This was my fifth year participating in the Naylor Mill 7K, and I am one of only three people to have run it every year. Of course, I really enjoy this race, as I keep coming back! It happened to be on the hottest day of the summer, and I appreciated there were precautions taken — an extra water stop, an early exit option and the requirement to run with water.

The terrain is tough for Salisbury. I gave it a "5" for difficulty based on the types of trails I have personally run. I'm sure there are tougher trails out there, but for my very flat area, this is difficult. The course is mostly on singletrack trails, with twists, turns and hills. Expect your pace to be at least a few minutes slower than usual per mile.

This race has a Bacon vs. Scrapple theme, and you pick your team. Swag was a T-shirt, towel and sticker. The race is also very affordable, so I don't expect more swag than that, and I'm happy with it.

It's easy to park in the large, free parking lot at the Henry S. Parker Athletic Complex by the trail.

Race management is always great. This was a successful event as always, and as noted, I especially appreciated the extra precautions taken for the super hot day.

Read more in my blog post: https://sherunsbytheseashore.com/2021/08/21/i-completed-the-naylor-mill-7k-on-the-hottest-day-of-the-summer/

For the second year, I enjoyed the Race Across Maryland! What really makes this race stand out is the amount of engagement for a virtual event. There are vlogs as cyclist Mark Clem visits businesses across the state, interactive opportunities on social media with chances to win gift cards, and digital badges to earn as you track your miles and see your progress across the state. I won a $10 gift card and got to pick a business that I enjoy visiting in my city.

The course goes across Maryland, but people can participate from anywhere and log their running or walking miles. There is also a separate cycling option. There are options for 250 miles over 60 days (West-East), 100 miles over 60 days (North-South), or a Double Cross for extra mileage. I chose the 250 miles and finished one day late (61 days), but it kept me motivated during the hot and humid summer.

Race management was great. I enjoyed the interaction, and the swag also arrived very quickly once the 60th day hit. Swag was a beach towel and medal, along with a digital bib, digital certificate and digital badges. I like getting a beach towel more than a shirt or medal, because I have so many shirts and medals, and I will actually use the towel.

I was also part of a social team with my running club, the Eastern Shore Running Club. Teams that got at least 10 people to sign up each got a $10 discount (or refund, if already paid) off the registration fee.

Read my blog post here: https://sherunsbytheseashore.com/2021/08/23/it-took-me-an-extra-day-but-i-finished-the-virtual-race-across-maryland/

Disclaimer: I received an entry to the National Day of Awareness MMIW Virtual 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!

I really enjoyed being part of this virtual run. Participants could do any activity/distance to benefit Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women USA, and I chose to run 10 miles to recognize the fact that Native women in some places are 10 times as likely to be murdered as those in other groups. Native Women Running was active on social media, sharing stats, stories and why this is an important cause. I think this virtual event is a great way to raise awareness and money for an issue that some may not realize is such a serious problem.

Swag was a red T-shirt. I like the shirt, but for me, this was more about the cause. There were various updates shared directly from Native Women Running Founder Verna Volker, and I thought she did a great job with this event. I would participate again!

Read more in my blog post: https://sherunsbytheseashore.com/2021/05/11/i-ran-for-missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women-on-every-street-in-vienna-md/

Disclaimer: I received an entry to the DICK's Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon Relay as part of being a member of the Brooks Run Happy Team.

I thought the Pittsburgh Marathon put on a great virtual race. I participated in a marathon relay team with members of the Brooks Run Happy Team. I had the first leg, which was 5.3 miles.

An online race experience (experience.thepittsburghmarathon.com) enhanced the virtual race experience. There were various social media templates, videos and a playlist to download.

The evening of the day I ran the race, I received my swag box. This included a shirt, medal, bib, Nuun packets, a cookie, Honey Stinger waffle and gel, sunscreen, a lip balm and coupons. It was cool to receive a whole box of items. It would have been nice to receive it the day before, but I know some have been having issues with the mail, so it’s not a big deal.

It would have been nice if there were a place to load in our relay times. We just added them together to get our marathon time, but there weren’t results that I saw. You could get a results certificate as part of the online experience.

I got all the info I needed from the race and they were also very active on social media, interacting with some of my posts.

I hope to do this race in person at some point — it seems very well organized!

Read my blog recap here: https://sherunsbytheseashore.com/2021/05/06/the-sneaker-seekers-rocked-the-dicks-sporting-goods-pittsburgh-marathon-relay/

I had a great experience at the 2021 Salisbury Half Marathon. I ran this race in 2019 and have also served as the race's coach since then (and I got a free entry because of that). It went virtual-only in 2020, right at the start of the pandemic. This year, it came back as an in-person event and was the largest running event in the area since the pandemic began. There were lots of safety precautions in place, including a COVID questionnaire, temperature checks, masking before and after the run, and five different waves (marathon waves at 7 and 7:15 a.m., half marathon waves at 7:30 and 7:45 a.m., and a 5K wave - different start location). Runners also were sent off in small groups rather than everyone at once.

Aid stations were serve-yourself from prepackaged items (water bottles, Gatorade bottles, small Clif bars and I think there were gels — I brought my own fuel). The volunteers were great and were wearing masks.

Swag this year included a lot of different items, which I always appreciate. Runners received a race shirt, branded BibBoards, a branded Hoo-Rag, a sticker with the race distance (13.1 for me), a $5 voucher to use at a Downtown Salisbury business and a VP Shoes coupon. For packet pickup, runners could either have their bib mailed or go through a drive-thru packet pickup on the Thursday or Friday before the race. I did the drive-thru and it was quick and easy.

The course scenery is nothing too special to me as I run some of these roads all the time. I think there are some prettier areas that were not included — it's not the most exciting course, but I do like the last few miles along Riverside Drive (along the river). The course is extremely flat, with a few minor inclines. As a warning, one of those few inclines is at the very end.

I live very close to the start, so I ran there and did not have to worry about parking (so I did not rate that section), but parking is free on the weekends. If someone parked downtown and ran the half marathon or marathon, they would have to walk/run about a half-mile to the start and they would finish near where they parked.

I thought the race was managed well, and there was plenty of communication with runners ahead of time. I felt safe at this event, which I think is the most important in COVID times.