Latest reviews by Nancy

(2015)
"Love Run Half"
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Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
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I'm really on the fence about how I feel about the Love Run. The registration for the Love Run was cheaper than what I had paid for last year's Rock N Roll Philly Half and the Philadelphia Half Marathon. So I guess in terms of fee, it was a pretty good deal. The Love Run is managed by CGI Racing, which is good at promoting all their other races but was bad at communication about the actual race. I think it was a few days before the race that I had heard anything about bib pickups. This was inconvenient too, having the packet pick up at Citizen Bank Park. It's quite a trek to get there during lunch.

The expo was just okay. I felt like I was in a maze trying to pick up everything at the stadium. The bibs were on a different floor from the shirts and the vendors. Part of the swag was a coffee mug that was pretty nice. We also got a voucher for two free Phillies tickets. The clear plastic bag smelled way funky though. The shirts were tech and long sleeves and pretty nice.

Race day for this race has been a miss. Last year it rained. This year it was freezing. I was surprised it was that cold without snowing. The wind plus running by the river was brutal. Porta potties were plentiful and not overly long. There was a VIP section for teams with 20+ people but my group did not make the cut.

There were no set corrals but there were signs for anticipated finish times. It was pretty much a disorganized mess. I was too cold to notice the start time but it seemed pretty on point. There were plenty of aid stations throughout the course. The route starts off pretty flat until maybe mile 5-6 near the Please Touch Museum. There are a few other hilly spots but also some declines too.

I didn't notice a lot of photographers on the course except during the first few miles on Ben Franklin Parkway and at the end (not sure if these will be free or cost). The finisher medal is pretty large and cool with a spinner. The recovery bag came with a soft (rock hard) pretzel, an Uncrustable, an orange and a Tastykake. There were also heat sheets given out. I missed out on the free beer.

I don't think there was anything particularly enticing about this race except maybe the medal. The route is similar to the Rock N Roll Philly and the Philadelphia Half. I would choose either of those races before running the Love Run again. The weather in September and November felt slightly better than March in this case. It seemed like the crowd interaction is best during the Philadelphia Marathon / Half in November.

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(2014)
"Cooper Norcross Run the Bridge 10K"
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Of all the days to be running a bridge, it would be a windy one! (But at least I wasn't running the NYC marathon, those people are hardcore!) This run starts in Camden and crosses the Ben Franklin Bridge towards Philadelphia then turns around to run around Camden, passing by the Battleship New Jersey and ends at Campbell Stadium.

My brother picked up my bib for me in Moorestown and didn't mention any problems. I don't think there was an expo. The bib came with a D-tag time chip for shoes and the shirt was a long sleeved cotton one that came in a reusable clear plastic bag.

I drove in Sunday morning and did not have to deal with too much traffic. Apparently they closed the bridge around 7:45 am, for a run start of 8:30 am. I came much earlier so I did not have trouble. Parking was also plentiful at the stadium lots. The start line though was a bit of a walk from the opening ceremony at the stadium.

There was no line at the porta potties when I stopped by before the run! Before the start of the race, the announcer mentioned that due to the wind, they had to cancel one of the water stations on the bridge. I brought my own water bottle so it didn't really impact me. They had clocks at the mile locations instead of signs, which helped a bit for me since my Runkeeper chose not to work properly this morning.

The miles on the bridge was a nice view but the wind was very strong. There was a bit of an incline on both ends of the bridge. Other parts of the run were also slightly elevated. Photographers were fairly sparse during the run.

For more pictures:
http://teamninjaroll.wordpress.com/2014/11/04/such-a-struggle-cooper-norcross-run-the-bridge-10k/

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(2014)
"Trenton 10K"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management

I had heard about the Trenton Half Marathon and 10K during the Broad Street Run. They offered a discounted registration as part of the virtual goodie bag. There was numerous email communications for the event with detailed information about parking.

The expo and bib pick up was at a hotel nearby. There wasn't much parking in front of the place, but I knew to park and walk a little to avoid hotel parking fees. The expo was very small compared to the ones held at the Philadelphia Convention Center. There wasn't much to look at so I didn't stay long. Bib pick up was quick and I got my shirt, which was a long sleeved grey tech. The design is fairly plain but the fit was good. The swag bag also had a hot/cold pack from Performance Spine & Sports Medicine and a small towel.

The day of the race was super cold and windy. The route of the races caused part of the highway to be closed off. An email mentioned the time of which the road would be closed but it actually closed earlier and caused some inconvenient detour for my friend. There were parking lots for runners on both sides (NJ and PA). I parked at the NJ side because it was closer to the start line.

The start line was about a 10-15 min walk from the lot. There were plenty of porta potties but the set up was a bit awkward. The start line was sandwiched between rows of porta potties. It made for a smelly wait. The start of the race was supposed to be at 8:00 am however, we stood around and the National Anthem wasn't sung until 8:25 am. A large pet peeve since it was freezing. Both the half marathoners and the 10kers were all starting at the same time.

The route was pretty nice and included both PA and NJ paths. Crossing the "Trenton Makes The World Takes" is fun though it's uncomfortable on the feet. A lot of people ran in the sidewalk of the bridge instead. There is one part on the PA side near a residential area that had a steep incline. The finish line of the race was inside the stadium, after running the outfield. There was a lot of people cheering from the stadium seats and even a mascot at the finish line.

Afterwards, there was a line up the stadium where that offered Philly pretzels, cliff bars, bananas and other refreshments. Outside the stadium, people were giving out chocolate milk.

The medal for the 10k is slightly smaller than the half but both of them double as a bottle openers. The ribbon the medal was on even had Velcro to make it easier to take off. Very well thought out!

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(2014)
"Alhambra 5K Pumpkin Run"
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While on vacation in LA, I signed myself and five of my friends to run while we were in the area. (Running three miles doesn't make up for all the food we ate, but it's better than nothing). Of course, the week we visited, it had to be "unseasonable warm". I think when the race started at 9 am, it was in the high 90s degrees. The dry air was hurting my nose and it was super hard to breathe.

This was the first year of the run created by FitFactor. I was surprised at the turnout. There was a lot more people than I expected. I did see numerous deals on Groupon and LivingSocial so that probably got the publicity out. The course was around a neighborhood and park. There were neighborhood street parking and we didn't have any problems with that.

The biggest complaint was the bathroom situation. There was a restroom for the park normally but it was single stalled. So the line was ridiculous near the start of the run. There were supposedly porta potties elsewhere, but they were placed poorly so no one knew about them.

There were no corrals, so everyone crowded the front. The course itself was mostly residential so there were lots of people sitting outside their houses to cheer and offer water. This was super cute of the community. Even the authority figures were cheering the crowd on. The course was mostly flat I think but the temperature really made it a struggle for me.

We didn't stay long after the race, but there were lots of activities for kids and families. It's better suited for a family activity run but the t-shirt and matching medal are cute.

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(2014)
"New York City 10K"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
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The New York City 10k was my first NY race that was a bit tiring to commute to. I'm close enough to NY to be able to take the NJ Transit up to Penn Station. I came in Saturday night and stayed in Brooklyn (thanks to the bf for free housing). Unfortunately it was a bit difficult trying to take public transportation in the morning. Directions told us it would take 2 hours to get there via PT so we opted to drive there for the 30 mins instead.

We arrived there around 6:30 am for an 8:00 am start. I've never been to Roosevelt Island before. There was absolutely nowhere to park. I was getting fearful as we drove back and forth the island, hoping for a space (I swear there's a parking garage but we couldn't find where the entrance was). We were fortunate to find a parking spot! I was convinced we were have to park off the island.

The race was limited to 3,000 people but the island was pretty small. The course calls for two loops around the island. The porta potty lines weren't too long but there was no hand sanitizer or hand washing station.

There were big signs for pace corrals but there wasn't a staggered start. The course is very scenic around the island, including a lighthouse. Though since we were running on an island, the weather was cold and it was super windy. The route was flat but the path was very narrow. At times, it was impossible to pass slower runners.

Since we had to make two loops, there were many photo opportunities and lots of photographers. There were mile markers on the course and lots of volunteers to direct the runners. Though it was a bit disheartening to see a 5 mile marker after only running about 2 miles.

T-shirt was pretty nice, there was an option to upgrade to tech shirt for $5 more. The best part though, was definitely the medal. It was about the size of my head. Fun race overall although they didn't have my traditional banana afterwards.

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