It was great for the Salisbury Half Marathon to get back to "normal" this year after the pandemic made the 2020 race go virtual and the 2021 race have gathering restrictions (though it still went on, which was nice!). The race is held in my hometown of Salisbury, MD, and I am the coach for the race — I provide training plans, check in with runners and answer questions. I was given a free entry for this.
It's actually so close to my house that I did not rate parking/access because I walked to the start. There is a short walk from the parking area, but parking is free. If you park downtown, you'll have a half-mile-ish walk to the start and will be near your car at the end. To get back to my house, I walked a mile.
There were plenty of aid stations, and they all had plenty of volunteers and items. The course is rural, but I'm also very used to these roads. My favorite part as far as scenery is the end of the race on Riverside Drive into the downtown area. The marathon, which I ran in 2019, is much more rural than the half marathon.
There wasn't really an expo — just packet pickup on Thursday and Friday. My running club set up a table both days, and on Friday, there were some running items for sale.
Swag included a casual-wear shirt, a mat-style picture frame, a sticker with your race distance and free race photos, along with the finisher medal. The finisher medal is the same for all distances, with a different ribbon that has the distance on it.
This year, runners got two free beers (with the option to choose a beer from a local brewery, Evolution) and pizza, along with water, Gatorade and snacks. I liked the addition of the pizza! The downtown area is closed for people to hang out in.
This is a flat course with a few minor hills, probably mostly noticeable if you live in a flat area like I do.
I thought race management was great — plenty of communication, a live Q&A before the race and an athlete guide with all the details.