The 2016 event took place on Saturday April 23. It was sunny and about 55-60 degrees. The race started at 9 am.

Registration: Available online and on race day, $25-$30 range. Included with the fee: cotton unisex short sleeve shirt, chip timing, ticket to upcoming baseball game of choice, & post race party. Proceeds benefit the Bandit Scholars program.

Packet Pick up / Pre-race: Pick up was at the ball park Friday before the race and on race morning, but only until 7:30. Bathrooms available in the ball park. Plenty of free parking on site. No expo, but lots of flyers at registration table for other area races. Someone else could get your packet.

*It's strange as small as the race, that packet pick up closed an hour and a half before the race start.

Race & Course: Start area is about a block or so from the finish. After some announcements about the direction of the course, and water stops, the race started. There was no National Anthem or encouragement to line up according to pace.

*I hadn't run this race in 2 years, and they changed the start line. They took out the weird part where runners had to jump a curb and run through some grass. (2 thumbs up)

Race/Course: Course is along the Mississippi River, starting in Iowa crossing over to Illinois and back to Iowa.
- paved (except for bridges with grate material)
-water stops, paper cups, at each mile
-no official marking of each mile, but the water stations were positioned to mark each mile
-few spectators
-no photographers
-run along a section of the Mississippi River, over a lock and dam
-super flat, inclines and declines over bridges only
-course coned off for runners, but open for cars - first bridge was crowded with runners & traffic
-each water stop had first aid

Finish: Runners enter the ball park in right field, running over the bullpen pitching mound. A giant clock with the time faced runners as you crossed home plate to finish the race. A volunteer clipped the tag from your shoe.

A kids fun run was held after all 5k racers had finished. They ran the warning track to then finish on home plate.

Post Race: Excellent party! Due to the set up at the ball park you could snap photos in the dug out, but were encouraged to stay off the grass. Plenty of food & refreshment were available. 2 beer tickets were on the bottom of the race bib (Bud light & Micehlob Ultra), Gatorade, bottled water, granola bars, bananas, hot dogs & hamburgers. Picnic table seating. Race results were available to be printed for each participant. Shock top beer samples. Local running group was showcasing their upcoming races. A two person band played some music.

Award ceremony was held after all races had ended. Overall & AG winners were awarded medals or trophies. After the awards a raffle was held for prizes. (had to enter this raffle with a ticket, one free ticket with race entry, could purchase more)

My race: It was a beautiful day to run. I pushed myself and surprised myself with one mile at 8:26. However my overall time of 26:40 was good enough for 4th in my AG. Also got to hang out with some of my running friends.

Overall: The price, game ticket, flat course and post race party are all reasons I will try to run this race again.

More thoughts and pictures ---> https://marathang.wordpress.com/2016/04/25/finish-on-home-plate/

The 2016 Hot Dash 10 mile and 5k was held on March 19, 2016. It had snowed overnight and was about 28 degrees at the start, overcast.

Registration: Available online, prices increases as race day approached. Participants need to register quick as the 5k sold out, and the 10 miler only had a few spots remaining. Included with registration was a bib with timing chip, a Storm Creek unisex 1/4 zip pullover, post race hot dish, post race beer.

Expo/Packet pick up: There was no expo for the race. Packet pick up was held Thursday and Friday before the race at the Fleet Feet Marathon Sports store. Someone else could grab your packet. There was also race day packet pick up at the "registration" table near the race start. The running store was in a small neighborhood in MPLS, not near the race location, there was on street parking.

Pre-Race: Parking was close, but encouraged to use the ramp nearby for $10 (prepay $12) However the wait to get into the ramp took about a half hour, come early to get parked and to the start on time. The starting corrals were self seeding by pace. Lots of port-a-potties.

Race/Course: The race course was all on paved surfaces, running an out and back style course.
-paved surface, winter in the upper midwest is hard on asphalt, lots of potholes, finish was on a brick surface, could have been easy to turn an ankle
-pacers provided
-Aid Stations - 3 total with powerade and water, in paper cups. The first and second aid station were at the same location and the drinks were in different colored cups. The third AS the drinks were in the same color cups, well marked with flags and lots of enthusiastic volunteers
- Volunteers - They were at all major intersections with law enforcement. Some less busy intersections had no one, but wasn't necessary. All friendly and cheered you on
- I did not see any photographers
-Scenery - The first 7 miles were in residential and industrial parts, wasn't much to see, we did run through some parkways. Near mile 7 we crossed the river and were taken on a scenic path by the river, with the last mile on the arch bridge. Same course as last year, and the route has to go somewhere, always felt safe on the course.
-Bathrooms - There were some on the course near mile 8
-Terrain - super flat, the bridge was about the only incline/decline
- Timing - chip timed, with a split at the 5 mile mark
- Medical - noticed some EMT's cycling the course
- Spectators - not very many, would be a hard course to cheer on unless you were familiar with the area

Post Race/Finish: Once you crossed the timing mat, marked with a clock and flags, you were handed a cool hot pad shaped medal. Then there was mini Clif bars, nut goodies, Old Dutch Chips, bananas and bottles of water. The actual post race party was a little walk across a bridge. Here there were outdoor fireplaces, photo booths, Finnegan's beer and hot dish (redeemed with race bib tickets, ID's were checked). The hot dish was piping hot and similar to a shepherds pie. The music was loud and the lumberjack costume contest was judged. I never noticed any awards.

Overall: I ran this last year, and I feel like I enjoyed the race festivities more this year. The major headache is parking, but can be resolved by preparing to arrive early. It's a challenging distance to run, and lots of fun. I would run this again.

Personal: I ran a full marathon 6 days prior to this and went in with no expectations but to finish. I was running a great race, with the help of the 1:40 pacer, I was able to run a 1:38:16, which is about a minute from my PR at this distance.

For more photos and shenanigans (a deer on course?!?), check out my blog recap. https://marathang.wordpress.com/2016/03/21/hot-dash-2016/

The 2016 Marathon was held on Sunday, March 13. It was around 50 degrees at the start and warmed up at noon to about 75 degrees, slightly humid and sunny. I am reviewing the marathon, but there was also a marathon relay, and 8k and a one mile run.

Registration: This was available via the One City website, prices increased as race day neared. Online registration closed a week out. You could also register at the expo. Included in registration was a long sleeve, unisex tech shirt; bib with timing chip and your name (if reg by deadline), one food ticket, 2 beer tickets, finisher's medal, and shuttle to the start.

Expo: This was free and open to the public. Held at the Community Center on Friday and Saturday before the race with free parking. Participants needed their bib number, which was sent via email or you could look it up. You needed to provide ID, or a pre-filled form if picking up someone else's. From the bib pick up area, you had to walk to the back part of the expo space to get your shirt, which was specific for each distance, they also gave you a bag with some flyers. (A virtual event bag was also sent a few days out via email) The expo also had gait analysis, photo opps, running stores with apparel & shoes for sale, massages, local race information. Nice, easy, small, friendly.

Pasta Party: There was an optional pasta party at one of the 3 host hotels (not at the expo site) There were tickets available to purchase online, and at the expo for $15, this sold out. The pasta dinner was buffet style and featured a panel of guest speakers, including runners, a doctor and former NFL player. There was a salad and a marinara pasta and alfredo pasta, chicken and breadsticks too. Each table got 2 dessert plates one of brownies and one of cookies. There were some videos and guests of the dinner were encouraged to ask questions to the panel.

Pre-race: The course is point to point, meaning you would need to get to the start. The race provided shuttles from the host hotels and the finish parking area. You could also get dropped off, or park here for free and figure out how to get back to your car. The race started at Newport News Park, a nice wooded area. There were plenty of port-a-potties, gear check and space to warm up. The corral was a self seeding system, based on pace. There were pacers. The live rendition of the National Anthem was sung and the race promptly started at 7am.

Race/Course: The point to point course takes you on a journey through Newport News. Running the busy streets, some highways, and back roads.
-all paved, mostly asphalt surface, lots of uneven spots, roads that "banked" or sloped to a side
-wide course, always at least 2 lanes wide, coned off, and no traffic problems
-volunteers - they were every where!!!!! Manning aid stations, at every intersection
-Law enforcement at all major road intersections.
-Every mile was marked with a permanent road sign, you know those metal signs like a stop sign, they appear to be there all year round telling the city where the course is.
-Photographers everywhere, not sure if they were with the race or local newspapers
- Aid Stations - These were about every 2 miles, all had water, all in paper cups. Then about every other stop had lemon-lime Gatorade, in a different colored paper cup
-no race provided food, but a couple of GU stops.
-Spectators - there are not a lot, but the ones that were out, were all encouraging and clapping. Some even provided oranges, candy, and bananas...oh there was some beer too
-bathrooms - there were plenty on course, at each aid station
- medical - there were ATV's on course with EMT's and tent stations, even towards the end course marshalls were on bikes asking about the runner's well being
-Timing - there were timing split mats at the points where the relay exchanges were
-scenery - passed lots of strip malls, residential, parks, wooded areas, even peaks of the bay
-terrain - FLAT! and the race is at or near sea level. There were some gentle ups/downs, but not hilly

Finish/Post race: The finish was clearly marked with an arch and timing mat, and the announcer told everyone who was finishing. Once you were done running, you proceeded across the street, to claim a bottle of water, your race specific finisher's medal. There were also bottles of Gatorade, granola bars, whole oranges and bananas, also a light weight paper jacket with race logo. From here, you proceeded down the vendor lined walkway, where you could grab a bag for all your things,or claim your gear bag. Port-a-potties available.

The post race party was hoppin! There was a beer tent to claim your beer tickets ( Michelob Ultra and Bud light were only available when I finished) There was a food truck row set up, and you could claim only one item for free with the ticket on your bib. There was a stage with a rockin band, and the overall awards were announced before I finished. There was no shade or tents unless you had access to private groups or VIP. There were picnic tables to sit at and activities for kids. The walk to the car seemed long, but free parking was about 2-3 blocks away.

Overall: Great price, flat course, well organized. I couldn't do anything about the weather. I would run this again.

There were only about 380 marathon finishers. This was only the second year of this race, the race is organized like it's happened for 30 years. You can truly see why it's named One City, as the entire city is behind this event.

Personally I didn't have a great race, due to not being used to running in the heat, but I finished around 5:40.

Please check out my blog recap (working on it) and the 1,000 mile trek each way to get to the race, pics too. https://marathang.wordpress.com/2016/03/16/road-trip-to-the-one-city-marathon/

The Louisiana Quarter Marathon, Saturday January 16, 2016. Baton Rouge, LA. 8 am. 55 ish degrees, sunny.

Registration: This was available via the Louisiana Marathon website. There were registration options for each event, including each combination of the deja vu race (so you didn't have to register for 2 races.) The price increased as race day neared. The race is also a capped event, and sells out.

Included with registration: a finisher's medal, bib with timing chip, post race food festival wrist band and race specific, gender specific, short sleeved cotton shirt.

Expo/Packet Pick up: The Expo was it's own separate event. It was a two day event held on Friday and Saturday at the River Center in downtown Baton Rouge. There was security to gain access to the expo, with a bag search. Once past, there were boards with bib numbers for look up. Then as you entered the space you grabbed your bib with drawstring bag, then entered another area to grab you shirt(s). Someone else could grab your things if you provided them a confirmation email and copy of your photo ID. You could also purchase post race VIP access here, if you didn't purchase on the web.

Once past acquiring all the things you needed, there was free coffee available, and then all the vendors. First stop was all the race merchandise. Something unique to this event is an artist print. In addition to the "normal" expo fare there was a center space called "the studio" which hosted speakers and events like yoga throughout each day. It was a good size expo with products and races in the area.

Notes on parking - I stayed at a nearby hotel, maybe 1 mile walking distance at the furthest. I was able to leave my car in that lot. I am not sure about the parking situation for the race or the expo. I did see signs in town for $20 parking, but not sure if that is for general business days.

Pre-Race: The quarter marathon started at the same time as the 5k. There was one corral for both events. Participants were encouraged to line up according to pace, and there were signs on the corral fence. There was music pumping on a loud speaker and announcements were made, but there were a lot of people, and I couldn't hear any of them. I don't recall hearing a National Anthem. I also just remember moving forward as I don't remember an actual starting gun. There were spectators lining the starting chute walls. There were port-o-potties available. Gear check was set up near by, and you were to use the cinch sack bag obtained at packet pick up, they would stick masking tape on it with your bib number.

Race/Course: The Race was through Baton Rouge on city streets
-asphalt - while the course was all on a paved surface, some of the asphalt was buckling due to tree roots
-not very hilly, there is one major hill to cross a highway, but flattens out for the most part
-crowded start - with both races starting at the same time, it was a game to dodge in and out of runners for about the first mile. Then the races split from each other and made for a more pleasant experience
-photographers on course
-spectators mostly around the start/finish area
-3 hydration only stops, paper cups. Water and Gatorade, but sometimes in the same cups and randomly placed in each station. Volunteers shouted which they had.
-volunteers everywhere, and law enforcement at every intersection, I have never seen so many.
-course markings - mile marker signs only, and volunteers blocking roads so you knew which direction to go.
-scenery - not much to look at, left downtown, ran through a neighborhood or 2, would be run down areas to nice homes

Finish: This was easy to find, the start arch was also the finish arch. There was a clock and photographers. A volunteer handed each person a bottle of water, and then you were given a medal based on the distance you ran. The chute seemed longer than it did at the start, but was not crowded. It was about a block walk to post race festivities. You could grab your bag from gear check, a recovery drink stand was open with a chocolate drink and Powerade. There was a live band performing. A market style stand was set up with bananas and oranges.

Finish Festival: This was past the area described above. This was a section of food vendors, activities for kids and the beer truck. Participants were given a wrist band with 6 "punches." You could stop at a vendor and grab either food or drink, you could get 6 beers, 6 food items or a combination of both. Vendors would even switch half way through and change their fare. Some would also have so much food, they wouldn't mark your bracelet. These vendors were all local restaurants from the area, it was like a "taste of Baton Rouge." Abita Brewing was serving the beer, hey had maybe 4 beers available.

There were lines for each vendor, but they moved really fast. The only thing I wish I had was a bag or something to store my bottle of water in as I sampled food.

There were activities for kids of all ages, rock climbing walls and Dow Chemical had additional food available, while demonstrating how science worked. They used liquid nitrogen to make fruit smoothies. As the festival wound down, music and such was over around 1-2pm, the kids races were happening.

Overall: For a race of such a short distance, the post race was worth it!

Check out my blog for the pictures https://marathang.wordpress.com/2016/01/21/earning-my-first-medal-of-the-weekend-halfway-to-earning-that-crawfish-platter/

The Louisiana Marathon is a weekend event. On Saturday you can chose to run a 5k or quarter marathon, (there is a kids race too) and on Sunday there are options for a half marathon or full marathon. If you are feeling – awesome – you can opt in to the deja vu race, which would be a race each day. I chose to run the deja vu race, to earn the crawfish platter award. I ran the quarter marathon and the full.

*Side note - many things are the same from my qtr marathon review, but if you check out my blog I have added a lot of photos - http://wp.me/p3CgRX-1xr

The Louisiana Marathon, Deja Vu Challenge, Sunday January 17, 2016. Baton Rouge, LA. 7 am. 35 ish degrees, sunny.

Registration: This was available via the Louisiana Marathon website. There were registration options for each event, including each combination of the deja vu race (so you didn’t have to register for 2 races.) The price increased as race day neared. The race is also a capped event, and sells out. In fact the race sold out this year. This is only the 5th year of the event.

Included with registration: the crawfish platter, a finisher’s medal, bib with timing chip, post race food festival wrist band and race specific, gender specific, short sleeved cotton shirt. (if you had run this for 5 years, you would also earn an additional award)

Expo/Packet Pick up: The Expo was it’s own separate event. It was a two day event held on Friday and Saturday at the River Center in downtown Baton Rouge. There was security to gain access to the expo, with a bag search. Once past, there were boards with bib numbers for look up. Then as you entered the space you grabbed your bib with drawstring bag, then entered another area to grab you shirt(s). Someone else could grab your things if you provided them a confirmation email and copy of your photo ID. You could also purchase post race VIP access here, if you didn’t purchase on the web.

*Strange note on the expo security. When I went early on Saturday I had my post race water bottle with me and got through no questions. Later in the day I brought a re-usable water bottle and had to dump out my water.

Once past acquiring all the things you needed, there was free coffee available, and then all the vendors. First stop was all the race merchandise. Something unique to this event is an artist print. In addition to the “normal” expo fare there was a center space called “the studio” which hosted speakers and events like yoga throughout each day. It was a good size expo with products and races in the area.

*Notes on parking – I stayed at a nearby hotel, maybe 1 mile walking distance at the furthest. I was able to leave my car in that lot. I am not sure about the parking situation for the race or the expo. I did see signs in town for $20 parking, but not sure if that is for general business days.

Pre-Race: The marathon started at the same time as the half marathon. There was one corral for both events. Participants were encouraged to line up according to pace, and use the pacers provided. There was music pumping on a loud speaker and announcements were made, but there were a lot of people, which made hearing difficult. Everyone was to be in the corral 10 minutes before the race start. The National Anthem was sang live. Then the Ainsley's Angels wheelchairs started, followed by everyone else. There were spectators lining the starting chute walls. There were port-o-potties available. Gear check was set up nearby, and you were to use the cinch sack bag obtained at packet pick up, they would stick masking tape on it with your bib number.

*This was a crowded start, and people are rude during the National Anthem, not sure why they had to keep pushing through the crowd during the song. Also with all the expo security it is strange gear check bags were cloth and not see through. It was also kind of cool.

This race also had an app. The app had all the information you would ever need, expo hours, race course and live tracking. This app is also FREE!

Race/Course: The race was run around the LSU campus, around lakes and through the city of Baton Rouge.
-Paved surfaces - asphalt was warbled in areas where tree roots were, there were some potholes, had to pay attention to footing
-hydration stops - there was water and Powerade in paper cups. Although you had to be sure to pay attention, some stops had different cups, some had the same. For the most part Powerade was after water, but some stops it was all mixed in. Some stops were crowded too, the on near mile 7 was narrow, and I was cut off twice.
-Food/nutrition - Honey stinger gels were provided by the race. There was no actual food.
-Spectators - there were many in populated areas, some cheer stops. They had alcohol, donuts, king cake, oranges, candy, bananas, champange in addition to their witty signs. There were also many areas there were no spectators.
-Aid- provided water and gels, but there were medical stations on course, and a wet sponge stop.
-Photographers - most of them were stationed around the start/finish, but there were some on the course. All pictures were posted a couple of days later and FREE
-Terrain - fairly flat, but there were some hilly parts, like crossing an over pass.
-Scenery - ran around LSU campus, around a lake, through neighborhoods
-Volunteers/ law enforcement - there was someone at every intersection and every corner
-Course Markings - each mile was marked with a card board sign, there were no arrows or marks on the pavement
-Timing - mats at 3 points on course for tracking
-Bathrooms- there were many on course, but it seemed there could have been more as early stops all had a line

Finish: This was easy to find, the start arch was also the finish arch. There was a clock and photographers. A volunteer handed each person a bottle of water, and then you were given a medal based on the distance you ran. The chute seemed longer than it did at the start, but was not crowded. It was about a block walk to post race festivities. You could grab your bag from gear check, a recovery drink stand was open with a chocolate drink and powerade. There was a live band performing. A market style stand was set up with bananas and oranges. There was also a gear stand to buy race merchandise. A tent was set up to claim the deja vu platter, it was just a plastic tray.

Finish Festival / VIP tent: The Finish Festival was similar the events from the day before, but with different food options, there was even the vegan villiage. This was past the area described above. This was a section of food vendors, activities for kids and the beer truck. Participants were given a wrist band with 6 “punches.” You could stop at a vendor and grab either food or drink, you could get 6 beers, 6 food items or a combination of both. Vendors would even switch half way through and change their fare. Some would also have so much food, they wouldn’t mark your bracelet. These vendors were all local restaurants from the area, it was like a “taste of Baton Rouge.” Abita Brewing was serving the beer, they had maybe 4 beers available.

*I took advantage of my VIP access, and spent my post race there. There was a buffet of fancy food, but healthy post race options; quinoa, freekah, steak, rice, strawberries, etc. Then there was the open bar with Abita beer, mimosas and bloody mary's. There was king cake on each table. The tent also had free massage.

Overall: What a fun marathon, there could be more spectators, but the course is fairly flat and the post race festivities are awesome!! So much food! I will try to run this again.