I came back!!!

I ran the Urban Bourbon Half Marathon in 2018 and have always meant to come back and run it again. Why? Well, the race is one of the best run races in the country and the post race party is second to none! But, also, the city of Louisville is a great place to visit and has so many places to visit.

But back to the race. The race management is one of the best from the get go. Constant communication on everything from price increases to the medal reveal to the excitement about the post race party details! The packet pickup was easy access and was very seamless in the amount of time it took to get my bib. There was a nice race merchandise stand and some Evan Williams bourbon to sample, plus a company that provided several food options with bourbon infused into them. Also, there was a Fleet Feet merchandise pop-up for any last minute race needs. The expo was held inside the Louisville Slugger Field atrium area.

One of the reasons I wanted to return was to improve on my time back in 2018. Unfortunately, that didn't happen but I still had a great time. I will admit, I forgot about the hills and elevation throughout Cherokee Park and some of those got to me along the race. I paid more attention to the views and my surroundings this time as well so I could fully enjoy the beauty of the park as we all ran through it. The support from the aid stations and cheer stations was incredible and so uplifting as the miles went on. Many of the trees leaves were starting to change color so that was also very pleasant to run past.

The finish line atmosphere was AMAZING! All the cheers like a major marathon followed by a great post race party with The Crashers playing fabulous music while all the race finishers chowed down on burgoo (Kentucky stew), pizza, Falls City beer and sample upon sample of various bourbons! Yum!

I'm telling you, THIS is the best half marathon race in the country and you would do yourself a favor by going to Louisville and taking part in it. You will not regret it!

Happy running!

I was fortunate enough to have the ability to participate in the At-Home Falmouth Road Race, a virtual seven mile race that I was able to complete at home. I wish I could have had the opportunity to run the race on location in Massachusetts since it looked like a lot of fun (and there possibly would have been the chance to meet Olympic runner, Molly Seidel) but the at-home version was fun for its own reasons. The race organization was great with communication about the event as it neared and not just a few weeks out but for several months leading up to it. They were also very keen to provide lots of hype to us virtual runners with frequent emails and responses to social media posts. I applaud them for keeping up the spirits of individuals who would not be able to attend in person.

The at-home race kit they provided was one of the best swag bags (literally) I've ever received for a virtual race. It included a personalized bib with race specific Bibboards (replaces safety pins for your running bib) with the race image on them. There was also a nice travel type bag that included a coffee mug with the race logo, Martha's Vineyard Sea Salt blueberry honey sea salts, Gatorade thirst quencher powder, and a Dana-Farber sponsored SPF wipe for protecting your skin on the run. AND they provided chalk for you and/or your family to create a homemade finish line. What a touch to add!! I like to think mine came out pretty damn nice.

A special finish line for a fun At-Home Falmouth Road Race finish! And you know they had a nice medal too! It was great to finish this run with this finish line and have a sweet medal and a cup of coffee all ready for me after. :)

I would definitely recommend the At-Home Falmouth Road Race version if you cannot attend the in-person race; they treat you great with the swag and the communication!

Happy running!

When the opportunity to run a virtual race that was connected to the lovable Minions, I just couldn't pass it up! I saw it as a great way to spend some time with one of my sons who doesn't enjoy running that much but always is up for fun runs like this one here. I have to disclose that the real selling point for my son was the AMAZING swag that came with his registration. He loves the t-shirt and the medal is obviously a winner for him but it was the winter pom hat that was the clincher! Loves the pom hat and, for that matter, so do I! The race being virtual made it easy to find a time for both of us to take on the 5K and we were able to do at a leisurely pace. I loved that we were able to run, jog, walk and talk the whole time. It made for a great bonding experience. The virtual support was positive as well. I was emailed about the registration confirmation and delivery of my son's swag packet. I was also informed of my medal being delayed and that it would be coming soon as well (I had registered much earlier than my son hence the difference there) and they were supportive on social media channels as well. I only give the race management section 3 stars since I'm still waiting for my medal after being told it wouldn't be long until it arrived. Otherwise, this was a very fun virtual race to participate in and I would certainly do it again, whether it be Minions or some other fun option.

I'm not sure how to describe the Columbus Marathon where I ran the full marathon this year. It will be a bittersweet race memory for me because I was injured and not able to give my best effort on the course. But it will always make me smile because I was so moved and motivated by all of the Children Champions that represented one of the 26 miles throughout the course. They were out there, cheering, holding foam fingers waiting for high fives and full of energy themselves. How can you not get a boost in your step when seeing that at each mile? It was an amazing experience to be a part of and I encourage any runner to put this race on your schedule and run either the half or the full. Now, onto my reviews of the individual categories of my personal race experience.

Expo Quality: The expo was in a convention center location but I made the mistake of parking on the opposite side of the building so that made for a long walk to the expo itself. The acquisition of my bib and race shirt was seamless with no wait. There was time to meet up with a couple of IG friends as well since no time was wasted in lines. I was a little disappointed that there were not more vendors there, some specific ones come to my mind but it didn't make the expo a total loss. Also, there was some very nice race merchandise.

Parking Access: Parking garage for the expo which was useful. No need for parking for race day; just walked over from my hotel. Only negative was having to valet for the time I was there at the hotel where I was staying.

Course Scenery: Lovely streets and neighborhoods with a lot of crowd support along the way. Not full like a WM race but certainly plenty of people cheering the runners on; very nice to have them out there. I would have given this five stars BUT, and this is kind of a petty but, I wish instead of running around the Horseshoe (OSU's stadium), it would have been really sweet, if possible, to run through it in some way. But, overall, the course was one of the nicer ones I've had the privilege of running.

Elevation Difficulty: No major hills but plenty of subtle up and downs throughout the race. But, like I said, it was minimal elevation on each of them. But when you're running 26.2, any elevation in those closing miles is rough, haha.

Aid Stations: Great. Plain and simple. Water/Gatorade was never filled too high in the cups, I never spilled on myself and I never felt like over hydrated myself which can happen sometimes. The volunteers were fabulous and supportive as well as helpful. Great atmosphere at the stations!

T-Shirts/Swag: Nice race shirt with a city backdrop on the front and a listing of all the neighborhoods and at what miles you run through them on the back. Different colors for the men and women as well. Nice assortment of goodies along finisher's way after crossing the finish line as well. A bevy of eats which were so needed! And the finisher's medal is well done too.

Race Management: Constant communication over several months leading up to the race was helpful to know what policy changes may or may not occur (like COVID protocols) and what to expect on race day. But the best news that was relayed to race participants was the names and photos of all those Children Champions who were representing all those miles. The uplifting was beginning well before the day of the race.

So, that's my review and I'll say it again, you should pay a visit to Columbus and run this race. Also, take a few days to check out the city; it has a lot to offer and it did not disappoint.

I randomly chose to run the Cedarburg Half Marathon just at the end of February. I figured I was running a half in Illinois at the end of April so another one at the end of May wouldn't be too taxing on the body. I wanted something closer to home where I could sleep in my own bed and get up and go on race morning. This ended up being a diamond found in the rough. I thought everything was well done by the race organizers and they pulled off a great event.

Expo Quality: OK, so I give this a middle of the road score but not because it was a negative. It was just small and really just a packet pickup located outside of the Cedarburg High School. So, nothing special but besides your bib, the bag contained several coupons for local business and I can appreciate that since Cedarburg is a nice community which has some fabulous businesses to visit.

Parking/Access: No problems whatsoever parking (also at the high school where the race started and finished) when I arrived and it was very smooth departing after finishing the race. No issues at all and I personally love that about any race. Less complications for me at the start of a race, the better.

Course Scenery: A really nice mix of neighborhood street running for the first three miles and then almost all of the rest on a bike trail that went out and back for a finish at the high school. The neighborhood was nice and shaded and provided subtle ups and downs (nothing major and this was the only real elevation on the course) and then the trail, of course, offered up some nice nature views. It made for a pleasant run the whole way.

Aid Stations: A couple that you passed twice each way. Fully staffed and did not run out of water. My only complaint was that the cups were filled a little high which caused some spilling on myself.

T-Shirts/Swag: Along with the local business coupons, the event gave out a really nice race shirt; quality material, fun design. And the organizers even gave the option to me at pickup to exchange the size if I needed to. Plus, there was a nice medal at the finish line. The post race party included music from a DJ, plenty of water, bananas, granola bars, and, get ready for this, a pancake bar free for all the runners. How awesome is that?!

Race Management: Great job with a local event! They communicated very well leading up to race day and had the race results ready to go about an hour after the final finisher. And the group they used for the race photos did an excellent job; I loved how crisp and sharp my pics looked; for once, I'm not looking like a gargoyle, haha.