This was my fourth time running the Naylor Mill 7K, but this time, it was my first time running a race since March because of all the cancellations because of COVID-19. I had fun and also appreciated the safety precautions that were taken into account. This is a smaller race, and this year, there were 96 finishers.

Before the race, participants had their bib, along with a cloth mask, mailed to them. This meant there was no packet pickup. The masks were themed for the team — Team Bacon or Team Scrapple. Then, at the end, runners received a green T-shirt that had running bacon, scrapple and veggies.

I marked the elevation difficulty as a 5, because this is definitely the toughest course in the Salisbury area. Salisbury is very flat, but this course is mostly singletrack trails with twists and turns in addition to steep uphills and downhills. It is a scenic trail, though!

There was one aid station that offered water bottles (because of COVID). This was definitely adequate for the 7K distance, and the volunteers were friendly. Usually, there is bacon at the aid station, but understandably, there was not this year.

Parking is free and plentiful; I had no problems parking.

Race management was, of course, top notch. The race director, Trent Swanson, puts a lot of care into his races, and this time, he had the added considerations of safety precautions due to COVID-19. There was a health screening, masks required in certain areas (although not while running), a socially distanced race start with a starting curve, and prepackaged food at the end. There's an active Facebook group for this race, and we also received info via email. The course was also well-marked (it's a course that I think is tough to follow if you go out on your own, but it was easy to follow on race day).

Read my full recap here: https://sherunsbytheseashore.com/2020/08/15/i-ran-my-first-in-person-race-since-march-the-naylor-mill-7k/