I love the Mike Sterling 10K! This was my seventh year in a row running this race. The race is held the Saturday of Labor Day Weekend as part of the National Hard Crab Derby in Crisfield, Maryland.

It only costs $25 to enter, and if you get five people to sign up with your referral link, you can get $20 back. So it's definitely a good value — whether or not you get the money back.

The course starts not far from the Crisfield City Dock and takes runners on an out-and-back by the water before heading into neighborhoods. The last part of the race is a straight road heading back to the start, which is more than a mile. The race is extremely flat.

From what I recall, there were three official water stops and one that looked unofficial but was still great. Since this is always a hot and humid race, the number of water stops were appreciated, and the volunteers were helpful.

This is a small town (technically a city of less than 3,000 residents), and parking is easy. I arrived a little bit later than I planned to and still easily found a spot close to the start. Parking is free and plentiful.

I'm friends with the race directors, and I thought the race was well-organized. The course was well-marked, there were enough water stops and there were wet towels at the end — which were awesome. I did not win an award this year, but the overall and age group awards are really cool. This year, the overall male and female runners, the fastest runner from Crisfield and the fastest walker each received a watermen's boot, and age group winners received a mini crab pot on a lanyard as a "medal." Second place in each age group also got an award.

There are also lots of door prizes, including a pound of crab meat, a Smith Island cake and free running shoes from Vernon Powell Shoes.

Normally, the premium is a cotton T-shirt, but this year it was a cotton tank top. Although I don't think I will be running in it much, I do like the switch to the tank top! It's nice to have something different.

There isn't an expo for this race. You can just pick up your packet that morning.

I would definitely recommend this race!

Check out my race recap here: sherunsbytheseashore.com/2018/09/07/feeling-strong-at-the-mike-sterling-10k/