Katy Fetzer's Staging Area

I always enjoy this race. It’s all women which is awesome. We had great weather. The course is all in Central Park, so hills, but it’s not too bad. There’s a nice finish festival and all finishers receive both a medal and a carnation.

This was my third time running this race, but the first time it was in April (it was previously in October) and a new course. The new course dips into Maryland which is cool. The course itself is challenging as Gettysburg is anything but flat, but that means every uphill has a downhill. Since the race is also a marathon, you have 6 hours to complete the half making it very walker friendly so even us slow runners are never alone (the full is two loops of the half course).

The medal is quality, you get a pint glass which is cute, and this year’s shirt is cute and comfortable. The race even now has a little expo at packet pickup which is nice. The course starts right outside of a hotel so if you stay at that hotel you can pretty much roll out of bed and start. I stayed about 15 minutes away, but there was plenty of parking (there are 2 hotels and a conference center). However, those people who got there closer to the race start found themselves in a long line of cars waiting to park. The course itself is open to traffic, but there’s little to none on the back country roads the race goes through on a Sunday morning.

This year’s weather was humid, warm, but blessedly cloudy and foggy. Once the sun came out, it warmed up fast but I was thankfully done by then. The post race beer and food was good…but as a vegetarian I had few options. The race offered pieces of 2 different types of wedge sandwich (both had meat) so I had chips, cookies, a banana, and chocolate milk. Not bad, but no sandwich for me.

As always, Shamrock was a blast. Weather was pretty perfect, expo was decent, medal was quality as always. Post race party had some good bands this year, but the food wasn’t as good as in years past. Still, it was fun and definitely a race to add to your list!

This year’s weather was cold, but sunny with no wind. I was originally supposed to run the half, but had to drop to the 10k due to the time limit not being inclusive to back of the pack runners. The RD did offer me an early start, but with open roads and having run 18 miles last weekend, I thought dropping to the 10k to be the best option. Why the race didn’t just offer early start in general, which would attract more runners, I don’t know.

Despite your bib having a tear off for post race food, there was no real post race food to speak of…just mandarin oranges, bananas, and frozen granola bars.

All racers, no matter the distance, get the same medal and long sleeve tech shirt. The shirts were to be picked up after the race and the bib had a tear off for the shirt, but they were just laid out on a table before the race so anyone could just grab one and then even grab another after the race, which seemed like a bad idea to me. Had I run the half, I’m sure there would’ve been no shirt for me.

Logistically, this is an easy race having the start/finish right by the train station so you can either take the train in or just park there. Will I do this one again? Maybe. I ran it in 2018 before its 5 year hiatus, so I would like to run the half again, but not with such an elitist time limit.

I ran this one as the second piece of the Patriot Challenge. I must say that my performance was better than years past having run 13.1 miles beforehand. We got beautiful weather for our run along the Schuykill River. I wouldn’t call the course challenging, but it’s a big loop so you will retrace most of your steps. That being said, it’s a fun time, with people dressing up and plenty of spectators along parts of the course to keep you motivated. This year, the shirts were tech long sleeve which was a nice change. If I had one critique it’s that there was less variety of food than last year, but there was still plenty.

This race is an enjoyable, small town, race. Some year I’ll do the half marathon, but since I ran one the week before I knew I wouldn’t make the time limit this year. The half marathon course is apparently beautiful, the 5k course is a jaunt through residential roads so you get to see the various fall colors and Halloween decorations.

This year, said fall colors were pretty muted since it was raining the whole time. The jaunt in the rain was worth it for the warm local donuts, in my opinion. The 5k now gets medals too which was a nice surprise, and the shirt (although it’s cotton) is pretty comfy.

Nice swag as usual. High quality medal as usual. Course was pretty safe for the back of the pack even though most of it is open to traffic with police and volunteers directing. Could’ve used one or two more water stops this year since it was pretty humid since it rained all day the day before and temperatures rose quickly. I started when it was in the upper 50s or so and finished a little 3 hours later in 75 degree heat.

This was my 5th? time running this race and my slowest to date. That being said, I was still within the course time limit and I wasn’t last. Upon finishing, runners are given a tag on their bib for a beer, pizza, ice cream, and raffle. When I finished, everything but the beer was gone and the raffle was over. This is unacceptable. If a race advertises these finish perks, why on earth would they all be gone for the last finishers? Those finishers who are still within the time limit and, arguably, need sustenance more than anyone else after being on a warm and humid course for 3+ hours need more than an apple and a few cookies. I honestly expected more. When I ran faster times, these perks were all there (and it was only about 30 minutes faster). Course support was great, so what gives, SoNo?

I’ve always wanted to run this race, but have never been able to as I’ve always had to work on Saturdays. Luckily, my new job gives me Saturdays off! The weather this year was gorgeous with the smoke from the Canadian wildfires clearing out just in time so that the race could go on. Race day central was near the Naumburg Bandshell, where NYRR often has it set up for spring races. Unfortunately, this meant a 1 mile trek to the start. I could’ve taken the C train, but it was such a nice day that I decided to make the walk.

The race course is mainly in Central Park, with the first mile or so being down West 5th Ave. There were a record number of runners this year, so the course was pretty congested with a couple of bottlenecks along the way. I wouldn’t, thus, necessarily call this one a PR race. Thankfully, the course doesn’t involve Harlem Hill, but you do go up the other hills in the park.

The finish was the most congested of all. Flowers and medals are given to finishers, but the flowers were only on one side, whereas medals were on both, so I missed out on getting a flower. Likewise, the recovery bags were only one one side so it was a madhouse to get one. The medal is cute, the shirt is good quality (but unfortunately white). Shirts are picked up after the race (if you picked up your bib on race day), so you’ve got to be fast if you want a smaller size. Lucky for me, the only sizes left were L and XL.

I would definitely run this one again as it was a blast, but I think some changes do need to be made to the post finish medals/flowers/bags so hopefully that’s done next year.

I have always wanted to run this race and finally got my chance. It’s a beautiful tour of Mystic by foot. I’ve been told the second half is boring, but it’s basically on streets in the woods so it’s still pretty and wonderfully shady. I got to town on Saturday and they offered early packet pickup which I took advantage of. My boyfriend, bless his heart, came up with me and drove me down the road from our hotel to the race start. Don’t be fooled by the more expensive hotels that are right by Mystick Village, we were about a half mile down the road and the hotel cost about half as much. It was also easy for him to come back to see me finish at the aquarium.

We had beautiful weather and the course is basically flat for the first half with the hills I’d actually label as hills in the second half, the worst of which (in my opinion) are right after the split from the 10k and up to mile 12.

They didn’t seem super strict on the time limit as I saw a few people behind the 3 hour pacer by a good amount and there was a race bicycle support person following behind. As long as you get to around the split with the 10k in around an hour and a half they don’t seem too crazy about the limit which is nice, past years having results up to about 3:30.

The medal this year was pretty awesome and your race bib got you some discounts in town including 20% off aquarium tickets which we took advantage of. I will definitely be doing this one again.

The weather this year was pretty meh since it drizzled on and off the whole race, with more steady rain in the last couple of miles. The temperature, however, was pretty perfect for a race and we got to run in Rockefeller State Park which is always a treat. Runners as always received a technical long sleeve shirt and a medal which now features the new Tappan Zee Bridge instead of the Sleepy Hollow Lighthouse.

The only negative I would say is that, for us slower folks, the finish area was essentially packed up by the time we rolled in which meant no post race food, etc. and the only photos taken of the race were finish photos. I’m sure the weather had something to do with it as that’s normally not the case.

I always ask myself why I’m running this race again since you go up Harlem Hill a total of 3 times instead of the 2 that just about every other Central Park race has, especially since the weather can be so wildly unpredictable. It’s probably because it’s a great value for the cost (especially if you’re a NYRR member), I can take the train/subway, and it’s my birthday weekend.

This year’s race had ideal weather as it was unseasonably warm and the rain held off until Sunday evening. It was perfect running weather; mostly cloudy and mid/upper 30s to low 40s. The sun even made an appearance.

The swag was the usual knit pom pom hat and the medal got a makeover from the stopwatch design of the past few years to a baseball style hat which was cute.

This race has more course spectator turnout than others in the Park, but that was likely because of the weather. For us back of the pack runners, we also had to deal with more people on the race course in the later miles, but there’s not much to be done about that since Central Park is a public space. NYRR did their best – racers had part of the path coned off with signs every so often pointing racers to the left and everyone else to the right, but there’s really no way to police that once the herd thins out.

The coolest part of the race this year was that I wore a shirt that said “birthday race” so I had just about everyone on the sidelines (and even the announcers) wishing me a happy birthday. I guess only someone who’s truly half crazy celebrates their birthday with a half marathon haha.

I’ve done other races from this race director, but this was my first Turkey Trot. The roads are open for this one, but there is so little traffic you won’t even notice. This year we had ideal running weather and if it weren’t for the last hill about mile 2.4 that doesn’t seem to end until you’re right about to finish the race, I would’ve had a better time haha.

In terms of swag, few races give as awesome a collection of items as this one. Not only do you get a cute medal, you get a printed race bib, gloves, and a beanie. There’s also a nice selection of food including donuts and bagels and hot chocolate. Since the race start/end is right by the Redding Community Center and packet pickup is inside, you have a warm place to hang out waiting for race start as well as legit bathrooms (there are also porta potties). There is packet pickup available the day before, but I had no problem picking up day of.

My only complaint is that I grossly underestimated how tricky it would be to exit the parking lot of the community center. I should’ve parked in the adjacent elementary school lot. The community center has one entrance/exit…which also happens to be the start/finish. Thus, there are so many people standing around it’s nigh impossible to exit and I’m slow so there weren’t a ton of people behind me. It would’ve been nice if there was some crowd control to keep the one lane clear for cars trying to get in/out. That being said, I’d definitely run this one again and recommend it to anyone looking for a fun trot, I’d just say avoid parking in the community center lot at all costs.

I unfortunately had to drop down from the half marathon, but am thankful to not have had to run up the long hill on the half marathon course. That being said, the course was definitely not flat. It was, however, through some nice residential areas where the streets were open, but there was very little traffic and in the more trafficked areas, runners had a coned off lane.

The tee shirt for the 5k is nice and a soft material. The half gets a long sleeve tech tee. No medals for the 5k, but we got fresh warn donuts after and they raffled off Jet Blue tickets. Parking was easy as the race starts/ends at a school and day of packet pickup was equally easy. It was also nice to be able to hang out in a warm area with real bathrooms until race start.

While I’ve run this half marathon many times before, I had to drop to the 5k as COVID totally messed up my training plan so this was my first time running that distance at this race.

As always, the race and the swag was pretty on point as was the post race party.

The weather, on the other hand, wasn’t great. It was a bit chilly, a little humid, and pretty windy. I was disappointed in having to drop to the shorter distance, but the weather this year made me kind of happy that I did haha. It all conspired to make the cold biting (even though it wasn’t truly all that cold and when you were out of the wind it was pretty decent running weather). At least the rain held off?

Packet pick up at the race expo was super easy. I was a little disappointed in the bibs this year, but due to COVID considerations, they were good for the situation if a little on the small side. I ran the Dolphin Challenge this year (the 8k on Sat and the 1/2 on Sun). Both races had tech shirts (short sleeve for the 8k, long sleeve for the 1/2). Aside from the race merch, the expo was a little underwhelming, but again…COVID.

I stayed at the Oceanfront Inn which was a perfectly suitable hotel for a race weekend. No frills, family owned, one of the host hotels so it was right at the finish (and start of the 8k).

The weather this year was perfect. The race course is incredibly flat. That being said there is a mile or so that is all an incline, though not a terribly noticeable one. The course is pretty scenic, said incline being tree lined, and Fort Story being pretty attractive itself, featuring a pair of lighthouses and service members who come out to make sure the course is secure as well as cheer on the runners. There are also water stops that pop up by people along the course featuring beer.

In addition to high quality medals, finishers of both the half and full marathons received a blanket with the 50th Shamrock logo, a hat also with the logo, and a drawstring backpack to put it all in so you can still hold your beer (of which you get 4 free with your race bib from Yuengling…options being their light beer or regular lager).

The post race experience is even more fun in a huge tent right on the beach which offers aforementioned Yuengling, live music, and Irish stew (both vegetarian and beef). Since my hotel overlooked the finish tent, I was able to have a couple beers, go to my room and shower, and come back for some more beers on the beach. I also got to put my feet in the ocean (which was a great ice bath).

I would call this one a must do. I traveled by myself this year and have honestly never had so much fun at a race.

The weather this year was perfect and all runners were required to show proof of vaccination either on race day when picking up their bib or emailed in to have their bib mailed home to them.

The course is the usual central park race course, this one being 2.5 loops of the upper part of the park, cutting out the lower loop.

Runners have cones to protect their lane and divide those finishing from those going onto their second lap. That being said, Central Park is open to the public so you’re sharing that lane with other runners and even, at times, bike cabs who don’t seem to realize that lane isn’t for them.

Post race, a pretty good spread is offered of hot cocoa (if it’s under 55 degrees out), a variety of bagels, and Dole fruit cups.

The course has a 3.5 hour limit, but in most of their half marathons the results go up to almost 4 hours so this isn’t the strictest of limits.

This was my second time running the half marathon during marathon weekend in Philly. Because of COVID, all runners had to be fully vaccinated in order to participate this year. That meant that there was an insane line to get into the expo since they had to verify vaccination status. Thankfully, I only had to wait about a half hour when I went, but I heard the wait got up to over 2 hours at times. The expo was also a bit smaller this year.

Security on race morning was very efficient and the race even set up a warming tent for runners by the starting corrals.

Race day was perfect weather and the course was a running tour of the city, passing by various historical landmarks and neighborhoods. That being said, the race was supposed to start at 7am to accommodate the new Patriot Challenge (running the half marathon followed directly by the 8k). Unfortunately, it didn’t start until about 7:20. Luckily, challenge bibs let you hop into any corral you want. I’d rather not start with much speedier runners, but time constraints necessitated it.

The medal was awesome as usual, complete with a ringing Liberty Bell and the Patriot Challenge medal is equally awesome, not to mention rather huge.