I just ran the half marathon of the 2017 Bay to Brews Race. It was a well-organized race that I would do again. I enjoyed how small the race was which helpful for someone who likes ease from getting from parking to the start line. Parking was easy and a short walk to Rogue brewing. The race started on time and was a beautiful course. It was a double loop (going with the 10k runners thru the first loop). There is only one real hill and it is pretty brutal. Going up on gravel was challenging but it was good to know what it was like for the second loop. If you are looking for a race where your last mile has both an ocean and bridge view this will be for you.

This is the second year I ran this race. This time I did the 10k race. It is a great race that is put on by the University of Maine in Orono Maine. I was lucky for both times to run this race in that I was able to run the actual course many times because I lived on campus.

The expo is very small has a few local places there. One really awesome thing they have done is put everyone who is running name on the scoreboard so you can get an awesome picture by the stadium with your name above you.

The race starts directly on campus and parking is easy because there are several lots on campus that are not more than a 10-minute walk. The volunteers are campus employees and most of the people running the race are from Maine. It has a very friendly and family feel to it. The course goes thru the college town and you are next to the river for the first 4 miles or so. At that point, the half and full marathons keep going straight and you make your way back to campus by going on the bike path near campus (my personal favorite). There are even spray-painted messages on the path to keep you going. You end the race by running through a giant inflatable bear head and right on to the track for a quick finish!

I am a huge fan of this race and love to see how much the school supports this race! If you want to see Vacationland (Maine) and want to run a local race this is the one for you!

This race was surprisingly hard. Most people think the Kansas is flat but they would be surprised that the only happens once you get a good 2 hours out of KC. This race was no exception.

The expo was a perfect size. It wasn't overwhelming and large but there was a lot of vendors. You could easily get in and out if you wanted or you could stay and walk around. It was easy to get your shirt and I loved all the Wizzard of Oz themed items. So cute! I loved the race shirt but my spouse was less of a fan (but he only likes black shirts).

Getting to the race was a bit of a mess. We were staying about 5 miles away from the start line and did not anticipate all the traffic issues. We got stuck on the highway (with everyone else trying to get there). This resulted in being about a mile away and trying to find parking. I was kicked out of the car be being too much at the time and had to do my warm-up run to the start line. Race management was good and knew that most people were stuck in with the same issues so the race was delayed by about 30-40 minute. Which gave my family time to find their way to us.

The race started and it had lots of hills at the start which were fine. At one point we were running on cobblestone (not my favorite). The spectators were amazing. Lots of families and fun signs. The final two miles was a challenge because you go right up a hill and then a slight incline for the last bit. Super hard to kick with that.

Overall my heart still loved the race and the medal was out of this world amazing!! Huge with a moving tornado for the half marathon! It sounds like they are changing the course so I would do this race again. But in costume!