Carrie Reagan's Staging Area

This would have been a beautiful race but who would think it would be one of the rainiest races I have ever run and it was in California! It was kind of miserable but I love a challenge. Despite the awful weather the race went smoothly. The medal was nice and there were a lot of post race snacks. My shirt size was on back order but once it was mailed to me I loved it, very nice tank top. This truly is a beautiful course and really want to do it again without rain whipping in my face.

I did the 3 way Challenge with extra cheese and boy it was a challenge! All of the courses involved hills but the half had the longest hill I have ever climbed in a race but the view at the top was amazing. I love that the course takes us into Kentucky and we cross many bridges over the Ohio River. This was such a fun weekend, the crowd support during the races are outstanding. The expo was top notch so much and a lot of freebies. With doing the challenge there was a lot of swag and I ended up with 5 medals. The After Party area and activities were awesome. Cincinnati is so picturesque and with so much to do we wished we had more time to explore. So yes, I am thinking about doing this again even though it did darn near eat me alive – ha! Would I do the challenge again? Not sure about that but if you are trying to decide I recommend you do it – the post race(s) high is immense!

I have always enjoyed this race along the Mississippi River and thru the U of M campus and especially ending at the stadium, running onto the field is so much fun and energizing. Production is great, liked the shirt and the medal and lots of snacks at the end. The course is difficult and I always forget the toughest hill is in the last mile or so. Talk about killer, but when you accomplish it and no the stadium is not much further it feels great.

This was a fun smaller town race, but there were a lot of participants – made it a lot of fun! It was St Paddy’s theme and a very scenic course, some tough hills. There was no medal, but a nice long sleeve tech shirt and a pint glass with theme printing on it. Also free beer! Always a plus! There was also a one mile fun run prior to the 5k that we participated in too. A good warm up! There was some disorganization at packet pick up and a few crabby volunteers but it all worked out. It was fun spending some time at the festivities after the race too. A nice little town.

This was a very small race/run, but always a great way to kick off the new year. Of course it is always cold in Minnesota in January but this day was extremely cold real temp – 9 and real feel in the negative 20s! The course is simple, twice around to make it slightly over a 5k, there are some hills to contend with and on this day against the sub zero wind. Finally this year there was a medal and a pretty one, very festive for the new year. You could pay extra to get an athletic bag as part of the swag if you needed more than the medal. Donuts at the end were delicious!! Since this is in my town I will do it again. But if you need more competition and/or swag this would not be the race for you.

I really enjoyed this race, perfect weather, easy to get to and awesome swag, long sleeve tech shirt, fleece blanket and hat. A bummer was no medals, they didn’t make it in time for the race, shipping issues. They said they would be shipped no cost to all participants which is great since I traveled to this. The post race party was fun, the pizza tasted great and beer pretty good. All took place on Browns Island with some great views of The James River. The course had some hills, was a little difficult at times but probably more so for me since I was dealing with major neck pain. So I’m not a very good judge of course difficulty, The course had some great scenery, the fall colors are prime in Virginia this time of year. I was wishing that a certain “spectator” with a very offensive sign and yelling an obvious term could be booted off the course, had to run by him twice. I just don’t understand people like that. But other than that and no medals on race day this was a great race and would like to do it again.

I always enjoy this race in Minneapolis! The shirt and medal are cute Halloween themed, with the medal in the shape of the state of Minnesota. It’s a very festive vibe with most all in costume. There is a convenient bag check which I appreciate as the races are getting cooler this time of year and a warm dry sweatshirt waiting for me at the finish is nice. There were plenty of snacks at the finish and picture taking opportunities. The course is medium difficulty, some hills and running on cobblestone for a bit is a challenge to not trip, at least for me! Running across the stone arch bridge close to the finish is always so beautiful. A fun race I highly recommend.

It always amazes me how well they pull off this race – it’s huge with both the 10 miler and full marathon on the same day. I enjoy the course although the hills can be challenging and also Summit Avenue, my gosh the city needs to do something about that road. It’s in terrible condition and saw several runners take a tumble on the bumps and cracks. So it is a bit hazardous. But after surviving that stretch soon comes the awesome downhill finish to the State Capitol, always so glad to see! Great race and great fall weather in Minnesota is a must to experience.

This was an ok race, 5k the night before the Half Marathon. The least desirable part of it was running by an area with an overwhelming manure smell. It was near the University, NDSU, which is a big agriculture school so not surprising, it was just hard to take when breathing hard anyway. But it was fun despite that and not feeling well. The course was a little longer than a 5k. The medal was nice but can’t comment on the shirt because because of shipping delays we did not get our shirts yet. They will be mailed to us when they arrive.

Beautiful Race! I really enjoyed it. Next year I hope to do the Half marathon and see more of Rochester which was the next day, so both races can be done. The medal was awesome – a flag, so appropriate for a 9/11 race. The hoodie shirt is really nice, great quality.

This was an extremely hot day this year and warnings were posted, not only the heat but the air quality was bad. They offered free distance switches if people felt they should downgrade, which was nice. There could have been a few more water stops but it was still pretty adequate. The medal was great and shirt very nice, really sharp looking. There are a lot of races held at this location in St Paul, it’s not a favorite. It’s a pretty tough out and back course. But with all of the energy and cheering a long the course it makes it enjoyable. With the heat and tough course it felt like quite an accomplishment to finish 10 miles! I would do this again.

As usual and awesome race and absolutely perfect weather. It was just so great to do the race live this year I don’t think anything would seem bad except I did it on a bum knee (injury from a race in May). But this race is organized so well and is so beautiful. Support along the course is great and the finish area very well organized with a lot of goodies/freebies. The After party was located at the Bayfront Festival area which I liked to get away from the Finish area, less crowded and could spread out more and find a place to sit, plus it is right by Lake Superior. The shirt was ok, the colors were interesting this year, not my favorite but I still liked it and the medal. Do this race if you haven’t yet! It should be a bucket list race!

This is a fun race and there’s a free beer! Always a plus! The course was a lot hillier than I remembered from 2 years ago and it was an unusually hot day in Minnesota on May 1st. So, not acclimated yet to summer running suffered a bit. No medal but a fun shirt! And a lot of prizes and age group and overall awards.

This was a fun inaugural event, TCM is putting on smaller events with less numbers and waves to be safe during this challenging time. It was windy but a beautiful day and they did great keeping the flow. The shirt was a nice long sleeve tech type shirt with keeping in the theme of Shamrock and a Shamrock medal. It was chip timed, but there were no overall awards. I enjoyed it and may do more of these, they have several more planned.

This is the second year of the race, second time I have participated. It changed to a 2 miler due to the pandemic and the city saying it could only be a 2 mile route. I am not sure why? It covered the same area just didn’t repeat a portion? It was still fun with all of the ghouls and goblins and such lining the course. The swag was an awesome jacket and plenty of snacks to pick up along with the jacket prior to the race. Wave starts went thru out the night to reduce the amount of people together at one time and of course all were required to wear masks up until the race start. It went well and was happy to do an in person race .

A great challenging little race. There are quite a few hills and going down almost seemed more challenging due to the fact we had a lot of snow a week before this. So a bit slippery! But it was so fun and a beautiful area. Many wore costumes to make it more fun. The finisher awards are made out of wood from downed trees in the area, really clever and a nice change from regular medals. You can buy shirts separately. Registration is very reasonable. And shirts are very reasonable as well. I would do this again! I did the challenge, so a 5k followed this race. It was exhausting to do both trail runs but loved it!

My third time doing this race! A fun little race in Duluth. I was so happy it was live. They took precautions and did it well – we kept masks on until we started the race and started in waves spaced apart. There was a problem with many cutting the course short by accident. It was marked but not real clear at one point and no course marshal stopped the shortcutting everyone just followed the first person. Otherwise enjoyed, short and sweet, we ran and were told to go straight to our cars after, which was understandable. We received all of our swag including medal before the race start.

This was the last live race I did before everything shutdown due to the pandemic. Everything was canceled this weekend except for this small race, which we enjoyed to the fullest knowing what was beginning to happen. It was a fun little race, cool swag, everyone dressed in the spirit. In hindsight the venue for the race was way to small. And knowing what I know now, we should not have been packed into that small bar. Even without the precautions not being taken, it was too small. But otherwise it was a fun little race, scenic area and fun people.

Well where do I begin? This race is titled Eden Prairie but was moved quite abruptly to Maple Grove. The communication about this was poor, I did get an email but many did not. Those that did Like me saw that the time was going to noon. Well that changed to 9am with no communication but I saw it on the Facebook event. The course was ok, but I am never a fan of repeat courses – but it was a pretty area. Part of the swag was supposed to be a brunch at a restaurant about a mile away. When my group arrived the wait to be seated was over an 1 1/2 hours. We skipped but there was an option when registering to purchase tickets for the brunch for family or friends coming along. I would have been really mad had I purchased extra. There needs to be a better plan for this or skip this part and lower the price of registration. This was really disappointing to not have an ending celebration of some sort. There were no snacks at the end of the race so I was pretty starved when I got home. Still waiting on “official results” although there was no timing chip so it is gun start. My time recorded here is my watch time. The medal is very cute and I really like the hat. Probably will not do this one again unless they come up with a better plan or reduce the cost and skip brunch and all around more organization, better communication.

You need to keep in mind that this race is in December in Minnesota. The weather and course conditions are never great. It is also very crowded, walkers do not abide by that they should start behind runners. So I remind myself it’s about the fun and festive season and should never pay the extra $5 for timing. If you are not a front runner it’s near impossible to get a good time unless you are really good at weaving in and out of walkers and groups stretched across the road on icy roads. It was fun though and most all dress up in the spirit of the season. The medal was cute, the shape of Minnesota as all of the MN run series race medals were this year. The long sleeve tech tee is nice but runs really big. The smallest women’s size was big on me. Coffee, hot chocolate, water and plenty of snacks at the finish were good.