Latest reviews by Adam

(2016)
"Running the 2016 "Four on the Fourth" in Carrboro, NC"
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This race is the first part of the Cardinal Track Club's "Tour de Carrboro". It offers a no-frills community experience that is a nice way to start off the Fourth of July.

Registration for the race was easy, though the website provided limited info about the course and race day experience. You can register for just this race or all three of the races in the Tour.

The race begins at Mcdougal Middle School. Parking is ample for the number of racers, and though tight at times the organizers made sure to have plenty of volunteers on hand to direct you to a parking place. Picking up your packet took no time, and the race-day registration line seemed to move pretty quickly. You don't get a t-shirt, but we did get nice keychain bottle openers. In the past I know they provided jam, so the swag here is always a little different and unique.

The course is an out and back that winds through the neighborhoods near the school to the edge of downtown Carrboro and back to finish on the track at the middle school. It wasn't hot that day, but the course is mostly shaded which would normally help on a July morning. There are a few gentle hills to break things up, but overall the course is flat. Parts of the course are run in bike lanes on main roads, so they can get a little tight if you are in a pack but it is manageable. The four mile is not a common distance, but this is a course that will let you build and carry speed if that's what you're looking for. Your bib has a chip for timing purposes, though it is from gun time. They had two aid stations on the course with water, though it was short enough that I didn't need them both.

Awards categories are pretty standard with the addition of Clydesdale and Athena categories. The awards themselves are custom pottery. The field was much faster than me, so I don't know from experience.

The crowd is relaxed and the course is forgiving, making this a great way to start the morning of a holiday like the Fourth. You can get in and out pretty easily, and the start lets you sleep in a little but then get on with your day. I would run it again.

For more of a reflection on the run, check out my blog post on the race: http://wp.me/p7xxYm-2h

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(2016)
"Guaranteed to be the fastest mile you run!"
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If you have ever wanted to try out a one mile race, this is the for you. It's not about the scenery or the swag, but about challenging yourself to go as fast as possible in a simple but fun environment.

The guys behind the Sir Walter Miler organize this race and have moved the location over the last few years. This year the course followed Centennial Parkway near the State Farmer's Market. The road is wide so you won't feel crowded and drops almost continually for over 100 feet. Gravity pulls you along, especially through the last third, and the fact it is a point-to-point keeps you from having to worry about coming back or seeing how much of the course you have left. It's easy to get into a flow and feel good about your effort.

They have "competitive" and "recreational" fields for people to sort into at registration. The competitive fields are gender specific and fast, but the race is new and not very large. If it continues to grow I imagine the average times will go up. The recreational field gets a gun time but not a chip time. Since the race is so short, it really doesn't matter which you choose.

The swag consisted of a nice "Buff-style" neck gaiter. If you want to add a shirt, they have a basic one you could buy at registration for $5.

The race was well-run by guys who love running and especially the mile. They want you to have a good time and see what you can do, and have worked to make sure there is value in such a short event. My wife went and watched, but being there made her wonder what she could do next year.

For my longer reflection on the race, feel free to read here:

http://wp.me/p7xxYm-1Q

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(2016)
"Date night run in a fun Charlotte neighborhood"
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The NoDa 5k is a neighborhood race in Charlotte that covers some of the neighborhoods in the North of Davidson area around a couple of breweries. It's in early summer, so while this particular day was hot (around 90) it's not a given that the temperature would be uncomfortable.

The course is enjoyable. It looped through the area neighborhoods and featured enough hills to make it challengind but none of them were long enough to really tire you out. The course ended on a downhill around a blind curve, and it came up quicker than expected. I set a PR on the course. Scenery is bland, but some of the residents had fun cheering us on. If organizers could go a little further north they could go under an overpass that features some unique art on the history of Charlotte.

There are a couple of things that set this race apart from other 5ks. First, it is an evening start. My wife and I used it as a date night and had a lot of fun. Second, they have good swag. I'd seen the t-shirts from previous years and really liked them, and this year was the same (they give you the option of a shirt or a tank). Though it's not a draw for me, they give you a nice finisher's medal. Finally, they have a really nice post-race atmosphere. They had a good band for before and after the event, good beer handed out quickly in a line that moved well, and though they had food trucks we gravitated to the popsicles. This was a race where we enjoyed milling about for a while afterwards.

My wife and I both enjoyed the race a lot, and though I wouldn't travel for it if I lived in the area this would be an event I would pencil in to the calendar.

For the more reflective overview of the event, check here: http://wp.me/p7xxYm-1z

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(2016)
"Would you like wine or no wine with your hilly 5k?"
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My wife and I were in the mountains of NC on a trip, and since we had the in-laws to help watch the kids looked around for a 5k and stumbled across this race.

The race occurs on the weekend of the SAVOR Blowing Rock festival, which brings in people for tastings and foodie seminars over a weekend in April. You have two options for the run: wine, or no wine. The wine run costs $5 more and gets you samples of NC wines at four stations on the course. I did the wine run, but I don't know that it added anything (especially the heavy reds). They do give overall and age group awards for both sets of runs, though, and since the race is small it ups your chances of winning a category.

The name of the race has a double meaning. Of course, the corkscrew has a tie-in to the wine. It also describes the course itself, which is entirely inside the Chetola resort. You wind back and forth and up and down hills that are very, very steep. At one point we scrambled up a grass embankment to cut up to a parking lot. The course volunteers were confused on turns at one intersection and sent a few of us in the wrong direction (it worked out, though). The course is pretty in parts, but for the most part you are running by condos. It is not a course for a PR. I came in second overall with a time around 23 minutes, if that gives you an idea.

This is a community race. The winner for the past two years is a former runner for Appalachian State University in Boone, and a lot of the runners talked about other area races they ran and went nuts for the season lift tickets given away by some of the area ski resorts. App State students were there to cheer on runners and volunteer on the course. It was a friendly group, and the emcee did a good job keeping us entertained while waiting for results (which took awhile since it was hand scored). The bloody mary/mimosa bar also made for a nice environment while waiting for awards.

The race swag was a simple design on a cotton t-shirt. We registered late, but I was not disappointed to miss out on this and I think my wife's is buried somewhere in her t-shirt drawer. Some of the lottery prizes they gave out were great if you can get to the area often.

I don't think this is an event to travel to, but if you are already in the area or visiting the SAVOR festival it is a nice way to start your Saturday.

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(2016)
"A fast, varied marathon course with festive college-themed aid stations for the first half"
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This was my first marathon and it was a good one to start with. The logistics were good, the course was fast, and the weather held out just long enough.

Registration and check in were easy. The expo had a number of vendors and the staff were helpful with questions; they pointed out tricky points of the course and helped identify the best area for my family to watch.

Organizers provided ample buses from the expo to the start. In fact, they may have had too many. They made a big deal about getting there early to make sure you had a ride, but I ended up sitting around at the start for about an hour and a half. It was chilly and a little uncomfortable, but it provided a bonding moment as runners tried to hang as close to the buildings as possible to stay warm.

The race started on time, and we left the at a park the park to run around the strip and then back over a bridge to the mainland. We looped around through a golf course community, and at the end of this the half marathoners split off to their finish. Those of us continuing on made a second loop on Wrightsville before entering the greenways and heading to the UNC-W campus, where we turned around and went back to the finish at the shopping center with the expo.

There was a marked difference between the first and second half of the race. There were more people and spectators on the first half, but when we hit Wrightsville for the second time and especially on the greenways they thinned out. There are fewer marathoners at this race, so that means you may be running a chunk mostly on your own. Students from UNC-W turned out to cheer us on at key points, which I appreciated.

It's not the most scenic marathon, but the course has a good variety of locales to keep it interesting. It is flat, but not pancake flat. Especially in the second loop going from Wrightsville to the greenways there was a long, gradual incline to wear you down a bit.

Organizers had plenty of aid stations, with most on the first half manned by local alumni groups representing their colleges. This gave things a festive atmosphere (especially passing the ECU crowd). Gatorade, water, and gels were easy to find.

The finisher's medal had an olympic theme, which made it a little subtle but I liked that. The shirt was more over the top but had a "beachy" feel that also was unique.

The course is changing again for 2017 and will become a point-to-point that loops around Wrightsville Beach and nearby neighborhoods then taking greenways to the UNC-Wilimington campus for the finish.

Overall, it was a really pleasant experience.

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