(copied from my blog review here: https://fiveleveninety.blogspot.com/2019/10/race-review-amica-newport-marathon-2019.html)

Last weekend I ran my 12th marathon - the Amica Newport Marathon in Newport, Rhode Island. I deferred my entry to this race in 2018 so Newport has been a long time coming and I'm glad I finally got the chance to take on this course. It's been a while that I haven't had to travel for a full marathon so it was a great change of pace to not have to coordinate flights and accommodations the weekend of a marathon. It was an extremely chill race weekend compared to my most recent marathons!

I was pretty surprised at how small the expo was! I was imagining I would be spending a bit of time wandering through booths but it was one small-ish ballroom with tables for bibs, 2-3 vendors, and a table where they were giving away past race shirts and pint glasses (which of course, I snagged a few). I picked up my bib (lucky #13), bought a few gels, and went on my merry way. I'd say I was there for a total of maybe 10-15 minutes. For the size of the race field I was definitely expecting more from the expo, but it got the job done.

Brett and I were up bright and early to make the trek down to Newport. There is no parking at the start/finish line, so you're required to park a couple of miles away and take a shuttle to the start. Every single communication about parking we received said to GET THERE EARLY and BE ON A SHUTTLE BY 6AM AT THE LATEST. Me, being a chronically early human and avid rule follower, was more than willing to oblige. We arrived to the parking lot around 5:15 or so where I finished getting myself ready before we hopped on a shuttle at 6. I got my first "YEAH MANIAC" ever on this bus and I was already buzzing with excitement!

We got to the start area in time to watch the gorgeous sunrise with everyone else. It was beautiful to feel the excitement of all the runners around me and to watch the sun come up as a massive group. We also got there in time for me to be a part of the Maniacs/Fanatics team photo! It was great meeting a couple of folks before the race. 3 of them had run Hartford the day before (superheroes), and the one second from the right actually went on to be in the top 10 overall (we waved at each other as he was closing in on mile 26 and I was almost at 14 haha)! It was super great to have my first experience meeting everyone and bonding a bit before the big race.

Brett helped me warm up and stretch before heading over to the starting line. It was great to be able to have him there to keep me calm and crack jokes with me before heading out. He's a trooper for getting up so early on his day off to come spend time at a marathon! Before we walked over to the start we had to take a couple of "before" photos on the beach. It was too beautiful not to!

Then it was time to get running! There was a waved start to this race but I did not have to wait long after the 7:30AM start time to cross the starting line myself. According to my watch I crossed the start at 7:36 so they were great at letting folks get started as soon as possible. It did feel a bit crowded through the first two miles and I did have to do some weaving around walkers and such, but I'm always appreciative when a race can just let people get started. Nothing worse than having to wait in a corral!

The first half of the course is the half marathon course, so there are a lot of folks that you're running with for the first 13.1. Through this first half you run through downtown Newport, past some extremely beautiful mansions, and along the coast. If there's anything this course is, it's breathtakingly gorgeous. Something I didn't expect, though was how freaking hilly the course was! For some reason I always think running by the ocean means running on a flat course, but I always forget that when you're in New England, that's really not the case. 😂

My favorite part of the course was miles 5-7. We ran along the coastline of Newport and it was incredible. There's an entire stretch of the course where the waves are crashing up against the seawall and if you run too close to the side of the road you're for sure going to get splashed. It was amazing to experience that! I tried to capture some photos as it was happening but they do not do the experience justice at all.

Shortly after mile 7 you start running past some serious mansions. You're definitely reminded where you are miles 7-12! The water stops through this stretch were also great. Many of the folks took time to have a theme to their aid stations. I saw a 50's theme and a couple of Patriots themes, and everyone had some really great energy!

Unfortunately around mile 5 I started to feel really nauseous. I was hoping that over time that the nausea would eventually subside but it hung around for 20. Freaking. Miles. All I could honestly do was do my best to enjoy the scenery and the race experience to the best of my ability. There was a couple spectators and fellow runners who were cheering for all of the Maniacs throughout the entire course and every time I came across one it gave me an extra boost. I also distracted myself to see how far along in my marathon I was at the exact time Eliud Kipchoge would have been finishing his marathon. Spoiler alert: it was nowhere near 26.2 miles 😂

One of my least favorite parts of this course (and any course that does this) was that it run right by the finish line where the half marathoners were ALSO finishing their race. I always hate when races do this because it's just so cruel seeing other runners getting to STOP RUNNING and you still have 13.1 more miles to go. 😂 Also, when I was coming into this section of the race, the MC said something to the effect of "Welcome back half marathon runners! Lucky for you, you ran the EASIER half of the course. The second half of the marathon course is WAY HARDER." Which, you know, is exactly what you wanna hear as you're about to embark on the WAY HARDER section of the race... Read the room, MC! 😬

As promised, the back half of the course was far more difficult. After the half marathoners broke off the crowds reduced SIGNIFICANTLY and the course turned in to much bigger hills with little to no tree-coverage, so I basically melted in the sun for 13 miles. Luckily I got a boost of energy when I saw Brett at mile 15.5. I really needed the encouragement at that point because I was 10 miles into feeling sick with no end in sight, and so much more of the course left to go. It's always so amazing how much a familiar face can push you to keep going!

The sun really got to me on the back half. I always really struggle when there is no shade on a really sunny day, and add in hills, nausea, and a lonely, spectator-free course, it got really tough to keep going! Brett, my parents, and Cassie kept me motivated over text. Apparently Cassie and Hanna showed up about 10 minutes after I saw Brett at 15.5 (just missed them!) and hung around until I crossed the finish line - such great friends! 💗 The hills mile 18-24 were absolutely brutal but as soon as I conquered the final hill at Surfer's End, my nausea *finally* subsided and the motivation to keep running and getting myself to the finish completely took over. Brett, Cassie, and Hanna sent me the below selfie to keep me motivated and let me know that I had people waiting to cheer me in to the finish line!

Finally, after 6:01:50, I crossed the finish line of the Newport Marathon, got my 12th marathon medal, and crossed Rhode Island off of my 50 states challenge! ✅

Overall this race was difficult, beautiful, and so well run. Even though I'm a back of the pack runner, I felt supported by the race organizers from the moment I picked up my bib to the moment I came across the finish line. The views on this course are unlike any other I've experienced to date. My experience on the Newport course was not an easy one but I know it's a race that I'm never going to forget. I totally recommend folks give the Newport Marathon a try for their Rhode Island race! Just make sure you prepare better than I did. 😉

(copied from my blog review here: https://fiveleveninety.blogspot.com/2019/10/race-review-inaugural-oktoberfest-4.html)

This past Sunday, Cassie and I ran the inaugural Oktoberfest Four Miler hosted by Mighty Squirrel! Because the race was so local to us and at one of our favorite places to hang out after work (I mean we found out about this race during a work happy hour at Mighty Squirrel), we decided to give it a go! This was the first year that this race was being run, so I tried to keep that in mind as I was evaluating how things were managed throughout the day.

As the race was starting at 10am and bib pick up was ending at 9:30, we thought it'd be good to get there around 9am since the race was new and we weren't sure what the flow would look like at the event the morning of. I picked Cassie up at her place around 8:50 and we buzzed over to the brewery for 9. I was pleasantly surprised at how much parking was available, because it's sometimes difficult to find a spot at Mighty Squirrel when you're just heading over for drinks. The race was completely sold out so I figured parking would be a nightmare, but we snagged a spot so close to the door of the brewery where packet pick up was taking place.

One thing that was kind of a bummer was the fact that even though they were originally planning to distribute medals for this race, I guess the company making the medals misprinted them so the race organizers decided to cancel the order. Because this was a RaceCancer event, you have to make a $5 donation to receive a medal which I opted into. I thought it would be so cool to have a medal for an inaugural race! The race organizers sent out an email updating us regarding the situation the night before, and also informed us of what happened at bib pick-up. You had the option of donating the $5, getting your $5 refunded, or getting 3 raffle tickets in exchange for the $5. I decided to just donate my $5. It was a bummer not to get a medal, but at least they were up front about it and had a back up plan. Cassie and I are both so curious as to how badly they could have misprinted the medal that they wanted to cancel the order, though. 😂 #novemberfest

As we were waiting for the race we made some BibRave friends, Danielle and Lars! Danielle was tapering for an upcoming marathon so she opted out of this race (which I mean I technically am as well but I'm a bad runner so I don't taper correctly 🤷😂), but her partner Lars ran and we were about the same pace so we were right around each other most of the way! It's always great to make some running buddies on race day.

The race kicked off right at 10am and to say that this course is hilly is an understatement. A better way to describe it is this race is a hill. Nearly the whole thing. 😂 The only part that isn't uphill is the very beginning of the race then about mile 3.25 to the finish. Cassie and I did a lot of speed-walking during this race, that's for sure. This is the course description sent to all participants the night before the race:

"Course: The course has a brutal hill from mile 1 to 2 which kinda keeps going up past mile 3. Roads will have a partial closure--please stay to the right."

Even though the race was mostly hills and walking, we still managed to complete the race in 48:45 - not bad at all, in my opinion! This race also printed your results for you on-site, which is a fun feature I've been seeing at a few races lately. I love being able to take my results with me! After we finished up we headed back to the brewery for post-race celebratory beers. Each runner got two free drink tickets, and they were giving out free pretzels (which they actually ended up running out of - bummer!)

Overall I really enjoyed my time with this race. If I didn't know that this was the inaugural year of this race I probably wouldn't have been able to tell. The check-in process was smooth, the course was well marked and staffed, and the post-race party was a blast. We actually ended up staying a few hours after the race just hanging out and chatting with our new runner pals! I definitely would be interested in participating in this race again in the future.

(copied from my blog review here: https://fiveleveninety.blogspot.com/2019/10/race-review-ocean-beachjohn-jessie.html)

In August I participated in the Ocean Beach/John & Jessie Kelley Half Marathon down in New London, Connecticut. I was searching for a half marathon to round out the summer and came across this one that just so happened to be free for runners. You can read more about the story of the race here (https://www.kelleyroadrace.com/shop), but I thought it was so cool that a race that has been around for as long as this one has still operates solely off donations and that folks who love to race can participate for free if they would like. I donated some money to the race while I was signing up because I thought the initiative was just so cool and something I hadn't seen before. I wanted to keep it alive!

I tried to keep in mind that this race was free as I was evaluating how things were being run. One of the first things that I really noticed was that bib pick up was a little on the chaotic side. There really wasn't a lot of direction as to where to go and how to pick up your bib, so it was pretty overwhelming trying to swim through the crowds and figure out where I was supposed to go. I was a little worried that that was going to be reflective of the entire race, but thankfully that was the only real complaint I had about how the race was managed all day.

Race morning was absolutely gorgeous and sunny, but It was going to be a HOT ONE. That always makes me pretty nervous when I'm running a long distance, but I wasn't really trying to strive for a fast time. I was just there trying to put some miles toward my Newport Marathon training and enjoy the scenery. I opted to take the run super easy and one mile at a time.

The race limits the field to the first 1,000 registrants and it was completely sold out! I love when I'm part of a sell out field. That's how I know I'll be running with folks nearby the entire race. I made some small talk with the runners around me as we awaited the national anthem and did some warm ups and stretches, and before I knew it we were off on the course.

I felt super nauseous for the first three miles of the race. I was honestly questioning whether or not I should take a DNF because the starts just were not aligning for me, but eventually I settled into the race and I started to feel better. I just put one foot in front of the other and kept on trucking through the heat and humidity. The route was absolutely gorgeous and we got so many waterfront views. It's one of those races that just make you feel so lucky to be outside enjoying the scenery, you know?

I will say that the course support for a local race was so great. There were water stops every mile and a half or so, all with enthusiastic volunteers cheering us on. One of my favorite stations was mile 8 where they were handing out bags of ice cubes. I didn't know how much a needed a bag of ice cubes until I was handed a bag of ice cubes, haha. I walked for a while with the bag on my head as the ice cubes melted down. The community was also so great with cheering on the runners. I passed so many houses that just had their hoses going for runners to run through and get cool refreshing relief from the unrelenting heat. I love when neighbors do that along the course!

This half was one of my longer halfs to date, which between the heat and my feeling gross for the first quarter of the race makes a whole lot of sense. I ended up finishing at 2:46:08 and crossed the finish line to so many friendly faces. The race itself had a 3 hour time limit but it seemed like a decent amount of runners just stuck around to cheer everyone across the finish line, which was so nice to see! I also stuck around for a while longer and cheered the last few runners through. I love that feeling of camaraderie at a race! 😊

Even though the race was free to participants, you still got a medal at the end of the race which I wasn't really expecting and was so pleasantly surprised! I figured that because the race is free that it was just going to be a get-your-bib-and-run situation, but you still got a medal to commemorate your accomplishment which was amazing! They were also giving out waters (which I obviously took) and I believe they were giving away some bananas as well. They also had a hose-shower at the finish line to cool off with. Not too shabby for a free race, in my opinion!

Overall this race was great, and something that I'm definitely considering participating in every year. I don't really have a race that I always run on an annual basis, but I can totally see this race being that race for me. Such a fun, well put together race for the very very affordable price of free! 😏

(copied from my blog review here: http://fiveleveninety.blogspot.com/2019/08/race-review-sour-apple-half-marathon.html)

In July I traveled down to Smithfield, Rhode Island to run the Sour Apple Half Marathon. This race was extremely local to me - about a half hour away! - which isn't very usual for the races I sign up for. It was nice to be so close to the race I was running for a change and that I didn't have to use up the majority of my day traveling back and forth. The race was put on by Ocean State Multisport which is an organization that puts on lots of races throughout southern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. I hadn't run one of their races before but I honestly had such a great time that I know I'll definitely be running another race of theirs in the future!

The morning of this race was SO HOT. Before we started, the race director brought all the runners in for a quick chat (the race field was so small that we could all gather around him! 😂) and let us know that the race staff had put his personal cell phone number on every one of the directional signs throughout the course and if for whatever reason we could not finish the race, to please call them so they could come pick you up. He encouraged the runners to "not be a hero" when it came to the heat, and if we had to take a DNF that day that he would provide a free race entry for next year. That was super encouraging and one of the reasons why I love to run these smaller races from time to time. I tend to prefer larger races, but things like that are not things that happen at bigger races at all!

Right before the gun went off for the start, a runner behind me said something that both made me laugh and kept me motivated:

"13 miles for breakfast, not bad!"

That phrase stuck in my head throughout the entire race and I'll probably always thing of it when I run half marathons from here on out! The course itself was extremely hilly and rural. The first two and last two miles were the only miles that were in neighborhoods. The rest of the course was through heavily wooded back roads and several farms. The good part about this was that most of the course was shaded which was honestly a life saver. I'm not sure if I would have been able to make it through the race had it not been for the shade.

Even though we were running through quite a bit of country, the race did a great job of providing plenty of aid stations (one about every 1.5 miles) and lots of directional signage so you knew exactly where you going. One of the BEST things that the race provided on the course was BLUE GATORADE! I swear every race that I've been to, if they've offered Gatorade it's usually always lemon-lime flavor, so it's really an exciting novelty when there's a different kind. I was so excited that I had to snap a photo. 😂

The later miles of this race were really the hilliest, which posed a fun challenge when you're totally gassed 😂 Even though I was tired and hot, I wanted to make the most of the beautiful scenery so I tried to have fun with it by snapping photos and commemorating the race!

One of the cooler parts of the race was that after you finished, they provided you a little receipt with your race results. I'm not really a runner that will put a lot of weight on where I placed or even really my time (#finishlinesnotfinishtimes), but it was cool to have a tangible piece of how my race went! The medal itself was adorable and colorful as well, so I was happy to have a couple of fun post-race takeaways.

While this race did not have a ton of bells and whistles, it was an extremely welcoming environment and the race staff and volunteers were excellent. The course was beautiful and the support on the course was top notch. Honestly, it was everything that I could possibly need in a race, and it was right in my backyard. I was super happy with how the day went and I will definitely be running another Ocean State Multisport race!

Oh, and also I was able to get some post-race Marylou's, which is always a bonus. 😉

(copied from my blog review here: http://fiveleveninety.blogspot.com/2019/07/race-review-wallis-sands-half-marathon.html)

Back in May, I ran the Wallis Sands Half Marathon in Rye, NH! This was my first race post-Marathon Maniacs attempt and in true Riley fashion, I did not train for this race. I actually kind of forgot that it was happening until a couple of days before. 😂 Woops! I've been eyeing this race ever since I started racing longer distances, but for whatever reason it's sold out before I could register or the weekend doesn't work for my schedule. This year the stars aligned and I was able to participate!

I made the trek up to New Hampshire bright and early on the morning of the race. It was a gorgeous day for running - just cool enough with an overcast sky. It was great to be back in my home state and enjoying the 18 miles of coastline that the Granite State boasts. I picked up my bib and my race shirt (which is actually one of my favorite race shirts I've gotten to date!) and headed back to my car to kill time before the race began.

The start went in waves which I didn't know was going to happen. There were 6 waves total (plus a wave of walkers that headed out first) and they were based on estimated finish times, faster times going first and slower times taking up the rear. The race officials were really great about holding the waves to their allotted times - there were definitely folks who tried to go earlier! But a clean start really does help a race run smoother and the officials were great about maintaining the correct flow of the start.

The course was really beautiful. The first few miles take you right down the coast which is so serene at that time of year! It's still a bit too chilly in mid-May for the beach towns in NH to start filling in, so it is very calm and relaxed. Taking in the scenery was so nice while running! After a few miles you're taken into the surrounding neighborhoods where the course can be quite hilly, but is still very quintessential small-town New Hampshire. We passed by farms, churches, small hole-in-the-wall restaurants, THE WORKS. It really just felt like I was home again and it felt great!

Water stops were perfectly spaced every 1.5-2 miles which I always appreciate. The race put on a contest for the best decorated water stop which runners got to vote on in a post-race survey*, so every volunteer was super spirited for this race which I loved. There was also a surprising amount of crowd support for such a small town race! It seemed like every major corner we turned there was someone with a sign and a cowbell cheering runners on. It really does wonders to your motivation, even if they aren't cheering you on in particular! 😊

I felt really great throughout this race. There were definitely some ~rolling hills~ throughout the course (because, New Hampshire) but I felt like I was able to keep a really great pace through the majority of the race! The one thing that snagged up my running flow was the fact that I BONKED HARD at mile 9. You can even see in my splits where exactly I lost steam. I know it's because I did not eat enough for breakfast that morning or dinner the night before, and I was STARVING and EXHAUSTED from mile 9 to when I finished. All I could think about when I was running those final miles was how much food I was going to eat when I was done running. 😂 It happens!

I finished in 2:22:20 (lots of 2s) which is one of my better half marathons in recent years! I'm really proud of myself for how speedy I was despite not training (literally at all) and it felt great to know that I CAN maintain a good speed across a longer distance and I don't have to hold myself back so much.

The event did have a post-race BBQ which unfortunately was dampened by some rain showers rolling through. It didn't stop me from grabbing as much food as humanly possible before scurrying to my car with my medal! They had burgers, hot dogs, pizza, cookies, bagels, bananas, fruit snacks, EVERYTHING! Loved how big of a spread they had. My one critique was that they only had one line for food which, you know, isn't the most ideal situation when you're dealing with a bunch of hungry runners with sore legs. The last thing we want to do is stand in line! However my gratitude for having food at the end of the run greatly outweighed my crankiness toward waiting in line (which we can probably chalk up to me being hangry anyway 😂).

This was an fantastic race! (I feel like I always say I would recommend a race during my race reviews, but lately races have been killing it in their treatment of their runners and this one is no different!) If you're looking for a New Hampshire half that brings all of the best parts of the Granite State in one course, Wallis Sands is a great option. Give it a try next year! I had a great time. 😊