The Maryland-District of Columbia RRCA 10 Mile Club Challenge is hosted by the Howard County Striders. Participants must be members of an RRCA club in Maryland or Washington, D.C.

This was my first year participating in the race with my club, the Eastern Shore Running Club. The race was extremely well-managed. I served as the team captain for our team and got an email to confirm that our registered participants were members. Then, as a registered runner, I received a nine-page, descriptive Runners Guide for the race via email. The course was easy to follow, with plenty of volunteers along the way with large orange flags. There were three water stops that were exactly where the Runners Guide said they would be, and they were well-stocked (even though I was one of the later runners).

The race was chip-timed, and although it was this morning, results have already been posted. I emailed the race director a question about results tonight and got a response very quickly.

The course started near Howard Community College and took participants through neighborhoods. I gave scenery a "3," because the neighborhoods are nice, but there's nothing that stood out to me as extremely scenic — it definitely wasn't bad scenery, though.

This race is only $9, so the only reason swag gets a "1" is because there is not swag. (I did see a pair of gloves for the race, but I'm not sure where they came from.) I did not expect any swag from a race that cost less than $10; it's even described in the Runners Guide as a "no-frills" event.

I live in a flat area, and this course was tough for me. There are lots of hills, and the Runners Guide describes it as a "very hilly, challenging route." I didn't think it was that bad at first, but the hardest part was in the middle of the race, and then by the end, my legs felt very heavy from the hills. My watch logged 643 feet of elevation gain.

Parking was easy, free and close to the packet pickup/inside waiting area at Howard Community College. There was not an expo — just packet pickup the morning of the race.

I am looking forward to returning next year and hopefully bringing a larger group from the Eastern Shore Running Club!

Read my blog post on this race at She Runs by the Seashore here: https://sherunsbytheseashore.com/2018/02/25/rrca-club-challenge-an-esrc-flatlander-running-hills/