The Indianapolis Monumental Marathon turned out to be an unexpectedly wonderful race. While I had heard that this race was now one of the 20 largest marathons in the country, I was still surprised by the number of other runners. The race starts in the middle of downtown Indianapolis, and there was plenty of parking access even with a presidential visit. The convention center was open in the morning for a warm place to wait, and things were organized right from the start. With so many other runners, the only downfall was the fact that the first 7 miles were pretty congested until the half and full marathon split. Once the split occurred it was the perfect size race! Plenty of room to run on your own but you were never on the course alone. I was constantly impressed with the beauty of the course - the monuments, neighborhoods and colors of the leaves were wonderful! With very little elevation change, this is a perfect race to aim for a PR. I would definitely recommend this race!

I love the Detroit Freepress Marathon! I returned this year to run the International Half Marathon and was just as impressed as the first time. The convention center is open for parking and waiting the morning of the race, and with the start line so close by you are able to stay warm right up until the start. The race very quickly takes you over the Ambassador Bridge into Canada, through town and then back to Detroit through the underwater tunnel. I love seeing all of the law enforcement support on the course throughout the race as you run from one country to another. When you return to Detroit the course takes you through some beautiful neighborhoods before returning to downtown with tons of crowd support. This race will continue to be one of my favorites!

I have never run in so much rain! Despite the rain this year, everyone was in great spirits at the start and on the course. Since this race is right in downtown Chicago, parking is a bit difficult. However, there are plenty of nearby parking lots and garages if you are willing to pay to park. The course makes up for the challenge of navigating a city though, as you get to run through a majority of the busiest downtown streets and then come back along the lakeshore. The crowd support was awesome, even in the downpours!

Grand Rapids is my favorite city and I was so excited to run through it! Not to mention the race was held on my birthday this year. I ran the 25k in 2018 this year, after missing a few years since running the 10k back in 2013. I was very surprised to see how the race has grown in 5 years! The organization, course and overall management have improved so much. While there is no parking available at the actual start, there are quite a few options downtown. However, with all the different race start times and road closures, you need to arrive quite early to secure your parking spot. Once you are parked, it is a short walk to Devos, where runners can wait inside. I loved that we were able to wait inside right next to the start line, especially because it was raining this year. The course really surprised me and had quite a variety of city versus country scenery. My biggest complaint was the cold rainy weather, but there's not much anyone can do to change that. ;) I definitely plan to run this race again!

I ran the Gazelle Girl half back when it was just starting in 2014, and then again in 2017. My, how the race has grown! In 2013 our "medal" was a small charm to put on a necklace or bracelet. Now in 2017 there are full blown medals, goodie bags and tons of swag! I was really happy to see how this race has grown. My favorite part about this race is the atmosphere. It is all female which really brings great crown support. There are multiple points throughout the course where men line the roads dressed up as women, which is always quite funny. This race has some great potential and I love to see how it grows each year!