I love the Tim Kennard River Run! This was my ninth year participating in the race, and I joined the race committee this year. My running club, the Eastern Shore Running Club, is also a sponsor, and I got a free entry. A lot of the local running community comes out for this event, and it's always a lot of fun.

The course is flat and fast, starting and ending at Salisbury University and taking runners through nearby neighborhoods, along the Wicomico River and into downtown Salisbury.

There were five water stops on the 10-mile course, and the course was well-marked and easy to follow. This year, the women's shirts were pink, which I loved. The overall winners earn monetary awards, and there are prizes for the Top 3 in each age group, too. Afterward, there is plenty of good food — chicken and dumplings, chili, popcorn, bagels, small sandwiches and more.

It's very easy to park in the Guerrieri Student Union parking lot, and it's free. The race directors are my friends, but either way, I would say this race is well-planned and everything went smoothly.

There is packet pickup the day before at the Evolution Craft Brewing Co. Public House, but not much of an expo. I set up a table for the Eastern Shore Running Club, and there were a couple other tables as well.

Check out my blog post here: https://sherunsbytheseashore.com/2019/03/31/tim-kennard-river-run-a-little-faster-than-last-year/

This is one of my absolute favorite races, and this was my sixth year running it in some capacity. I ran the full in 2013 (my first full) and 2014, and I have run the half each year since then. This year, I paced the 2:30 group for the half.

It's set in beautiful Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The race starts at the bandstand, continues on roads, and about six miles are run out-and-back on the Junction & Breakwater Trail. It's a flat trail that is not technical. The course is extremely flat. The full course heads up the Gordons Pond Trail into Lewes.

Aid stations seemed very plentiful. I was thankful for all the volunteers who were out there in the cold. It's December, so you never know exactly what the weather will be, but this year, it was colder than any of the other years I'd run this race (it was about 30 degrees before the race).

This race is known for its fun after-party, which has a ton of good food — things like mac and cheese, pulled pork, waffles — and Dogfish Head beer (runners get a wristband that allows them three beers). The after-party has a DJ (DJ Petch), dancing and singing outside, and a more relaxed party inside The Cultured Pearl.

There is usually a really small expo at the packet pickup the day before, but this year, I picked up my packet the morning of the race, which was very simple. Parking was extremely easy — I did arrive more than an hour early because I had to be there early for pacing, but I parked basically steps away from the bandstand, and there were tons of spots. Parking is free this time of year in Rehoboth.

Swag this year was a long-sleeve tech shirt — orange for the women's cut and light blue for the men's cut. The medal is also really nice!

Race management is really top-notch. The race director, Mary Beth Hanna Evans, constantly responds to questions and makes people aware of what they need to know on the race Facebook group. I also received emails leading up to the race. And then on race day, everything went very smoothly from my perspective. Runners doing their first full or half, running clubs and people hitting other milestones (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.) are also recognized with signs on the course.

I highly recommend this race and hope to see you next year! There's always a good discount for 12 hours on New Year's Eve (or until the spots for that deal sell out).

Read my blog post here: https://sherunsbytheseashore.com/2018/12/10/consistency-and-confidence-pacing-the-2018-rehoboth-seashore-half-marathon/

This was my fifth year running the Across the Bay 10K, which takes runners across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. The bridge is closed to pedestrian traffic aside from this race, so it's definitely a unique opportunity to run across the bridge and get a different perspective.

I'm giving T-shirts/swag a "2" this year because there was a spelling error on the shirt. The font is small, but it says "Queen Ann's" County instead of "Queen Anne's." As someone who really cares about spelling and grammar, I think it's crazy that this was misspelled on thousands of shirts and that nobody caught it. The medals are nice, and it's cool that they interlock, but runners were told that we would be completing a five-year medal puzzle this year, but the medal had an extra notch. This seems disingenuous and leads me to believe that the race organizers are trying to get people to run another year (even if they weren't planning to return) to keep their puzzles going.

This is a cupless race, which makes sense because you don't want people throwing cups off the bridge, or have cups fall into the Chesapeake Bay. So, I carried a water bottle during the race and didn't use the aid stations.

The expo is held the two days before the race at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. Runners have to either attend the expo to pick up their shirts and bibs, or pay to have their bibs mailed to their homes — there is no race-day bib pickup. It was easy to park and get bibs and shirts when my friend and I attended Saturday, but there was nothing special about it that stood out to me.

I give this race a "2" for elevation difficulty. I live in a very flat area, and there is a gradual incline to reach the top of the bridge. It's not extremely hilly, but for me, it was noticeable. It is nice to have the downhill after reaching the top.

Parking was easy, but I'm giving it a "3" because we are charged to park in the parking lots to take the required shuttles. I paid $20 for a parking pass for the Kent Narrows Center. I think that's excessive when I already paid $60 to run the race. At least my friend and I drove together so we didn't both need to buy a parking pass.

Race management I'm giving a "4." This race does seem to be very well organized and run smoothly — particularly for such a large race — but I was left feeling disappointed by some things, like not getting the completed medal puzzle that we were led to believe we would receive, and the spelling error. There were also no space blankets at the end, and it would be nice to get one free beer.

Despite the costs, I would recommend doing this race at least once, just to experience what it's like to run across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. It is a fun experience!

Read my blog post here: https://sherunsbytheseashore.com/2018/11/09/across-the-bay-10k-i-beatthebridge-again/

Disclaimer: I received free entry to Freedom’s Run 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!

This was my first time running Freedom's Run, and I loved this small-town race, although it was very challenging! This was my ninth marathon, and it was my slowest one. I'm also not in the shape I was when I ran my first marathon, but this race was very hilly. It was also very well organized and a lot of fun.

The marathon begins in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, and ends in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. The majority of the course is actually run on the other side of the Potomac River in Maryland. We started out in Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, ran in the beautiful Murphy Farm area, made our way down a steep downhill to Lower Town Harpers Ferry and across a bridge onto the C&O Canal Towpath. We then followed that for about 10 miles before heading up the very hilly Millers Sawmill Road. After that, we traveled the beautiful Antietam National Battlefield, which was also very hilly. We went through the town of Sharpsburg and finished on the Shepherd University football field. I was able to pick up the pace in the last three miles.

I rated this course a "5" for elevation difficulty. I live in an extremely flat area, and these steep hills were certainly a challenge. My watch logged 1,417 feet of elevation gain and 1,572 feet of elevation loss. I'm assuming that much of the loss must come from that early downhill, because it felt very uphill.

I also rated the scenery as a "5." This course was beautiful and provided a lot to enjoy along the way. There were few spectators, but the scenery made up for that!

There weren't as many aid stations as you would normally see at a marathon, but I knew that going into it. However, the aid stations weren't always exactly where I thought they would be. I also spent a little longer at each aid station since we were not supposed to litter and there were not usually trash cans after the aid station (a few had this, which I liked).

I really liked the long-sleeve shirt that I received — I love the color! I often wear a medium, but have been ordering a women's large in running shirts recently, so I did that for this race, and it looks like it will be a good size. The medal was beautiful and unique — crafted by Joy Bridy Pottery. We also received a reusable water bottle and a pint glass.

Because I finished somewhat near the end, I actually got a whole pizza from the volunteers. I also enjoyed a beer. The pizza is near the finish line (I didn't realize this at first), but the beer is across the street at the Bavarian Inn.

Parking was extremely easy. I boarded the bus at the Shepherd University Wellness Center early on race day to head to Harpers Ferry for the race, and the parking lot seemed almost empty. This did mean there was a bit of a walk from the Bavarian Inn afterward, but it was very easy to park, and it was free.

There wasn't much of an expo, which was fine with me, as the expo is not super important to me. Packet pickup was extremely easy and quick, and I also stayed for a talk by race director/co-founder and author Dr. Mark Cucuzzella, which was cool. There was also race-morning packet pickup.

Race management was good. I was aware of what I was getting into, I got emails ahead of time, and I really appreciated tips that Cucuzzella gave race morning, including his recommendations of when to walk on the course.

Although this was a difficult course, I thought it was a great race!

Check out my blog recap here: https://sherunsbytheseashore.com/2018/10/13/freedoms-run-marathon-a-literal-uphill-battle-among-beautiful-battlefields/

I love the Mike Sterling 10K! This was my seventh year in a row running this race. The race is held the Saturday of Labor Day Weekend as part of the National Hard Crab Derby in Crisfield, Maryland.

It only costs $25 to enter, and if you get five people to sign up with your referral link, you can get $20 back. So it's definitely a good value — whether or not you get the money back.

The course starts not far from the Crisfield City Dock and takes runners on an out-and-back by the water before heading into neighborhoods. The last part of the race is a straight road heading back to the start, which is more than a mile. The race is extremely flat.

From what I recall, there were three official water stops and one that looked unofficial but was still great. Since this is always a hot and humid race, the number of water stops were appreciated, and the volunteers were helpful.

This is a small town (technically a city of less than 3,000 residents), and parking is easy. I arrived a little bit later than I planned to and still easily found a spot close to the start. Parking is free and plentiful.

I'm friends with the race directors, and I thought the race was well-organized. The course was well-marked, there were enough water stops and there were wet towels at the end — which were awesome. I did not win an award this year, but the overall and age group awards are really cool. This year, the overall male and female runners, the fastest runner from Crisfield and the fastest walker each received a watermen's boot, and age group winners received a mini crab pot on a lanyard as a "medal." Second place in each age group also got an award.

There are also lots of door prizes, including a pound of crab meat, a Smith Island cake and free running shoes from Vernon Powell Shoes.

Normally, the premium is a cotton T-shirt, but this year it was a cotton tank top. Although I don't think I will be running in it much, I do like the switch to the tank top! It's nice to have something different.

There isn't an expo for this race. You can just pick up your packet that morning.

I would definitely recommend this race!

Check out my race recap here: sherunsbytheseashore.com/2018/09/07/feeling-strong-at-the-mike-sterling-10k/