Latest reviews by Amanda Lee

(2017)
"Good Spring Half Marathon"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management

Disclaimer- this is a local race for me so I might be a bit more bias.
Expo:
I left work a bit early and arrived at the expo around 5:30pm. There was Warped Tour going on so the normal walk from the International District took much longer than normal. When I got to CenturyLink Event Center there was no one there. I am not joking, there was no one at bib check in or waiting in line. I got my bib in five minutes and then headed over to the Brooks merchandise. There wasn't much so I headed into the expo. Walked around a bit got some free sunglasses from Visit Seattle and got some free body glide from Westin. Besides the Nuun booth there wasn't much else to see. I felt pummeled by Rock N Roll merchandise. All in all I spent a hour tops at the expo.

Saturday 5K:
I opted to run the 5k for the remix challenge. Honestly, it was alright. The corrals were small and cramped and the course was an out and back. I am glad I ran it but might skip it next year.

Sunday - race day!
Let's just say I did not get any final information from Rock N Roll until Wednesday. They also changed the start time for the race from 7 to 6:30am. I understand their reasons but it made taking a bus to the start not possible, my options were to buy a shuttle ticket, bus to downtown then take the light rail, or bum a ride/take an uber. I decided to take an Uber with a friend from my place to get to the start line. This ended up changing Sunday morning.

I woke up Sunday morning to no Ubers in my area even though I scheduled one. So my amazing boyfriend ended up driving me and my friend to the start. Yes, he wins boyfriend of the year. We finally got to the starting area around 5:40 and holy crap it was not the standard Rock N Roll start. There weren't defined corrals and the gear check was so far we had to walk a good distance to get to it. After gear check we got in the bathroom line then headed to the corrals to find a few of our friends.

The actual start took forever. I was in a front corral and even though corrals were starting we did not move for 10 plus minutes. I also realized I was not in an actual corral, even though I was between two fences. Not a great way to start the race.

Once we finally started the course was narrow. I prefer the older courses of this race. I was dodging people much of the time I was running. The first six miles were quite scenic and hilly. I was so happy I trained on most of the course so I knew what I was expecting. At mile 8 is where I got into trouble. I did not realize there was a steep hill and I started to cramp due to the humidity. Oh well… I kept running along Rainier Avenue South toward the finish line. I will say these miles were dull. I was so happy to get to the mile 11 aid station and see my friends from Fleet Feet Seattle. It was a great pick me up for the last hill which was the on ramp that gets to the finish.

The finish line was standard, the medal this year was great! I love it! I found my boyfriend and we set off to find my Remix Challenge medal. I had a hard time finding the medal tent and the gear check. They were far apart and part of it was that I was tired. I did get a pair of flip flops from Toyota because we have a Corrola which was nice! Surprise finish line swag is always nice.

My recommendation to Rock N Roll is to start at CenturyLink and finish at Seattle Center if they are going to do a point to point course. I know there is a lot of construction in Seattle but the finish is brutal ending at CenturyLink Field. I know a lot of people who live in Seattle had a hard time getting to the start line on time due to the start time change AND the location of the start line.

Overall if you live in the Greater Seattle Area, I would run this race. It may be hilly but it’s a great course to challenge yourself on.

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(2017)
"Great local race with beautiful views!"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management

Expo:
The race expo was held on Saturday only from noon to 6pm. The bib pickup was pretty organized due to a name mix up I had to go back and get the correct bib but other than that everything was great. I was very happy the long sleeve half zip was a womens cut! That was a wonderful surprise. There weren't many vendors at the expo, mainly local running races.

Race Day:
Getting to the race day shuttles was a quick walk from my hotel. NODM did a great job organizing the start times for the Half and Full marathons so that it was easy to get on a shuttle to the start. The volunteers loading runners on to the shuttles were wonderful too!

After a 20 minute shuttle ride we arrived at the start line. It was an open soccer field. There was a marching band and a small shelter that had cups of water. There were also plenty of porta-potties! The lines were never too long for them which was wonderful. The start was pretty organized considering there were less than 1,000 runners.

The course is relatively flat but the hills are pretty steep. The last 4 miles are beautiful and look out over the Puget Sound. All of the volunteers on the course were wonderful. They were super enthusiastic and did a great job giving everyone directions. I did not run as fat as I had hoped but I still had a great time. The finish line was pretty well organized. The medal is great, very elegant.

Overall I would recommend this race to anyone looking for a relatively fast course and some sweet swag.

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(2017)
"Nice flat course and well organized race"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management

Disclaimer: I received a free entry to Blooms to Brews 10K as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

Expo:
I drove down Saturday and arrived at expo before it opened. I ended up waiting in my car until noon when the door finally opened. The packet pick lines were a bit disorganized and it was a bit cramped due to the merchandise they had for sale. There were some sweet growlers!

Once I finally got my goodie bag with a super cute neon pink women’s cut tank, reusable bag, and printed program and map of the course I went to check out the expo. There wasn’t much. It was about five booths total. I headed back to the car and drove off to Portland to go explore for the rest of the day.

Race Day
Getting to the race was pretty was easy. I stayed in Vancouver, WA about 20 minutes away. There was plenty of parking in the field next to the start line. I will say the weather was not as warmed as I hoped, which is standard for Spring in Washington. I originally was going to race in shorts but ended up changing into tights the car right before the start. I will say their finish line was well organized except for the port-a-potties. My recommendation is to add two or three more to make the line move a bit faster.

All three races, Marathon, Half Marathon, and 10k started right on time. People did a pretty good job at organizing themselves in the correct order. The 10k course is a lollypop where you run about farms and tulip field. Unfortunately, there weren’t flowers out but that was ok, it was still beautiful out. If you are not a fan of running on dirt roads or compacted gravel, this is not the race for you. All courses start running on road, the dirt compacted gravel and then the last stretch you have to run on the shoulder back to the finish line.

The finish cute was well organized and I got my medal, a mylar blanket and a bottle of water. The finish line party was great. Each runner gets a free beer and bbq sandwich. I highly recommend the Blooms IPA, I believe it’s brewed just for the race from a brewery in Vancouver.

Even though I didn't run my best I still got second in my age group! They had an award ceremony and a podium to stand on. I highly recommend this race to someone looking to PR since the course is flat. I know a lot of people run the marathon to BQ.

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(2017)
"Fun race, hard new course"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management

I've run this local 5k 3 years in a row. The shirt and medal were awesome, the bib was pretty boring compared to years past. This year it was pouring. Even though it was 50ish degrees and I opted to run in shorts I still froze. I ran with my boyfriend and his mother. We are all different paces which is part of the reason why we ran this race.
This year the course was different. It was straight up hill for the first half a mile. I ended up walking the hills because they were steep. We ended up turning on to the Kirkland Corridor trail, which isn't bad just silly to pay to run on a beautiful new trail, and then ran through the north part of Kirkland and back to Marina Park. I wouldn't mind the hills if everything wasn't so steep. Even the downhill portions were a bit rough for me and I like to bomb down trails. Pavement is a different story. I still ran a respectable time and had fun. My boyfriend almost won his age group (!!) and his mother actually ran her first ever 5k, she normally walks the races.
The finish line festival was pretty much the same, a few less vendors but it was still nice to get some food and walk around. It wasn't very crowded because of the rain.
Overall, I do enjoy this race and will keep running it with my significant other's family.

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(2017)
"Fun race, great swag, hard course!"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management

Disclaimer: I received a free entry to Hot Chocolate 15K as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!

After months of training, or not training that is, race day finally arrived and the results were pretty great all things considered.

Expo
I went to the expo on Saturday and packet pickup was a breeze. The expo, like last year, was a bit small. Lots of Hot Chocolate 15k merchandise, a bunch of local races and my favorite booth Tiger Tail! If you haven’t heard of them check them out. I browsed for a 45 minutes or so looking at all of the booths. On my way out I sampled the chocolate covered marshmallow (which were awesome!) and then headed back home. The goodie bag this year was great! The hoodie is so soft and true to size. I can’t wait to wear it everywhere. I also picked up some Nuun vitamins at the expo and a sweet Nuun Seattle water bottle.

Race Day
Getting to the race was pretty was easier than I thought. My boyfriend found a close parking spot and then we walked to the Seattle Center Armory. Right before the start time we walked over and squeezed our way into corral B. We had a difficult time getting into the corrals this year, there were very few entrances and we had to jump over a rope or two to get in. There were also way too many sets of pacers. It was very confusing and we thought we were in the wrong corral because of them.

Right at 7:55am the first corral started and then two-ish minutes later we started. The course is one skinny long loop that goes to Pike Place Market and then up onto Highway 99. The last portion of the race is rough. Mile 5 takes you up to the Aurora Bridge then mile 6 goes up to 46th Street and the miles are pretty much rolling hills. Mile 6 is a monstrous hill. It’s over a half a mile long. I was able to push through the last few miles and squeaked out a 30 second PR!

Overall, I did enjoy this race not sure I would run it again but it is great to finish a large mug of chocolate, free race photos, and a sweet medal.

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