This race was one that my old cross country team puts on for a fundraiser. I ran it the previous year and had to sign up again this year. It is run on their home XC course, which is a hilly route at the local soccer complex. You complete 3 laps, moving from soccer field to soccer field, which are separated by short, steep hills. There is one long, gradual hill that you run during each lap, and it is tough. The looping can make the course a little repetitive, and can cause you to be lapped if youre towards the back, but these are things easily are ignored with such a fun race.

The weather usually is hot, and if it rains the night before, the course will be soupy, as this year was.

Overall, it is a great race that benefits a great cause and provides other runners a look at what a cross country race looks like and feels like.

Check out my blog review for the race! https://theracecritic.blogspot.com/2017/07/john-penning-5k.html

November 26th, 2015 was warm and wet. This year, rather than the snow that we got last year during the race, we had rain and 40 degree weather. It was tough and hot. The hill was relentlessness as usual too.

Lets start with the expo, or the packet pickup. First of all, there was no guidance to where or when the packet pickup was. The only way it was given was through the email we received from signing up. No indication on their website. Also, it changed the day of the pick up, so there was some confusion. The pick up was pick and simple however. The shirt this year did switch from a dri-fit material back to the old cotton, which in my opinion, is a much better fit. The old dri-fit was ill fitting, especially for women. The cotton fits much better and is very comfortable.

The course is still tougher than ever. I say that I would not recommend this race to a friend, and I only say this because it is a challenge and unless you really want the difficulty that this race brings and you are ready for it, I don't recommend just showing up and signing up. The scenery is not that appealing, but having a lot of people there does help the race fly by.

The race is managed decently, however, when instructions are given at the beginning of the race, they are not loud enough or clear enough. A single person is trying to talk over hundreds at ground level. This leads to no sorting of walkers and runners at the start line and when you start near the middle, you have to weave for the first mile. Also, there is no clear instruction for what people are supposed to do when they need to walk, leading to many people to stop right in front of others, causing congestion and frustration.

Also the other problem with this race is the parking. The race runs right in front of the parking lot of the school, not allowing people to leave until all the runners are done or there is a big enough gap. With the late start (9am compared to 8am), sometimes that means that you are not leaving until 10ish. The only other parking option is on side roads, which can sometime lead to some extra hill climbing or a bit of extra walking.

This is a tough race. Even people who are from Dubuque and are used to the hills struggle with this course and will say how tough it is. Do not go into this race thinking it will be a walk in a park.

Check out my review on my blog! http://theracecritic.blogspot.com/2015/12/turkey-trot-2015.html

Relay Iowa is a relay race that runs from Sioux City, IA to Dubuque, IA, crossing the wonderful (and sometimes desolate) state of Iowa. This past year, that route included 341 miles of hills, flat lands, thunderstorms, and wild critters. The race starts in the mornings with a staggered start line and runs continuously through the night. You and your teammates, (at most 11 other runners), take off and switch at whatever intervals you decide. Thats what makes this race so different than other relays. Instead of being told that you are going to run a set interval at so-and-so time, you and your team break up the challenge as you please. There was one group that did 1 mile intervals through the entire race, and others that break the race into much larger chunks.

One of the nice things from this race is about every 30 miles, there is a checkpoint in a predetermined town. At these spots, there was a park or a school or something where you could get out of the car and stretch your legs or nap, or even sometimes shower (which let me tell you, was one of the nicest things even when the water was below 20 degrees). There were also preset locations where food was given. At the second checkpoint on the first day, we had a spaghetti dinner. A few checkpoints after that was a pancake breakfast, and so forth. There was also at these dinners a massage therapist who was more than happy to massage and take care of the runners.

I will say one of the toughest things about this race was the first day and a half. During this time, you were really running by yourself and relied heavily for your team giving you the support. With a staggered start, they want everyone to finish around the same time, but it makes the first half of the race fairly lonely. After this time, you were able to see other runners ahead and behind you, giving you that extra push to keep on trucking.

I would highly encourage anyone to do this race. Get some friends and some cars, come up with a goofy team name, (like: this sounded like a good idea in February, or WTF wheres the finish. These are both team names used last year). And go run across the beautiful state of Iowa.

Check out more information and pictures on my blog: http://theracecritic.blogspot.com/2015/06/relay-iowa-2015.html

When I heard that Mall to Mall was cancelled this past year, I was saddened due to that race being one of my favorite races that I had ever done. When Y2Y was announced, I loved that they had a replacement. For being a unique distance, 8ish miles give or take, and a unique style of racing, a time prediction race, where you guess how fast you can complete the entire race, person to come closest wins, this is hard to come by. The race is run on some roads, but mainly stays on the Cedar Valley Nature Trail, which is the local, paved running and biking path. Utilizing the path made the race seem like it was much shorter than it was because the trail is something that I was familiar to. It also made the course fairly level, there was one long, gradual hill around the 4ish mile turn, but this was when runners were veered off of the trail for a bit. There was only one aid station, however, it felt like plenty. Overall, for the first year that this race was ran, it was extremely well organized and executed. I am planning on running this next year and would encourage anyone to sign up as well!

For more info and pictures check out my blog: http://theracecritic.blogspot.com/2015/04/y2y-time-prediction-race.html

I ran Freezefest because a couple of coworkers of mine recommended it. This race was a nice little break from the boring running in winter because now I had plenty of other people around me to run with. Winter was warm this past year, so the race wasnt as deathly cold as it could have been, but it did start snowing. I loved the course. It was flat and fast, and being an out and back loop style course, I was able to cheer on others who I know who are crazy fast. The worst part of this race is that you have to get there early if you want a nice parking spot, but even if you get there for a nice spot, you will have trouble getting out due to the finish line being situated in the closest parking lot. The shirts you get are pretty neat, being a long sleeve drifit, that actually fits well. It also is reflective on both the front and back, which definitely comes in handy from time to time. I would recommend this race for anyone who is not afraid to possibly have to brave the elements and run in the cold. It really is a lot of fun, and the after party is just as fun with chili and other baked goods waiting for you.

Check my blog for more info and pics: http://theracecritic.blogspot.com/2015/02/freezefest-5k.html