As you can tell by my title, I adore this race! It might not be the most elaborate, but it's big on small town charm with stellar support and amazing swag. It's also the first of three races for the King Crab Challenge: Frederick Half, Baltimore 10-Miler, and Baltimore Running Festival.

Held at the Frederick Fairground, the expo is fantastic with clear directions, plenty of space, and a fair amount of vendors. I loved the long-sleeve jacket they gave this year! We went Saturday afternoon and were treated to a farmer's market and food vendors as well. For race day, parking is plentiful, but you definitely want to arrive early as traffic can reach Route 70 at times! I arrived early enough to park opposite the fairground entrance which made leaving easier as well.

It was easy finding bag check area plus meet up with friends in the stadium. Lines for the port-o-pot weren't bad but since I wanted a real bathroom, I waited a bit for that. As for the course, it's quite lovely, going through historic downtown Frederick, gorgeous developments, and rolling countryside. A priest was out blessing runners as well! For the most part, the roads are flat except for the hill around Mile 11 that smacked me right in the face. I also saw one gal who passed out but a bike medic arrived quickly.

The finish is amazing ... you loop around the stadium on the horse racing path and finish in front of the stage with lots of cheering! And the bling! Good grief, that medal was gorgeous with a frame on the back to insert a race photo. They also offered a ton of post-race snacks plus banners were you can get a finish photo. Carefirst also provided free race pictures taken along the course and at the finish that was very appreciated! The after party was a total blast with a kicking band, food tents, and two free beers.

All in all, I absolutely love this race and I was thrilled to finish with a 02:03 to use for Disney race proof of time! If you'd like to read my blog post or watch my video recaps, links are below. Thanks for reading and happy running!

http://joyfulmiles.com/2018-frederick-running-festival-half-marathon-race-recap/

https://youtu.be/XCClI2eTaOc