• Salisbury,
    Maryland,
    United States
  • April
  • 3 miles/5K, 13.1 miles/Half Marathon, 26.2 miles/Marathon, Virtual Race
  • Road Race
  • Event Website

Vanessa Junkin

Salisbury, Maryland, United States
54 91
2021
"Fun, safe in-person race! "
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
Vanessa Junkin's thoughts:

I had a great experience at the 2021 Salisbury Half Marathon. I ran this race in 2019 and have also served as the race's coach since then (and I got a free entry because of that). It went virtual-only in 2020, right at the start of the pandemic. This year, it came back as an in-person event and was the largest running event in the area since the pandemic began. There were lots of safety precautions in place, including a COVID questionnaire, temperature checks, masking before and after the run, and five different waves (marathon waves at 7 and 7:15 a.m., half marathon waves at 7:30 and 7:45 a.m., and a 5K wave - different start location). Runners also were sent off in small groups rather than everyone at once.

Aid stations were serve-yourself from prepackaged items (water bottles, Gatorade bottles, small Clif bars and I think there were gels — I brought my own fuel). The volunteers were great and were wearing masks.

Swag this year included a lot of different items, which I always appreciate. Runners received a race shirt, branded BibBoards, a branded Hoo-Rag, a sticker with the race distance (13.1 for me), a $5 voucher to use at a Downtown Salisbury business and a VP Shoes coupon. For packet pickup, runners could either have their bib mailed or go through a drive-thru packet pickup on the Thursday or Friday before the race. I did the drive-thru and it was quick and easy.

The course scenery is nothing too special to me as I run some of these roads all the time. I think there are some prettier areas that were not included — it's not the most exciting course, but I do like the last few miles along Riverside Drive (along the river). The course is extremely flat, with a few minor inclines. As a warning, one of those few inclines is at the very end.

I live very close to the start, so I ran there and did not have to worry about parking (so I did not rate that section), but parking is free on the weekends. If someone parked downtown and ran the half marathon or marathon, they would have to walk/run about a half-mile to the start and they would finish near where they parked.

I thought the race was managed well, and there was plenty of communication with runners ahead of time. I felt safe at this event, which I think is the most important in COVID times.

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