enjoyed the lovely farmland and while it definitely didn’t have the energy of a big city race, it was very picturesque and serene. For this part of the race you ran on the shoulder of the road and it was open to traffic but it seemed very safe as there was barely any traffic (again did I tell you I am not in LA anymore). There was only one water stop at about mile 6 so you had to carry water (this is not normally the case and just due to covid and they warned us about this ahead of time). I had my handheld water bottle. I appreciated the volunteer at the water station filled my bottle up as they could only give out water bottles and I thought I was going to have to grab a water bottle and fumble around with it to fill my handheld. While there were limited other volunteers I appreciated the ones there and they were at all the right places to prevent you from getting lost especially since some of the race I was running by myself. Also one of the volunteers recognized me from Bristol mountain. Another perk of being in a smaller city, people are already starting to know me 2 weeks into the Rochester running scene. At around mile 11 you go back into the park and this is the prettiest part of the course where you run along a paved trail right next to the beach. Then you run to the finish line where you are given a bag with some packaged goodies (bars, chips, banana) and your medal and a water bottle. It felt good to actually get a medal at the end of the race. Medal is cute with a seagull and the race logo but not year or distance specific (to be fair after all these race cancellations I know now why a race may not want to put the year on their medals). I hope this doesn’t mean there are the same medals every year but that wouldn’t stop me from running this again. I also really liked the course elevation profile. It was relatively flat (especially for the Rochester area) but not pancake flat. There was no true hills but some little rollers and some inclines and declines which is how I like a race. I was overall happy with my time. I didn’t have high expectations given the heat and knowing I was a little rusty from not running as many road races as usual but I achieved my goal of under 2:30 and was nowhere near a DNF with the 4 hour time limit. If the weather somehow was cool during a normal year with regular racing and more aid stations this could be a PR course but it is often hot so I wouldn’t plan on it for a PR course. Normally there is a barbecue at the end (with vegetarian options !) but that obviously couldn’t happen this year. I have no idea if this is actually as amazing of a race as it seemed today but that being said it is definitely a well-produced, nice local race with a great elevation profile. I will definitely run this again.