This was my third year returning to the Run for the Animals in Onancock, Virginia, and although it's about an hour and 15 minutes away from my house, it's definitely worth the trip. The first year I participated, I ran the half marathon, and this year and last year I ran the 10K. One of the highlights for me is the amazing food spread. There is everything from doughnuts to fried chicken to cake -- and there's also beer.

This year, participants received a mug -- which I thought was awesome! Runners also received a finisher medal as they crossed the finish line. The shirt was a relatively basic light gray short-sleeve tech shirt, but I gave the swag a "5" rating because I thought the mug was a really cool item to have. I actually would have been fine with just getting the mug.

Aid stations were simple, but I feel they still earned a "5" because I got what I needed and didn't have any problems. People were friendly and there were three aid stations (one at the turnaround and one that we hit twice), which definitely seemed like enough for a 10K. A local resident had also set up an aid station with water at her home.

The first part of the course is pretty, going through neighborhoods and over a bridge -- my favorite part -- into the small town of Onancock. It's an out-and-back, and after you leave the "downtown" area (it's a small town), the scenery is a little boring but certainly not ugly after that. Then, of course, since it's an out-and-back, you turn around and follow the course the opposite way. Although there are some small hills, I still gave the course a "1" for elevation difficulty because it's pretty flat.

It was not hard to find parking, being a rural area. Some people did have to park on the road, but I don't think anyone was too far from the start of the race.

Race management was great. There were regular updates on Facebook and there were opportunities to win RoadID gift cards (I won one!) and for the restaurant/shop on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. The course was well-marked, and although roads were not blocked by police, I did not have to wait for any cars. I will note that this is not a chip-timed race, so if you are fast or going for a PR, you probably want to start close to the front. There were also 5K walkers coming in at the end, so I had to go around some people (and looking at the photos, it reminded me that I also dodged a dog).

I didn't rate the expo because there wasn't really one, but there were tables set up outside in conjunction with the packet pickup before the race.

There are awards for first and second place in each five-year age group for men and women, and they are always unique. I didn't win one this year, but the award was a horseshoe trophy, and for the previous two years, there have been trophies with two people running (gold) and with a cat (black).

My blog recap can be found here: https://sherunsbytheseashore.com/2017/04/06/run-for-the-animals-a-delicious-and-fun-time/