Robert Coleman's Staging Area

If you are looking for a summer destination race, there is no better option than the Missoula Marathon. It is one of the best-produced running events you will find. From Friday evening’s free beer run to the half and full marathon on Sunday, the organization and level of community support is truly amazing. Quick packet pick up, nice expo, well-run Sunday morning transportation, tons of on course support, post-race food, great swag. It all amounts to a fantastic weekend in an awesome community!

I have run the full and the half here and will keep returning!

The Missoula Marathon puts on a fantastic set of races. They are well organized with lots of support for runners. The Missoula community really comes out and supports the race. But perhaps the best part? The starting line has more than enough porta potties. When can you say that about a race?

The course is quite scenic and, except for one hill in the middle, mostly flat. The first half is out of town on peaceful country roads, the second is through residential neighborhoods leading to the finish over the Clark Fork in downtown Missoula.

Bib pickup is available the two days before, with late pickup available at the airport the night prior to the race. No race day pickup. I was dropped off at the shuttle, but heard parking was a bit difficult this year due to construction. Start time nice and early at 6. Several aid stations along course. One complaint was having the race cancel two of the first aid stations for the marathon via email notification the day before. I presume a lack of volunteers?

Swag was good with a really nice medal and technical shirt. Post race food was a bit lacking. I couldn’t find water anywhere and no bananas.

Overall, this is such a great community and fun event that I am sure that I will be returning.

The Wilmington Historic Half provided a nice destination event in beautiful Wilmington, North Carolina. The course explores some of the historic downtown and ends by following the great riverwalk along the Cape Fear river. The race was well organized and the swag was fantastic!

The course began at a pretty riverfront park. Parking and hotels are within easy walking distance. A 5k started first and there was special challenge swag for those who run both. The first 2 miles of the run were through the historic downtown before crossing the first of three large bridges. These bridges presented the only real hills on the course. Two of them had metal grating on the decks which felt very strange to run on, even with the burlap mats they put down for the runners. The course through here is along very busy roads, though good separation from traffic is provided. The course then moved out to paved trails around a lake before returning to downtown where it finished by following the riverfront for the last mile or so along the town’s boardwalk riverwalk.

The course was scenic at times, particularly downtown and along the river. However, nearly half is of the run is along busy roads, even though the bridges provide nice views of the river. The only major problem I noted was uneven nature of the running surfaces and lots of quick twists and turns on the last mile. Saw a couple of runners almost trip on the curbs as we went on and off sidewalk and some little wooden bridges as we circled the lake in the park.

The post race party was nice with a free beer and good BBQ. The quarter zip shirt for participants was really nice and not covered with the names of sponsors like so many other races. The shirt was picked up post race as the bibs were mailed out about a week before. Finally, the finisher’s metal was absolutely enormous!

Overall, this was a great run to travel to North Carolina for. I would not hesitate to run this or any other races produced by this company again.

Run Eau Claire puts on an amazing race weekend! Coupling their production excellence with awesome community support and impeccable fall weather led this event to be an all around fantastic experience.

The Eau Claire Marathon weekend usually takes place during the spring, but was delayed this year due to the pandemic. I understand that plans are to return to the spring in 2022, but I encourage them to put on a Fall race as well in the future as conditions could not have been better.

The town really comes out to support this race and you are hardly ever out of earshot of the sounds of cheering, music, or bands playing. The encouragement really helps, particularly during the final mile when you run through the college campus and have hundreds of students out pushing you onwards.

Course was apparently new this year due to structural concerns with one of the bridges. However, it was still very scenic with multiple crossings of the river. Mostly street running through both downtown and residential areas with a couple of shorter sections with paved trails. Half marathoners are joined by full marathon runners for the last 6 miles or so. There is also one short section where we encountered the back of the 5k race, but the traffic was never too heavy. Lots of water stops and even energy gel halfway.

This race will be a repeat for me. There is little I could think of to improve this event! See you again soon Eau Claire!

This is a fantastic small town race in rural Iowa. If you enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of the farm, this is the perfect race for you! Well organized and with an almost fully closed course, this race felt safe and well supported.

Packet pickup was available the night before, but the races were small enough that there would be no problem picking up on race morning. Only 77 runners registered for the half and a similar number for the full. While race morning was certainly humid (as you would expect in Iowa in the summer) it still felt cool enough at the start. Marathoners probably got a bit warm though, as there is not a ton of shade along the course.

Aid stations were frequent and staffed by enthusiastic volunteers! The out and back course meant passing the same four stops on the return, with a favorite being the church run stop near mile 5 with the accordion player!

A fun experience and I highly recommend the Main to Main event.