The Maryland-District of Columbia RRCA 10 Mile Club Challenge is hosted by the Howard County Striders. Participants must be members of an RRCA club in Maryland or Washington, D.C.

This was my first year participating in the race with my club, the Eastern Shore Running Club. The race was extremely well-managed. I served as the team captain for our team and got an email to confirm that our registered participants were members. Then, as a registered runner, I received a nine-page, descriptive Runners Guide for the race via email. The course was easy to follow, with plenty of volunteers along the way with large orange flags. There were three water stops that were exactly where the Runners Guide said they would be, and they were well-stocked (even though I was one of the later runners).

The race was chip-timed, and although it was this morning, results have already been posted. I emailed the race director a question about results tonight and got a response very quickly.

The course started near Howard Community College and took participants through neighborhoods. I gave scenery a "3," because the neighborhoods are nice, but there's nothing that stood out to me as extremely scenic — it definitely wasn't bad scenery, though.

This race is only $9, so the only reason swag gets a "1" is because there is not swag. (I did see a pair of gloves for the race, but I'm not sure where they came from.) I did not expect any swag from a race that cost less than $10; it's even described in the Runners Guide as a "no-frills" event.

I live in a flat area, and this course was tough for me. There are lots of hills, and the Runners Guide describes it as a "very hilly, challenging route." I didn't think it was that bad at first, but the hardest part was in the middle of the race, and then by the end, my legs felt very heavy from the hills. My watch logged 643 feet of elevation gain.

Parking was easy, free and close to the packet pickup/inside waiting area at Howard Community College. There was not an expo — just packet pickup the morning of the race.

I am looking forward to returning next year and hopefully bringing a larger group from the Eastern Shore Running Club!

Read my blog post on this race at She Runs by the Seashore here: https://sherunsbytheseashore.com/2018/02/25/rrca-club-challenge-an-esrc-flatlander-running-hills/

The Rehoboth Beach Seashore Marathon/Half Marathon is one of my favorite races, and this was my fifth year running the race. As a disclaimer, I did get a free entry this year as a pacer (and I also received a free entry and 2016 and 2017 hoodies because I made selfie signs for the race; I gave away the extra free entry on my blog).

If you are looking for a fun post-race party, you need to come to this race. There is a DJ and dancing, plenty of food and Dogfish Head beer (this year, each person got three beer tickets). Food includes different breakfast foods, mac and cheese, pulled pork sandwiches, cole slaw and more. There was also chocolate milk at the finish — and of course, there was water.

The course has beautiful scenery. Runners start right by the Atlantic Ocean and boardwalk and see the ocean again on the course. Several miles are also on the Junction & Breakwater trail (this is not a technical trail).

I'm going out of order with the categories listed above, but I also want to say the race management is top-notch. There is a Facebook group for this event and the race director, Mary Beth Evans, is constantly answering people's questions and providing important information. She is so responsive, and from my view, she really wants to ensure that everyone has a great race at Rehoboth. The course was also easy to follow.

As far as swag, this year's race shirt was a lavender short-sleeved shirt for women. The men's shirt was a short-sleeved black shirt. It's my first lavender race shirt, and I love the color! The medal is also really nice.

There were plenty of water stops on the course and the volunteers at each were great.

Packet pickup is held the day before the race as well as on race morning. I'm not really sure if I would consider the packet pickup much of an expo, although there were a few booths there.

This race is flat! I don't remember one hill. Over 13.1 miles, my total elevation gain was 66 feet.

I stayed at a hotel and was able to walk to the start, but parking in the offseason in Rehoboth is free and generally not too hard to find.

I would definitely recommend this race and I plan to return as a pacer in 2018!

Read my full blog recap here: https://sherunsbytheseashore.com/2017/12/06/a-perfect-day-to-pace-the-rehoboth-seashore-half-marathon/

I ran the Anthem Richmond Marathon for the first time this year after hearing good things from friends, and I had a great experience at the race! It was well-organized, it was a nice course, there were great crowds with lots of fun signs and the swag was awesome. In 2017, it was the race's 40th anniversary, and there were newspaper-themed promotions, such as retro shirts you could buy (which I did) and a Retro Richmond copy of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, because it used to be the Richmond Newspapers Marathon. One random finisher also received a real ruby for the 40th anniversary. (This person actually finished just ahead of me; my time was 4:47:52.)

The swag definitely deserves a 5, even a 5+ if that were an option. The race includes the marathon, half marathon and 8K, and marathon and half marathon runners got a cozy fleece blanket upon finishing the race. I love it! I also received a stainless steel pint glass, which I also think is cool, along with a long-sleeved tech shirt. I also think the finisher medal is beautiful.

There were water and Powerade stops every two miles on the marathon course and every mile during the last 10K. The only complaint was that I had to grab a cup of water from a table at the first stop instead of having it handed to me, but after that, volunteers at each stop handed me water, which was normally two cups at each stop for me. I found it extremely helpful to have the stops consistently every two miles, so I knew where to expect them. I used them as part of my race strategy, walking at each one, and continuing to walk at every other stop in the last part, when there were twice as many stops. There was also a candy stop about halfway through, other junk food stops, Honey Stinger stops and stops for wet wash cloths.

I thought the course scenery was nice. It was great to see all the fall leaves! The course included more urban portions of the city, such as the Downtown area, along with neighborhoods and bridges. The crowds were great, particularly in the second half of the course, and there were lots of fun signs to read.

The expo was at the Arthur Ashe Jr. Athletic Center. I easily got my bib, but I was surprised we went into the Sports Backers store section before getting our race shirt. I continued along to get my race shirt and bag and then went back to the store later. There seemed to be a decent variety of vendors, and there were even Sierra Nevada beer samples at the time I went. It did seem crowded, though. I was disappointed I missed Bart Yasso, who was at the expo, but that was not the fault of the marathon — I just didn't leave early enough and got stuck in traffic.

Although others may rank the elevation difficulty as less difficult than my 3-star rating, as I had heard this race was relatively flat, but it felt hilly to me. I live in an extremely flat area. My watch logged 764 feet of elevation gain during the race.

I didn't rate parking/access because I stayed in a hotel and walked to the start.

Race management was great! I felt like I had all the information I needed to know. The course was clearly marked and everything went very smoothly. I also enjoyed having Sierra Nevada beer at the finish (one was complimentary). Post-race food included a piece of pizza along with a banana, bagel and granola bar. There were also post-race massages, but I didn't get to the tent early enough for that — there was a long line ahead of me. There was also a spot for post-race yoga.

I also thought it was cool that the Top 300 finishers in each age group for the marathon made it into a special section of the Richmond Times-Dispatch the next day.

To read my full recap on my blog, go here: https://sherunsbytheseashore.com/2017/11/15/fun-signs-good-advice-and-a-confidence-boost-at-the-anthem-richmond-marathon/

This was my fourth year running the Across the Bay 10K — I have run this race each year since it started. I had a good experience, but I did notice some changes from previous years.

The race is on a Sunday, and the expo is held the Friday and Saturday before the race at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis (on the other side of the bridge from where I live - I live on the Eastern Shore of Maryland). There is no race-day packet pickup, so you either have to attend the expo or you can pay to have your bib mailed to you. My friend and I stay over in Kent Island (on our side of the bridge), so we went to the expo.

The women's shirts this year were gray, and the men's shirts were orange. I preferred the bright orange color and tried to switch, but they did not have any men's small or medium shirts left, so I stuck with the women's medium gray shirt I got. It looks like it will be a nice fit, and I do like the crab. This race also has an interlocking finisher medal to the past three years and to next year's race. I think there were less vendors at this year's expo. I did not buy anything, but everything moved along well and it was easy to get my bib, shirt and parking pass.

I gave aid stations a 3-star rating because I did not use the aid stations. Normally, I do not carry water during a race and I rely on the on-course aid stations, but this is a cupless race (which I guess does make sense because you don't want trash/cups getting into the Chesapeake Bay). I think you were able to get water in a water fountain-like way, but I just carried my bottle.

Course scenery I gave a 5 because it's such a unique course and definitely a cool view! Runners (and walkers) make their way over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge for about 4.35 miles of the 10K race - the length of the bridge - and normally, pedestrians are not allowed on the bridge, so it's really your only chance to see it from this perspective.

I live in a flat area and definitely noticed the incline on the bridge. However, it wasn't a steep hill, and I also got to enjoy the downhill, so I gave elevation difficulty a 2.

I gave parking/access a 3 because of the cost of the parking pass. Parking passes range from $10-20 (the Kent Narrows Center parking lot that I was in was $20). With a race that's already pretty pricey (I registered early on for I believe $55; registration at the expo was $85), it would be nice if parking were free. However, it was easy to park and we got on the bus without having to wait in line.

The race was well-organized, particularly for being the fifth-largest 10K in the country. It was an easy process to park and ride the bus across the bridge for the one-way race, there were plenty of portable toilets, and the race went smoothly with the wave start. People assigned to all waves seemed to be starting whenever they wanted. I took off a star only because there were no mylar blankets at the end (and this is a November race), and my friend had to buy a jacket to stay warm. There also wasn't a live band like there was in previous years. I also would have liked the option to buy a single beer rather than a $10 unlimited beer ticket (no beer is included with entry).

I'll be back next year - I enjoy the course and spending time with my friend (and family afterward)!

Read my blog post here: https://sherunsbytheseashore.com/2017/11/08/negative-splits-at-the-across-the-bay-10k/

This was my first year running the Seaside 10 Mile Run, and I had a great time! I drove to the race with a couple of my friends and found parking extremely close to packet pickup in the Inlet parking lot in Ocean City. I took off one star for parking just because we did have to pay to park at the Inlet even though it's the offseason, but it was very convenient.

There wasn't really an expo; it was more of just packet pickup with some OC Tri-Running items and gels for sale. That went smoothly.

For the swag, I received a blue long-sleeved tech shirt with the race artwork on the back. I really like the shirt and think it will get a good amount of use. Ten-mile finishers also received a nice finisher medal. There were also cool age group awards for 10-year age groups. (I didn't get one, but I liked them!)

The race is an out-and-back with a couple very minor differences. It starts near the Ocean City Boardwalk and runners for the 10-mile race go all the way up the Boardwalk, then onto Baltimore Avenue and then Coastal Highway before turning around and heading back to the Inlet. The course is great; for about 2.5 miles or so in the beginning and another 2.5 miles or so at the end, you're on the Boardwalk, right along the beach and Atlantic Ocean. On the way back, there were people walking and cycling on the Boardwalk, but nobody got in my way. It's an extremely flat course.

There were ample aid stations and the volunteers were helpful and friendly, giving me two cups of water when I asked.

I had a great experience at this race; the only complaint was that I ended up with 9.86 miles rather than 10 on my watch. I know that GPS watches are not always accurate, but that was the only reason I took off a star for race management. The different results I saw for friends on Strava and social media were also just under 10 miles.

I did not get a PR, but if I did, I would be left wondering if I actually ran the full 10 miles (I'm picky about this; I'd rather it be too long than too short). The mile markers also seemed off as I ran; some of them I hit right on with my watch and others were somewhat far from my watch.

I enjoyed the post-race food. We had a beer ticket (which we could redeem for Evolution, a local craft brewery where my boyfriend is a brewer - and there was also I believe Bud Light) and a food ticket (which we could redeem for soup, which was also good). There were also candy, cookies, bananas and granola bars.

It was a fun atmosphere with lots of people in costumes, a costume contest for the 5K and the 10-mile race, and lots of friends!

Read my full blog post here: https://sherunsbytheseashore.com/2017/10/29/seaside-10-mile-run-costumes-candy-and-ocean-views/