I've had my eyes on this race for a few years and it finally worked into the race calendar this year! It is truly a small town race but don't let that scare you away! The race team is phenomenal and does what it can to make sure that runners get the best experience possible!

Since I was driving down from Green Bay the night before and was not going to be able to get to packet pick up, I was excited to see race day packet pick up.

The race starts and ends on the campus of UW Manitowoc and packing is plentiful right near the start/finish line. When I arrived on campus, I had no issue finding parking quickly and headed inside to grab my race packet. There are plenty of port-a-potty's outside for runners, but having the option of indoor restrooms is always a bonus in my book!

For any of you runners who get the most out of your money for a marathon and might need a little more than 6 hours to finish, they offer an early start! An extra half hour to finish your marathon! So if this is something that you want to take advantage of, you do need to get there early as you will be starting at 6:30am instead of 7am.

Once I saw the early start marathons off, I caught up with a few friends, finished my breakfast and go ready to hit the road.

The first few miles of the race winds through a quiet residential area before running along the canal, through a short section of downtown and then heads north on the Mariners Trail. The course is an out and back and for the half, you turn around right near the edge of Two Rivers. The entire course features beautiful views of Lake Michigan.

This year, there was a breeze off the lake that we were running straight into from mile 2.6 until the turn around, which also was slightly uphill The turnaround was welcoming as we now had the wind at our back as we cruised back into down (now going slightly downhill!). It truly is a fast course!

The aid stations are well stocked by amazing volunteers that help to keep you motivated. Aside from the volunteers at aid stations, each intersection you have to go through or past has a volunteer stationed there to make sure you can safely get where you need to go!

Check out my fill race recap here: http://ampdwellness.crazyhamster.run/when-the-stars-align-unexpected-things-can-happen/

When I first heard about these race series a few years ago, I was intrigued... and then I got the bug to actually run one! This was my first experience with a race series like this. I've done weekend series that consisted of a half marathon and then maybe a 5k... but never multiple days of half marathons... and a lot of driving in between!

Day 1 for the Mainly Marathons New England Series 2018 was in Sanford Maine at the local YMCA. Since I didn't know what to expect as far as aid station offerings or how the races really worked, I went in blind!

The night before the 1st race is the only evening there is any sort of organized packet pick up. Since we had been on the road for 3 days already, we were ready to get out of the car and just relax for a bit, so we just made a quick stop that night.

MM HQ was set up in the side parking lot of the YMCA with a few tents set up - one for registration/packet pick up and then 1 for food. It only took a few minutest o get checked in and get everything I needed for the start of the series in the morning. Each runner receives 1 shirt for the series (so you don't have to worry about going home with a shirt from EACH race!) and 1 bib that is used for the entire series (so make sure you don't lose it in your car between races!) We opted no to stay for dinner since we wanted to head to the coast and find some seafood for dinner (This was the 1st time either of us had been in Maine!) but the do have a pasta dinner the night before the 1st race starts for all runners to enjoy and hang out with each other.

1st race day arrived and we got to the YMCA early. All races started at 6am, unless you wanted to take the early start option and start at 5am. After 2 days of driving to get there, and a 25 minute drive from the hotel, 6am was early enough for me!

Each race starts out with a short meeting/debriefing to give everyone details about the course for that day. this course was 6 loops out and back on a paved trail, as well as along a quiet residential road. This was the day I learned that I will never look at a rubber band in the same way again! After each loop completed, you stop by the race table and pick up a single rubber band and put it on your wrist. This is how you keep track of how many loops you have completed! NO need to worry about trying to keep track! After you finish loop 5, you can turn in 4 plain rubber bands for a Yellow one. 1 yellow band = 5 regular ones!

I had enough race fuel in my car to get me through all 8 days (and then some!) but I quickly realized that I was not going to need most of it! The main aid station was beyond epic! There was something for everyone! The only reason why you would need to bring your own food/fuel to one of these races is if you had certain allergies or sensitivities that you needed to work with.

I actually LOVED the fact that these races are loops! I met so any people on this 1st day of the series that I never felt like I was alone out there! I spent part of the day with people who were running their 1st half or full marathon, to individuals who had run several hundred (or thousand) ! It really made me look forward to the rest of this series!

Next stop: New Hampshire!

In 2018, the New Hampshire race was Day 2 of the series.

Starting off in Monadnock Park, the course is partial paved (through the parking lot of the park) and then rest of the loop is crushed gravel on the Bobby Woodman Trail.

Today, the loop was a little shorter and that meant that there was 9 loops for the half marathon. Knowing that you needed to collect 3 more rubber bands today than yesterday can really mess with your mind... in the end, it's the exact same distance, but since you had more loops to do, it seemed SOO much further! LOL

The course today was on a short beautiful trail that crossed the river on a snowmobile bridge. I give the course today a difficulty of 3 for 2 reasons. 1. coming out of the park, there was a short but steep hill that you needed to go up... 9 TIMES! But that also meant that you needed to go down that hill 9 times also! The other thing that made it a little more difficult was the bridge. Since it was a snowmobile bridge, there were some planks running the length of the bridge to help make sure no snowmobiles went OFF the bridge in the winter. These were in just the right stops that you had to really pay attention to your footing when crossing the wooden bridge! But I was ok with that. The river was beautiful and I wasn't going to complain about seeing it several times!

This would also end up being my slowest half of the series as I was dealing with a sore knee after yesterday race. Yup, day 2 and I was walking! But walking also gave me the opportunity to chat with other runners more. We quickly were becoming our own new little family out there!

The aid station, once again was stocked with everything one could want! for some reason, after starting to accumulate more miles on my feet, the PB&J sandwiches were amazing - and I usually don't even eat PB&J!

Today the aid station came in handy for something else too... the medicine chest! Since I wasn't sure where in the car my ibuprofen was, I hit the small rolling cabinet that was stocked with everything from the medicine cabinet that a runner could need. Sunscreen, bug spray... you name it, it was probably in there. Today I was grateful for the ibuprofen! It helped get me through those miles!

Remember that hill that I mentioned that we needed to go up to get out of the park? I think that hill got steeper and steeper with each loop that we did! But in the end, thanks to my sore knee, it was actually the going DOWN part that was the worst! At one point, I debating trying to hop down on one foot but figured that would not end nicely. So instead, I started walking down it backwards, just to change up what muscles I was using!

Once again, loved the course and as batty as they could drive some people, I am really learning that loops can be fun!

3 weeks before the race, I found out I was heading to Fargo to work the marathon expo. Since I was going to be there, I did what any reasonable runner did... I signed up to run! Why not add ANOTHER race to my already packed spring/summer!?!?!

Take note, the race is now the Sanford Fargo Marathon. Same great race as in the past, just a new title sponsor!

Pre-race communication was excellent! Even tho I signed up only a few weeks before the race, I never felt like I missed any important details.

This year, the race expo moved from the dome to the Sanford Health Athletic Complex. There were a large variety of vendors so you could find almost anything you needed, and even a few things you didn't! LOL

Awesome race swag this year! Instead of the usual t-shirt that most races offer, this year all half and full marathon participants received sweatshirts! Also included was a fabulous heavier weight drawstring bag (which is also your gear drop bag) that wont' fall apart after a few uses!

Start/Finish line is INSIDE the Fargodome! You are inside out of the elements (Fargo is notorious for its winds) and there are plenty of bathrooms available. Gear check is here too, right near the start/finish line so you can drop your bag off just before the race starts and then pick it up after without a far walk!

The race take you through a few different parks and then historic downtown Fargo. Spectators are plentiful and well-stocked aid stations are located about every 2 miles. My favorite section was through downtown! The streets were literally lined from end to end with spectators cheering on runners. I thought about stopping at the local donut shop for a treat, but I didn't have any $$ with me!

After meandering through a flat course (people also say it's fast, but this was not a fast race for me after working the expo for 2 day, I was just enjoying the day) you finish back inside the Fargodome.

Post race treats include the usual, as well as some not so usual... cookie dough after running 13 miles? Yes please! There are also bounce houses for the tiny humans to burn off some energy and plenty of room for everyone to hang out, chill out and enjoy the celebration.

Do I recommend the Fargo Marathon? ABSOLUTELY!! They go out of the way to take care of their runners and go out of the way to make sure you have a fabulous experience!

To read more on my weekend and race details, check out my blog post here: http://ampdwellness.crazyhamster.run/when-you-want-to-go-far-go-to-fargo/

In 2018, the Vermont race was again held at the Toonerville Trail in Springfield Vermont, but has moved to June, instead of May as noted above.

Race was easy to find and parking was a right next to the trail and race HG for the day. I opted to take the early start for the race today since we had a bust day of driving and wanted to do a little sight seeing along the way. So, at 5am, we were there and ready to go!

I should note that with this series, if you are not running the entire series, packet pickup is each morning before the race. NOT the night before! So if you are starting the adventure on any day besides day 1, just head to the race and they will have your goodies there!

Today was probably one of my favorite mornings! The course follows along the river and we were blessed with a beautiful sunrise as we hit the trail bright and early! But then after the sun came up, the Loony LunchWagon had breakfast ready! TaterTot Scramble! Yes, breakfast was served! Tots, eggs, bacon and cheese! Just grab a cup/spoon on your way be and enjoy! Then drop your cup into the trash can 50 yards down the trail! This was one of the awesome perks of the lunch wagon! Each day breakfast and lunch was provided to all runners - but this morning's breakfast was one of my favorites!

Today's course was also perfectly flat! was a nice change and relief for my knee which was still a little tender, so I spend most of the morning walking with a group of ladies that made the miles fly by!