This was my ninth year running the Mike Sterling 10K. Of course, since I return every year, it's obviously one of my favorite races! The race is held during Labor Day Weekend and the National Hard Crab Derby. Usually, it's very hot, but this year, it was cooler, which allowed me to have a much faster race than last year. Many runners got PRs.

It's extremely flat in Crisfield, and I like the course, which has water views and takes runners through neighborhoods and through the small town.

Swag was a T-shirt with a crab on it — Crisfield is the Crab Capital of the World. It's only $25, so of course, I would not expect a lot of extras and am happy with the T-shirt. There are also cool overall and age group awards (I didn't earn one this year), along with fun door prizes, including crab meat, Smith Island Cake and running shoes (also didn't get one of those this year).

It's also super easy to park for free steps away from the start, and the race is managed well. There were three water stops and volunteers were friendly. Packet pickup was held at a small beach in Crisfield the night before.

I'd definitely recommend this event! Read more here: https://sherunsbytheseashore.com/2021/09/10/on-a-beautiful-day-i-beat-last-years-mike-sterling-10k-time-by-four-minutes/