This was my 4th year running Monument Ave and it never fails to disappoint. There were some things going on around town that affected the race, but the directors and Sports Backers did a great job of compensating.
The expo was moved this year to the Richmond Raceway Complex, when it usually held at the Arthur Ashe Center due to the local minor league baseball team having opening day the same weekend. I heard some complaints about traffic but had no problem getting in. One thing I found disappointing was the number of vendors that had left early during the expo. I volunteered at a booth for a couple of hours, and when my shift was over most of the other vendors had left and the expo was still going on. I got my bib and opted out of the shirt this year, as I don't need any more t shirts.
Race day came and the weather was about 30 degrees hotter than the last couple of weeks and you could tell a lot of people were not ready. We started promptly at 8:30 in waves based on times listed when you signed up. Even with this the roads were crowded with over 20,000 people running this year.
There were four water stops evenly spaced with water and Powerade. 7 years of running and I still cannot drink water out of a cup while running. I need to practice that more.
Crowd support was huge. Bands or DJ's about every half mile and the street is lined with spectators and people cheering and clanging cowbells.
As for the course it is out and back and mostly flat. There is a slight incline around mile 5 to 6 that sneaks up and with the heat you felt it this year. The finish line was full of people, most of them getting sick off to the side but it was promptly cleaned up and you were herded to through the chute to get your water and medal. This year was part 2 of a three part medal.
Finish festivities were well spaced over several blocks and had a street party vibe.

Overall, Monument Ave 10k is a great race. It is crowded, and the expo leaves something to be desired, but you cannot beat the local community that comes out and cheers everyone on.

This was my first time running the Crawlin' Crab half. The course is very nice, especially along the James River at about the halfway point. Around mile four you run past several seafood restaurants and the smell can be a bit much. The roads are mostly paved turning to cobblestone/paved gravel then back to plain paved.
There are plenty of water stops along the course and they all offer Gatorade or water. They had a Gu stop at mile 7 as well.
The Start/Finish is well organized, and everything is clearly marked with plenty of volunteers to direct you if needed.
The expo was very small, with a few vendors and some race promoters and they did not offer packet pick up on race day for the half marathon.
After you finish and you get your medal and hat you can go to the 'Party Zone' where they had about 10 to 12 craft breweries available with something for everyone. Also you could get free soup from Bakers Crust, a local restaurant chain. Since it was in the 70 to 80's temperature wise soup may not have been the best thing to eat after running a half.

Over all I enjoyed the race, I just wish the weather was not so hot but that cant be helped, and I would recommend this race to anyone looking for a fall half marathon.

I last ran Patrick Henry 4 years ago on a hot August morning. It was my 1st half marathon and I swore I would never do another. Out of the blue I decided to run halves again and I'm loving them. Recovery and training is so much easier then preparing fora full, so I decided to go back to Ashland, VA and tackle mile 11.
There's no expo, just packet pick up the night before/morning of and parking can be difficult as Ashland is a small town but over 800 runners showed up to tackle the course. In years past the weather has been, hot, humid, raining then humid. To get to the point it's miserable. This year the starting temp was 60 and the sun was out. They had plenty of port o potties out but there's still a line (there's always a line) and bag drop was nice and looked to run smooth. The start /finish was right along the train tracks and they had a train whistle sound the start of the race.
The course is nice, winding through town before heading out into the countryside. Mile 5 and 6 are rolling hills and highly cambered country roads so staying toward the center is best. Mile 11 is almost all uphill.
After race the food tent is well stocked and the local brewery opened early and offered discounts to all the runners.
Over all Patrick Henry is a fun tough half marathon that is a good benchmark for your fall marathon training. I will do it again next year.

This was the 13th running of the Moonlight 4-miler and the last time at this location. The race is is very low key with 142 runners this year which is pretty good considering it's on a Thursday night at 7:00pm. Bib pick up is an hour before the race starts and this years swag was a pint glass.
The course is a "L" shaped loop with 220' of elevation gain mostly during mile 2 and at the end.
After the race everyone has popsicles and there's a small award ceremony with ribbons going to the top 3 in age groups.
The director said he is looking for a new location and I hope he finds one for next year as this is a fun run to do with a group of friends on a nice summer afternoon.

Bonus points for the brewery down the road staying open later for the runners. Thanks Kindred Spirit Brewery!