Latest reviews by Kelsey Assel

(2020)
"Nice, flat course"
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The Louisiana Marathon was pretty well done. I'm only giving it a 4/5 because I don't feel that the communication from race management was as stellar as it could have been. I'll list the things that were well done first:
1) Parking was really great. I ran the 5k on Saturday and the 1/2 on Sunday, and I never had any trouble parking both days.
2)Finisher's festival had lots of great food and live music, which was really neat.
3)The expo was well organized. There were great vendors, and it was easy to pick up my race gear without much confusion.
4) The photographers on the course took some great photos, and they are available digitally for free.
5) The course was pretty flat. Aside from a pretty large hill right at the very end, it was a pretty fast course.
6) We got to run next to a lovely lake on LSU's campus. Very scenic.

Now for the things I wasn't really a fan of:
1)I personally found the website to be tricky to navigate. The Course map was located under FAQs on the website, rather than "Race Info." To me, that doesn't make sense. That was just one of quite a few things that were hard for me to find before race day on the website. Also, the website said that they'd send out a virtual race guide via email a week before the race - maybe I'm mistaken, but I don't recall receiving one.
2) The course was not well marked. I don't think there was a mile marker every mile, and within the first few miles of the race, the course split in half around a center median in the road. The entire road was closed down, but there were runners on both sides of the median, and there was mass panic because we weren't sure if the course was splitting and if we were supposed to be on one side or the other...eventually it joined back together, but that's quite a stressful thing to worry about in the first few miles of a half or full.
3) There wasn't great crowd participation. I know that's not the race's fault, so I'm not really considering that as a factor in me 4/5 stars, but it definitely affects my perception of the race.
4) There were no set corrals - we had to self-select where we wanted to start. I really didn't mind this, but the pacer I was hoping to stick close to didn't get to their spot at the starting line until around 5 minutes before the gun went off, and at this time the corral was too full for me to get to where I needed to be.

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(2019)
"Charming, Small race"
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The Newbo Run was such a fun experience. It begins in the New Bohemian (“newbo”) neighborhood in Cedar Rapids, which was so cool and charming.
Much of the race took place on a really gorgeous trail, but some of it took place on roads. The race organizers took care to block off what they could, but there were some roads that were still open to traffic. Since this event was pretty small, I’m sure they couldn’t really help that.
The elevation wasn’t very challenging, and a lot of the course offered a great view.
Aid stations were spread out every 1.5-2 miles, so I recommend bringing along hydration if you are a heavy drinker while you run. They also offered Gu gels around the halfway mark, which is nice.
The expo at the beginning was held at a local market. It wasn’t your standard expo with running gear/nutrition for sale but it was actually so much better. It was fun to explore the market and buy products from local merchants.
The T-shirt ran a little big, but it was nice and soft.
The finisher’s medal is made out of what looks like clay- it’s very unique, and such a clever way to show off local artisan skills.
The only disappointing part of the race was the after party food. They offered bananas, protein bars, and pretzel rolls made by a local bakery. I would have liked to see a bit more food offerings, but maybe that’s just me.

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(2018)
"Large, busy, but well done"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
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Race Management

The Indianapolis Monumental is a large event, and you can tell that its management is experienced. They’ve put a lot of work into making the process seamless-from regularly emailing updates and tips to participants, to creating a very helpful app, I felt prepared when race day came.
The race organizers even had to deal with extra difficulties the year I ran this race because the President was expected to be in town the same weekend as the race. The organizers sent out many emails and updates on the app to communicate to us which roads would be closed for his arrival.
The race course was easy to understand and followed and the volunteers week helpful and kind.
The only thing that was less than satisfactory was that the T-shirt ran pretty small.

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(2018)
"Beautiful Scenery"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
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The Horse Capital Half Marathon was a smaller race, but it provided the runner with amazing views of rolling Kentucky countryside.

The T-shirts provided were light and comfortable, and I loved the medal- it is very pretty.

The aid stations were well-stocked and well spread out. They seemed to have enough portable restrooms, because though there were lines at all of them, they never seemed to be very long. One thing I did notice was that there weren't a lot of volunteers, and the ones that were there to guide us were not very enthusiastic- but I don't really blame the race management for that.

The course was VERY scenic and beautiful. Probably the most visually pleasing race I've run in thus far. Everything was green and pretty, and it was great to be surrounded by so much nature. We were able to run next to paddocks with horses, and on stone bridges over gentle creeks.

At least at the time I went, the expo was completely empty. I was seriously the only racer in the building. This was great, of course, because I didn't have to wait in any lines! I just wonder if maybe it was so empty because the race was smaller, and there weren't very many participants? I'm not sure.

The race did have quite a few hills and just a little bit of rocky terrain toward the end. I recommend that anyone training for this race should invest in a little bit of hill training to prepare for it!

Parking was great - it started at a place called Fasig Tipton, and while I'm not sure what the purpose of that building is, it has a TON of parking just a few hundred meters away from the starting point.

The race was pretty well managed and organized. I've been to races that provide more information a few days before the race, whereas I don't feel like I got that for this race, but I still felt pretty prepared leading up to the race.

One thing I didn't like was that the course took place only on country roads, so there were no spectator corrals. In the past, I've really been energized by being able to see friends and family who've come to cheer me on, but for this race that wasn't possible.

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(2018)
"Fun and Organized"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management

The Garmin race was well put-together and organized. It was "The year of Dorothy," and everything was Wizard of Oz themed. The race management did a great job and communicated well and thoroughly with all racers, so I felt prepared going into the day of the race.

The T-shirt was comfortable and flattering, and I still wear it to work out in all the time.

All of the aid-stations had lots of enthusiastic volunteers that cheered the runners on, and they were evenly dispersed. I accidentally forgot a piece for the bladder of my hydration backpack, so I had to rely on the aid stations for all of my hydration and nutrition. They did a great job making sure we had everything we needed.

The course took us through a lot of Olathe Kansas, which isn't exactly unattractive to look at, but it feels a lot like any suburban city. My favorite part to run through was toward the end - we went on a trail that took us through a beautiful, wooded park. It was so nice!

The expo was fine- all the racers were sort of funneled through a narrow maze with tables set up on every side. I wasn't in the mood to look at any products that were offered, and I had a bit of trouble getting to the registration table and picking up my gear because it was crowded. I imagine that it would be a lot more fun for people who actually enjoy looking at the tables and chatting with the sales reps.

The course was fairly flat - it's Kansas, after all. There were a few hills that took me by surprise, but it wasn't anything especially challenging.

Since the race starts and finishes at Garmin Headquarters, there is SO much parking. Like, not a problem at all.

The race was well-managed and well-organized. It was easy to tell that the people putting on the race had a blast planning it. They made sure that volunteers dressed up, which was also fun to see.

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