MM #11943

The St Jude Memphis Marathon event is fabulous! The 2016 version raised $10MM for the Children's Cancer Research Hospital.....that by itself just makes it awesome.

St Jude wants everyone to run as a HERO. They open registration in May for HEROS only - meaning you have to commit to raising at least $500 for St Jude. Not counting your entry fee. Because the Half Marathon is so popular, a lot of people go this option to ensure that they get into the Half. All races open a month later and oftentimes the Half is almost full by this point.
The marathon doesn't typically fill up until close to race day so no fundraising is required....however even if you don't sign up as a HERO they give you a fundraising page and send you reminders early and often to raise money! The Expo is two days long - Thurs and Fri. The race organizers are fanatical and militant about YOU having to pick up your own bib. Charm, begging and threats do not work. Since this is a Saturday Marathon that causes issues for travelers but the Expo is open until 8 or 9pm on Friday night. Good Expo, lots of vendors, music and some speakers.
Race starts at 8:30 with the half-marathoners. 5K and 10K leave at 7am so you can run more than one if you want. Bag check and bathrooms and shelter are in AutoZone Park (AAA Baseball Field) downtown. That's nice. Race starts in downtown Memphis, runs up the MS River, hits the famous Beale St then goes through the St Jude Hospital campus around mile 5. Often there are families out giving high fives and shedding tears of thanks for the runners - it's always energizing and emotional. The course overall is beautiful - runs through parks, by the zoo and through some gorgeous neighborhoods. There are some parts that are more stale and commercial but it's not a lot. Aid stations plentiful with Gu, water and NUUN (not a big hit this year) and Vaseline/bandaids were available too. Cheer stations, bands, corporate sponsor stations, etc are scattered around the course and the locals are out with beer, candy, potato chips, fruit and lots of Kleenex this year (because it was cold and wet).
Race finished in Autozone Park - friends can wait in the seats and watch the finish line on the scoreboard. They call your name out too. Runner tracking available on RTRT.ME. Post race food is pizza/donuts/beer/etc....pretty generic. Getting out of the food area to bag check and out of the park is a LONG walk that is no fun after a marathon.
Great race - 20,000 total runners (about 2500 marathoners), good crowd support and fun city to visit.

My husband and I were looking for a fall destination race and chose Salmon, ID as a unique spot. The Salmon Marathon has a 300 person cap (half + full) so no doubt it was a small local affair. Had a wonderful, relaxing long weekend with a marathon tucked in!

Registration was easy - first 100 got a free coffee mug or wine glass. Both were very nice. Entry fee was tiny too....maybe $50/60 in advance? There was no expo - bib pickup was in the basement of the library around a back alley. A local restaurant provided some snacks and we got our shirt, our bib and some coupons for local places. Also a PowerBar gel. No big production, and that's ok.

The morning of the race there were school buses at the host hotel (this quaint little place called the Stagecoach Inn) to take us to the starting point. We congregated at an old one-room schoolhouse in Tendoy, ID where the timing chips were handed out and porto potties were plentiful. It was 38 degrees at 5,000' so we were thankful for the schoolhouse! Race was down an old country road - surface was packed dirt/some gravel for the first 20mi or so. The total elevation drop was around 1000' but there were two climbs (one short around mile 7 and one at mile 14 that was 1.5mi up to a turnaround then back down) that broke it up. Last couple miles took us back into Salmon then up the main street (there's only one) to the City Park.

Aid stations were great - every two miles there was water, Gatorade, raisins, bananas, oranges, powerbar gel and Vaseline. Each station was manned by a few people that were so friendly and helpful and just glad to say hi. There was also a bright orange porto pottie at each station making them easy to see up ahead.

The scenery was beautiful. Mountains and valleys, cattle and horses and the Salmon River running alongside. The race ended at the City Park where there was some food and drink. There was also the local farmers market happening so other opportunities to sample local items.

The town of Salmon is very small - the restaurants and coffee shops were great, people friendly and you could walk everywhere and feel totally safe. Within 30min you could drive to old mining towns, state parks or the 9000' peaks of the Continental Divide. This area is also where Lewis and Clark traveled through so lots of historical markers and a Sacajawea Museum right in Salmon (her birthplace).

Totally enjoyed every bit of this adventure. There was a marathon in Bozeman, MT the next day so there were several runners (and Maniacs) doing the back-to-back. Totally recommend this race!

To commemorate D-Day, the Naval Air base in Millington, TN holds a 10 Nautical Mile race the first Sunday of June every year. The unique race distance represents the distance from a ship to the horizon line; a distance for which our military battled when they stormed Normandy in June of 1945.

The race expo is pretty weak......about 15 vendors with scant clothing, a few medical booths, a local race or two and some health items like vitamins/gummies. The USAA has a booth to push insurance and you can buy more 10NM clothing if you choose. No food either.

Race day the parking is good - no more than a 10min walk to the start. A good number of port-o-potties and the expo building is open if there's bad weather. They added corrals this year to control the ever-growing number of runners - FAST, MED and RUN/WALK with estimated finish times. Better than nothing!

The course is split into three parts. The first 6mi are in the countryside - two lane country roads by fields, horses and a golf course. Then a mile on the main road until you turn into the base housing. Residential then along the boundary fencing - pretty shaded which is nice! Last couple of miles is back up to the main street then back to the start line. Aid stations are water and Gatorade. I think there may have been some fruit towards the end. No GU or gels. A local run club handed out much needed popsicles at 5NM and there was beer at 6NM. Pretty sparse course spectators except for in the housing area. Plenty of military and local police keep the roads safe.

The medal is an anchor on a rope. Medal was voted tops in the country last year in some online contest. They also give you a commemorative towel when you cross the finish. Some fruit/drinks/beer are right past the finish line then everyone is welcome back in the expo for chicken sandwiches, Krispy Kreme donuts and pizza. Some course photography and a banner in the expo hall for photographs by the same company.

Race elevation is fairly flat. A couple of good rolling hills but nothing too challenging. 80' up, 70' down.

I recommend the race because it supports the Wounded Warriors, its a cool distance and nice course and the medal is very cool. They also have a 10NM car sticker in the swag bag.

Decided on a whim to do the MidSouth Marathon in order to qualify for Marathon Maniacs. Had done two other marathons in previous 9 weeks so my overall sense of "being tired" probably contributes to my less than wonderful opinion of this run.

Registration was cheap and easy the morning of. The race started at the local high school - awesome because parking was right there and the school was open to stay warm and have access to bathrooms. The race also ended on the track and the post-race was in the cafeteria so that was all good.

The route was a few miles through town then a very long 9-10miles out on a two lane country road. The day was dreary and cold so perhaps the scenery WAS nice, just not that day. There was very little traffic but no closed roads. Aid stations were numerous but mostly just drinks. There were a couple of churches that had fruit and hard candy and a few places with music blaring. Those were welcome! The volunteers were extremely friendly and cheerful.

The finish line on the track was cool and all the cookies at the finish line were awesome!! The emcee announced people as they entered the field and made their way onto the track. Inside they served chicken, pizza, BBQ, etc with drinks. Post-race awards were scattered and not all the times/people were accounted for. We did get some nice pint glasses with the MSM logo stickers on them.

The running club did a decent job running the race - they were very informal and having fun. It was very much a small town race. I noticed when leaving that the back-of-packers (6hr+) were still being announced and people were cheering them in. That was nice.

Probably won't go back but glad I knocked it out and earned my spot as MM11943!!