Sour Apple Running Festival
Smithfield, RI
- Half Marathon, 5K
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
The Sour Apple Half Marathon & 5K will start and finish at Deerfield Park Smithfield, RI. The half marathon course is set in the countryside with limited traffic. The course is certified by the USATF. The half marathon is a little hilly. The good thing is that the last 2 … MORE
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Bare-Bones But Back of the Pack Friendly
This is a half marathon or 5K located in Smithfield, RI which is about 20 minutes outside Providence. It is produced by Ocean State Multisport which is a company that … MORE
This is a half marathon or 5K located in Smithfield, RI which is about 20 minutes outside Providence. It is produced by Ocean State Multisport which is a company that produces several low key, low cost races in RI and a few in MA near the RI border. I decided to do this race as there are limited races in New England in the summer and it was this half or Mad Half in VT and while Mad Half is a good race I couldn’t do those hills 2 years in a row. My overall impression of this race and this company is that is low cost but as a result pretty bare bones and no frills. However the races are also back of the pack friendly and have a very nice RD. The cost of the race was only $45 which is about half the price of most half marathons. There is pretty good pre race communication with an updated website and an email before the race. The race is about 1.5 hours from me and is a borderline distance for whether I need a hotel or not. My mom wanted to visit Providence so I opted to stay in a hotel with her but if I were looking for a really low cost race weekend I could drive. I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Smithfield which was about a 10 minute drive from the race. There were no hotels in walking distance but lots of hotels about 10 minutes away. The race starts at 8am and has a 4 hour time limit. There is also the option for an early start for half marathon walkers so essentially an up to 5 hour time limit. This is great given how strict most RI and MA races are about time limits so if you are a back of the packer definitely look into Ocean State Multisport. I was debating whether to do the early start as while I knew I could finish in 4 hours so didn’t need it but I also knew it would get very hot by the end of the race so it might be nice to start early. In the end I decided to sleep an extra hour and do the regular start. There was pre race packet pick-up the day before or you could get packet the day of race. Since we spent the day in Providence the pre-race packet pick-up was inconvenient so I got it race day. Packet pick-up was smooth. The bib is generic. The shirt is a white cotton shirt but it has a really nice design for the price of the race. It does not have the year on it and I believe they have the same swag every year but I could be wrong. The course starts in a park and is a lollipop loop through Smithfield with 2 very short out and backs to make the mileage work. There seemed to be issues getting volunteers for the race so there weren’t a lot of course marshals directing traffic. I personally thought the course was very well marked and I never even got closed to lost. However there were a few 5Kers who missed the turnaround (which was clearly marked – pay attention if you do a race with multiple distances) and I think I saw one person accidentally skip the small out and back (it did not seem intentional) so it was possible to get lost if you aren’t paying attention. I thought the course was quite scenic and luckily very shaded. It is not on the coast so the scenery did not have the iconic coastal views or mansions of Surftown or Newport. However it went through nice neighborhoods, wooded streets and farmland. There was a beautiful part through the Audubon wildlife refuge. The course is hilly though the hills are manageable and it is much less hilly than my other option Mad Half in VT. The hills are pretty standard for New England but hillier than average for most of the rest of the country. There were mile markers and pretty frequent aid stations. Aid stations were about every 2 miles. I could have used a bit more in the heat but the amount was good for the cost of the race. The only issue is they just had water. Also a few had no volunteers and just water left out. One aid station ran out of water. I thought it was because I was slow but it turns out someone stole the water. I really appreciated that the RD drove by and handed us water bottles since the aid station was out of water. I took the race pretty easy since it was hot and hilly and had a 4 hour time limit so it didn’t make sense to over exert myself on this and finished a little over 3:30 which was slow but what I expected. The finish line was a bit anti-climatic because someone stole water from the finish line as well and the staff member that was supposed to be there cheering and handing out medals was out finding water so the only person there was the timer. The timer was nice and gave me my medal and printed out my time. The medal is very nice for the cost of the race but it appears to be the same medal every year as one of my runner friends told me she got the same medal a few years ago. There were lots of post race food choices including pizza, cookies and a few other items but not water or other drinks since it was stolen. Overall this was a fine race. Production was pretty bare bones but fair for the price and there were no issues within the race’s control. The race can’t really help that someone stole water on such a hot day and they seemed to be trying to trouble shoot the best they could with limited race staff and volunteers. Of course issues like this are less likely to happen in a bigger race with more volunteers but then the cost would need to go up. I also appreciated the race being back of the pack friendly and having a long time limit as I had issues being in the back with my last two RI races. Overall I would say if you are a 3:15 or under half marathoner there are bigger, better races for RI but if your are over 3:15 this or another Ocean State Multisport race is a great choice for RI. This is also a good choice for locals looking for a half that won’t break the bank. If I lived closer I would do all their races but they’re a bit far and don’t have enough frills to go out of my way for them multiple times per year but I’d definitely either do this race again or another race with Ocean State Multisport in the future.
Very well laid out course
Rolling hills the whole way. Enjoyed the scenery. This was my second race in Rhode Island and it wasn’t disappointing. The views were great and it was challenging (for me). … MORE
Rolling hills the whole way. Enjoyed the scenery. This was my second race in Rhode Island and it wasn’t disappointing. The views were great and it was challenging (for me). Everyone working the race did a great job.
Inaugural year - Great start!
I ran this a couple years ago at the inaugural Sour Apple Running Festival associated with (Ocean State Multisport). For being the first year, it was a very well put … MORE
I ran this a couple years ago at the inaugural Sour Apple Running Festival associated with (Ocean State Multisport). For being the first year, it was a very well put together course and reasonable size (approximately 125 half marathoners). A certified course, chip timing, tech shirts, a photographer, plenty of parking and restrooms–they knew what they were doing. I hope they continue to grow.
The weather was super hot and humid though. It kicked this Colorado girls’ butt.