This is a vacation gem!! If you find yourself at Topsail Beach during July 4th, check out this race! This is my second year running it and I love it. It's always fun to run a race at the beach.

There is no expo, just a packet pickup the night before and the morning of the race. Runners receive a unisex short sleeve soft tech tee (one of my favs!) and a drawstring bag. Parking is located nearby the race start on the street. It gets packed quickly so you may want to arrive a bit early to secure a spot. I had to walk about .5 to the race start and used it as my warm-up which was perfect!

The race has grown in size and almost doubled from the year before. The start is right at the Emma Anderson Memorial Chapel. The course is a big loop that takes us north through town of Topsail Beach before we head south towards the end of the island. We turn again and run through the neighborhood streets coming back to the start/finish. The water stops are spaced well and were stocked with water. Being a beach course, it is super flat!!

They have water at the finish line and bananas. There are age group awards. This year they added a fastest team category.

I chose this race based on the charity it benefits because it was close to my heart. I went into the race with no expectations of how it would be, I just knew I was running a 10K in the heat of the summer.

There is no race expo, just a packet pickup. They offered one the day before and race day morning. I picked up my packet in the morning and they had run out of my size tee shirt. It is my biggest pet peeve. After helping to direct a race, there is no reason that people who preregistered should ever not get their shirts, especially when they are guaranteed. I ended up with an XL shirt when I normally would have a small.

The race started Wiley Middle School and weaved its way through a nearby neighborhood. The course was two loops which I love. They are my favorite type of races! You learn the course the first go around and then use it to your advantage the second time. It was not the easiest course with the first 1.5 of each loop being uphill, but the second 1.5 of each loop was flat to downhill. It was a good balance in my opinion. We passed the same water stop twice at the start/finish and another one about 1.5 miles in also.

Overall it was a great race! I ended up placing in my age group and the awards were beautiful pieces of handmade pottery. It well made up for the shirt mix up!

For a local 5K that is relatively flat, this race was a welcomed surprise!!

With this race, there is only a packet pick-up at our local running store, Fleet Feet. Runners received a gender specific tech tee and two free beers. There is also packet pickup available the day of the race too.

This is part of the Race the Bar series where runners receive points for completing the different events. Each race increases in distance and the last race was just announced as being a beer crawl. Each race also starts at a different brewery. All the races are in the afternoon vs the morning, a bit of challenge with the heat.

This course started at the Pig Pounder Brewery. Parking wasn't available at the brewery, but nearby at a local cinema. It was a short walk to the start/finish. For Greensboro, this is a relatively flat course. If the race wasn't held in the heat of the day, it would be a PR worthy course. I'd love the chance to be able to run it at 7am.

This course was a big loop and we ran through the nearby neighborhood, along some areas of Greensboro that normally do not have races through them which was a nice change! We caught part of the greenway on the way back to the start. The race had a few hills but lots of flat sections and a downhill finish!

Runners were given a pint glass as a finisher's prize at the finish line.

On a 95 degree afternoon, Race the Bar 8K was being held. I know when you sign up for a summer afternoon race there's a chance the weather will be awfully hot. This was that time. Luckily for us, the race directors were ready for it and made a lot of changes that helped keep us all safe out there.

There is not a race expo, just a packet pickup the night before and the day of the race. Runners received gender specific tech tees and 2 beer tickets with their entry. Parking was only available on side streets for the race so we arrived early (about an hour ahead) to make sure we had a place to park near the start.

The course was run along the Lindley Park neighborhood and Arboretum. It is a pretty route, rolling hills and in the full sun. It would be a difficult course on a normal day, but with the heat, it was tougher than usual. The water stops were fully stocked with water and Gatorade and cold, wet towels while they lasted.

The volunteers and police officers along the course were awesome! Very supportive and encouraging. They even joked around with us, clearly thinking we were all crazy for running in that heat. The course was one big loop that took us around back to the start.

At the finish line, runners received a finisher's pint glass and a ice pop! Nice touch!