Latest reviews by Kate

(2015)
"The Best 10k I've Run (so far)"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management

My thoughts on the race are pretty straight forward. I loved it. I loved the whole weekend. Before the weekend was over I had already signed up for the next Endurance Challenge event in Ontario. Instead of a big gigantic post, I'll just outline all the best parts.

1. Packet pickup/Start-Finish/ Race Festival: we got there late afternoon Saturday, so we went right to the start line where the Gore-tex 50 Miler was in full swing and picked up our stuff there. Everything ran so smoothly. We grabbed our bibs and signed up to have our shirts custom screen printed (to say 10k since that's what we were running) and then hung out and watches some of the Ultra runners come it. After we ran our 10k on Sunday we grabbed some delicious food (cheeseburgers!) and hung out in the sun, just enjoying everyone and everything. It was a very well run and laid back experience and I loved it.

2. T-shirt: Well it was customized to our race distance so that was awesome. Plus it was made of recycled materials, fit true to size and is super soft. So it was an all around win.

3. Course/Support: I'll admit that I was worried. I trail run a lot. I also get lost a lot, which when you are on your own is no big deal since it's not like you are being timed. I was really concerned that I would get lost, miss a turn and then not finish the race in the 2 hour time limit. I shouldn't have been worried at all. The course was extremely well marked, so I was never in danger of missing a turn. The volunteers who were handing out water at the turn around were great, and sporadically along the course there were medics and other volunteers cheering us on.

4. Trail/Views: This was the biggest plus for me. I get bored when I run on the road, and love running trails, so any opportunity to race in the mountains is instantly a win. This trail was great- it was definitely technical, but by no means impossible. There were valleys, views, waterfalls, mud to jump in, streams to cross and hills to climb and scramble down. I had a blast.

5. Pictures: the on course photographers were great and I got a ton of pictures that I think came out great. Including the ones of me crossing the finish looking like I might die right there.

Like I said, I loved it enough that I immediately registered for the 10k in Ontario in July and I'm eying races in other locations, trying to figure out if they are do able. If you get the chance to run a North Face Endurance Challenge Race, you should definitely do it!

Video and pictures can be found at: www.areadersramblings.com

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(2015)
"The 7 miler at Run the Bluegrass it's just the right notes"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management

This past weekend I ran the 7 mile course at Run the Bluegrass. From registration to the after party, from the start line to the finish, this race was one of the best experiences I've had at a race. that isn't to say that there weren't some hiccups, but the Race Director (Eric Marr), and everyone else involved in running this event, made sure that issues were heard and resolved in the most efficient way possible, all while staying very transparent about what was going on. I feel like I could go on and on about this race, but instead I'll just bullet point some of the highlights.

- The race shirt: this went from a negative to a positive pretty quickly. The tech shirts that were initially ordered were for some reason no longer available, so Marr and company quickly found another option. Great light weight hoodies. Turns out I prefer this to tech shirts since I can wear it whenever. They did run out of shirts, but it seemed like that too was handled pretty professionally and shirts will be mailed out as soon as they are ready.

- 7 miler v. 13.1: This event has both a half and a 7 miler and the course is HILLY. My friend and I chose to go with the 7 miler and I'm really glad we did. It was long enough (and hilly enough to be a challenge), the views were still spectacular and we still felt great when we finished.

- Packet pickup/Expo- this was a small, but really well laid out Expo. Traffic flowed pretty much in one direction and you had the opportunity to get your bib, shop, take official race pictures and get your shirt. I was really impressed with the variety of vendors and also the chance to check out the Bourbon (in commemorative bottles).

- Course: Like I said- Hilly, but beautiful. And on the course there a bunch of water stations (4 on the 7 mile course) as well as one fabulous beer and twizzler stop at the top of the longest hill. the support on the course was great- even though the stations were spread out, the enthusiasm of those on the course- and especially the finishers chute was awesome.

- Race Director/Organization- I can't say enough about how this event was run. Eric was seemingly everywhere. We bought Bourbon from him at the Expo, he was running around before the race and he was announcing and handing out high fives (and witty comments) at the finish. As far as I can tell, he was incredibly approachable and made runner feel welcome and helped to ratchet up the excitement. My running group (of about 25) even got our own tent and sign. It was great to not just be at a well run race, but to see that the director and his team really cared about the runners.

Over all this was a great race and I can't wait to come back down next year.

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