As someone who has done many rundisney races I will admit sometimes just a regular race can be a bit boring in comparison. So I am always looking for races that offer a little extra or some pizzazz! So when I came across the Run & Ride race series I thought wow this sounds like fun. Running and an amusement park.
Since Cleveland is the closest to me of the Ride and Race series we decided to do the Cedar Point Quarter Marathon. I do wish it was a 10k. The whole quarter thing throws me off a bit. 6.6 miles.
This race is a great deal if you like amusement parks. You get a free ticket for the park day of race and can add on an additional day for 15.00! It cost me 80.00 to run the race with 2 day park tickets.
We had about 8 ladies in our group so we all split a suite at the Breakers Hote right on property. Note: we still had to drive to expo and to race start.
The expo wasn’t really an expo, just a place to pick up bibs. They did give you a coupon for something similar to a fast pass for some attractions. That was a Bonus! This year they didn’t do shirts for the Quarter Marathon they did baseball hats. This actually made me super happy. I love this hat and wear often. But I heard many complaints from others.
Race morning was very easy, It wasn’t as crowded as I thought a race at Cedar Point would be. I thought there’d be more costumes but not too many. We kept it simple, but threw in some Charlie Brown. They had some Peanuts characters walking around prerace. Who doesn’t love character photos?
The race began and we initially ran a huge loops around parking lot. As we approach mile 2&3 we ran through the park. This was really fun. Lots of great photo ops but I had a good pace (for me) so didn’t stop. However I did notice a few photographers on the course. We exited the park and made our way down the causeway. A beautiful view with water on both sides of us. I did a previous year and it got quite windy here. This year wasn’t so bad. But there was quite a few bugs that kept making their way to my mouth! I’m happy I had my sunglasses. I also noticed a couple photographers on the street. The road part of race is a there and back. When you get to about mile 4 your turn around. Those doing the half continues longer on causeway. I think that may get a bit boring.
I didn’t realize running this it was a Quarter Marathon. I thought it was 10k so I was pushing for a PR and when I didn’t see finish at 6.2 I was gasping for air to get in that extra .4 but made it and got a PR!
Post race they had some great food!! They had bagels with cream cheese and big bottles of chocolate milk and water of course. They had a big pavilion with picnic tables to sit at near by while waiting for others to finish.
I really recommend this race, the medals are cute (could be bigger) and would be nice if they changed a bit year to year. But overall this is a great race.

Note: I did do a video recap of this race if you were interested in viewing. https://youtu.be/TlWgZgEXJN0

This is the second time I’ve done this race and both times it’s been COLD! You sign up for this race thinking it’ll be warmer in March, it never is! 😩
But with my new Goodr Shamrock shades I needed to be there.
The expo is at the Old First Ward Community Center, a small neighborhood just south of downtown Buffalo. The volunteers were so sweet. They had some really nice running jackets for your entry fee. This was the 40th so possibly even nicer than usual. When you go to the center they have all the former race shirts through the years hanging. I actually really love some of the thin soft cotton shirts from the early 80’s. I wish they’d recreate. But the jackets were very nice as well!
Before the race they have some tents set up and everyone is cramming in the community center to stay warm. This became an issue with trying to get out before the race. It was packed. Next year may be smarter to wait warm car longer but that’s also boring. Parking may be an issue if you arrive late, mostly street parking and could end up being quite far from start.
This is just a real fun party atmosphere. Lots of race costumes, silly wigs, hats and you always find that crazy guy running on underwear!
I don’t recall water stops. I’d bring water if I were you. I recall first time I did I was so thirsty and thought I was approaching a water station and it was beer! Oh I wish I liked beer sometimes!
After the race there was a big party in tent. Got quite crowded which kept us warmer, with free beer. Again I wish I liked beer😂. They also sold hotdogs which my brother kindly bought me. Since I didn’t have cash.
There is no medal for this race. But I still love the party and vibe and would try and make an annual tradition for me. We need something to get us through these long cold winters

I've done this race the past 3 years and can't say enough about how great this one is. The medals are gorgeous. Yes I run for bling. I love that before the race we have somewhere warm to wait until shortly before race time with real bathrooms. The mile markers are cute and I love all the costumes people wear. I'm an avid rundisney runner and this is one of the closest races I've run that has the same fun vibe. There is some gorgeous photo ops along the way, and the whole family joins in as we go to the Christmas Story house later that evening. We drive to Ohio from Buffalo and get a hotel in downtown Cleveland. It's def a great way to start the Christmas season!

I've run this race a few years in a row. It's a great way to start off thanksgiving day. Though every year as I'm standing out in the cold I wonder why I do. But then sign up again. It's a fun race. All types of runners and so many people. The race shirts are super soft long sleeve cotton. This is a shirt I wear often after the race. I love all the crazy thanksgiving themed costumes. The after party at the convention center is crazy crowded but fun. Parking is good at local target plaza and shuttles back are convenient. This is a huge Buffalo tradition and always fun to be a party of