Ashley Bennett's Staging Area

This is such a beautiful, serene race. It is well managed, great communication, one that I loved. I don’t care a ton about spectators but if you do, this one may not be one for you. I personally liked the quiet on this one and being able to take in the views. The only thing I didn’t like was that I (personally) found the medals and t-shirt to be ugly.

The folks who put on this race do such a wonderful job. The course was well marked, everyone was very friendly, great swag, and free refreshing ice cream at the end. I enjoyed this race.

I love this race. It’s well run, fantastic communication, great support, spectators… the town of Buffalo is also super cute and close to Niagara which is fun to hit while in town. I highly recommend again and again!

I was so excited for the race, the swag was so cool! That’s where the above and beyond stopped. The course was…. Quirky at best, a confusing logistical nightmare at worst. And it did err on worst. I should have known what I was in for when, upon arrival, the half marathoners were running a loop through the parking lot as part of the course and the RD have a pre race “course guide” to the 10k. I had a sinking feeling then that the course was going to be either overly complicated, without good signage, or both. It was both, with zero mile markers save around mile 5.3 where I should have turned but I saw a “mile 1” marker. This is where things went awry as there was no other signage or support and many went the wrong way. We finished about .05 short but when we went to tell the RD about the logistical issue so he could get people out there to direct, he argued with us. There were quite a few who had this error. I placed third in female finishers overall but left as I felt I didn’t deserve this due to the wrong finish. I likely won’t be doing this again, quite disappointing.

This was my bucket list race and I will say overall it was incredible. Running over Brooklyn Bridge, through Times Square, ending in Central Park… amazing. There were super disappointing features. For such a huge race the expo was one of the most lacking, No freebies from vendors, super crowded… one of the worst expos honestly. The medal was quite small (but felt better when I learned it was made sustainably) and the post race “snack bag” had a water, a Gatorade, an apple, a bag of pretzels and a protein bar. No bagel, no banana… again for a 27,000 person race I expected more. I’ve done so many small races that had way better after race support and snacks.

Glad I did it but for what you pay I wouldn’t do it again.

I did the half two years ago and came back for the full. While the post race was lacking compared to two years ago, the expo, swag, medal and course remained wonderful. Support on course was phenomenal and I was glad to have done my first full here. I will say, we started about ten minutes late and the full was long- 26.52 miles. I hit 26.2 at 4:00:40

I used this race as a training run for my full marathon, so much slower time. I loved this course, the Swag, the organization- DO THIS RACE. It’s great and so pretty.

I was hoping to crush this as it looked like it would be mostly downhill but was, this was not my race. Regardless, it was a gorgeous run, very smoothly run, great swag and after party.

I immediately fell in love with CDA! This race is a beautiful out and back along the lake. Weather was perfect, tons of post race snacks. This is one I would do again.

This was my redemption run after defecting on RNR Savannah in November 2021 due to unsafe running conditions. The weather was warmer than I typically prefer but it was a GORGEOUS day. I liked that we got bags and water bottles instead of shirts. Medal is sizable and nice. Lots of support on course, everyone was friendly and nice. I’d do this again and highly recommend.

I love racing in STL when visiting. This was a well organized race, inexpensive with cute swag, great support and after party. The parking was ample and directions were clear, great communication from organizers.

Let me just say, the production, swag, communication, and support of this race rivals that of the huge race organizations. I am so thoroughly impressed! Cute shirt, unique medal, sweet wine glass and the special medals and bottles of wine for the top finishers? 👏🏼 👏🏼
I loved every second of this race.

I really enjoyed this hilly historical race! The scenery, support, and communication was superb. I liked that it was a little cheaper because you didn’t get a shirt but could opt to buy one. A little bummed no awards- it was the first time I’ve been first place in age/gender, very exciting but no small token to show for it. That’s ok though, still a phenomenal race.

Running through the remnants of Hurricane Ian brought strong winds but this didn’t dampen the race! Great support, excellent communication, fun after party with great food. Slight glitch with timing system, took hours to load my time and was worried it didn’t track me as doing it. It all got resolved. Super fun race, gorgeous little town.

I loved this race. It was run so well and so smoothly, great communication leading up to the event. Even with the parking and shuttle busses to the start it was so incredibly smooth. The staff and volunteers were amazing and supportive. LOVE the medals, bib, and shirt.
Oh and I PR’d! This is THE race to do. I hope to come do it again one day.

I loved this race. The fact that it starts and ends inside with bathrooms readily available? That in and of itself is a huge selling point! The community comes out big time to support runners and the swag is amazing! I am going to make this an annual race once all my fifty are done!

This race was amazing, despite the cold, hills, rain, snow, and hail! The people of SLC still turned out to cheer us on and were an amazing support. The expo was great and post race there was free medal engraving, which I’ve never seen! They were well prepared with plenty of portapotties at start and heaters at finish. Only wish is that beer was available for those of us that finished around 9- they didn’t start serving until 10ish and it was way too cold to wait. Will do again!

RNR returned to Phoenix/Tempe, and the course was great. A few small inclines, so pretty Mountain Views and a MUCH BETTER expo than Savannah and DC in November. I enjoyed the race and got my second best time ever. Medal was a bit small but still cute, volunteers were friendly.

Omg I don’t know how or why but I majorly PR’d! Ok so the race: amazing communication from the race director for the past 2 years (had to defer last year to this year). She’s been accommodating, easily reached, and efficient. Packet pickup was easy and fast, expo was no frills but I thought the vendors were unique. Race shirt is super cute, as is the medal.

Course was fast, flat, and had everything- road, trail, and boardwalk. Lots of support on the course and the flag alley was super cool. After party was awesome, tons of food and booze.

DO THIS RACE!

FANTASTIC RACE, beginning to end. Communication from the race directors was phenomenal. Packet pickup was great, swag was high quality. The course, spectators, and support was exceptional and the post race food and drinks were plentiful. I will absolutely be back to run this race again and again!

The course was gorgeous, liked the shirt and the medal is really cool. Pre-race communication was great, very clear on corrals, start time, parking, and packet pickup. Volunteers and course support was great. Only critique is the lack of snacks end of race- no Gatorade or beer- only a banana, bag of chips and water. Also needed more portapotties.

Just outside of Seattle (~20 minutes), this is a flat, fast out and back. The race production was wonderful, especially the communication leading up to the race. The staff were accommodating and prompt in their responses, swag was great (very soft T-shirt, cool Mesa and coaster). Very highly recommend!!!

The scenery was gorgeous and short nice. But the production was disappointing. The race was incredibly difficult to find- I almost missed it and was not alone. Two other cars of runners followed me trying to find it. If it’s that remote, maps and detailed instructions should be sent. They also ran out of medals; I provided my name and address but have yet to receive communication about when they will be sending said medals and apologies for the oversight. I am very disappointed.

Soooo lots to say. The packet pickup in the morning was a bit frazzled (and no signage of where to go) and there weren’t enough portapotties in my opinion. There were a lot of loops (the first 5k was a loop and if you were doing the full it was the half marathon course twice). While waiting to get my shirt an organizer came in and basically made an announcement threatening whoever parked in the start lane (also kinda the fault of the organizers for not blocking it off). Toward the end there was a turn that was not clearly marked that I would have missed if the people behind me hadn’t called out. Liked the shirt and the medal.