If you're looking for a larger fall 10k near Boston with a finish line party (including beer), this might be your one. Note: since this is an event with alcohol, you must be 21+ to run.

Here's what I thought of the race:

Registration - Entry fees were around $50-60 and included a tech hoodie, finisher's medal, and 3 drink tickets at the finish. The hoodie and medal are quite nice--they didn't skimp on quality there.

Packet Pickup - You could get your bib and jacket the two days before the race, and the morning of. There was a HUGE line an hour before the race, and the race actually had to be pushed back 15 mins because people still hadn't gotten checked in. To avoid the crowds, try to get your bib the day before. The race organizers should consider starting a Boston pickup location, too. Of the 2500+ participants, I'm sure a large chunk came from Boston, as I did.

Course - The 10k winds through the neighborhoods of Salem and is somewhat hilly with 180ft gain (the website says 140ft, but my Garmin registered 180ft). It's not the most scenic, but it's not bad either--I liked the many colorful murals of Salem, and we did get to see a bit of the waterfront. Don't expect a lot of spectators though--there were probably more political groups with campaign signs than actual race spectators lol.

Fuel - There's two aid stations at miles 2 and 4. There was only water at mile 2, and water and Gatorade at mile 4.

Finish Line Party - This was incredibly crowded, it was hard to move around, and lines for beer/cider were long. There was lots of Domino's cheese pizza and some free energy drink/other fuel samples. I would've stayed longer, but I had lots of gear and bag drop closed 1.5 hours after the race start (to allow volunteers to attend the party). If you like big crowds, beer, and dancing, this would be your place. If you want your non-running friends and family to join you at the party, get them to volunteer, as they'll get free entry to the party, a race hoodie, and 3 drink tickets.

Overall, this is a fun race with a pretty chill vibe. I would definitely recommend, but try to avoid the bib pickup crowds by getting yours before the day of the race.

For more details, check out my race recap on my blog: https://www.imperfectidealist.com/2019/09/race-review-salem-road-race-2019.html

I ran the Paris Marathon in April 2019 and broke 4 hours for the first time, running 3:59:27 (a 9-minute PR).

I wasn't sure I would PR as I'd read reviews about the pesky cobblestones and been told by friends that the course wasn't the easiest, especially with the ups and downs as you run along the Seine river bridges towards the end. I actually barely noticed the cobblestones, as they weren't the super uneven medieval ones, but rather the flatter and smoother ones. I also wasn't too bothered by the inclines towards the end--my Garmin also recorded 528ft elevation gain, which isn't negligible, but it also isn't terrible for a marathon. I had done a handful of trail runs in my training, however, which I think helped in making the inclines seem relatively less difficult. Bottom line course-wise: this can be a PR course, if you do some hill work.

Other notes:

Expo - the expo was crowded, but I got my bib in just a few minutes (I arrived the day before the race midday). There are several sports vendors, but not a lot of free food/fuel samples (what I'm always looking for LOL). There is a food court with typical fast food, though.

Swag - the shirt this year was garish and frankly ugly. The fit was good though, and it was made from recycled bottles, which is cool. The medal was also pretty disappointing for such a major race. It was super simple and basic compared to past years, and compared to other smaller scale races.

Course - as I mentioned, the course wasn't really easy or hard; there are some inclines to watch out for towards the end, but they're not bad. It's super nice to run through all the iconic Parisian sites and finish at the Arc de Triomphe. One thing to note: there was a green line along the course that indicated the exact distance; if you follow that, you should get as close as possible to 26.2 (I tried following it and still got 26.5, but it's hard to be exact in a marathon).

Fuel - fuel was every 5k or so, though the first station was about 4mi in. As with most European races, there was no gu or energy drinks, just water bottles and fruits and other solid foods.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this race! There are some points of improvement, but it's such a lovely place to run, and the race logistics are very efficient for such a big race.

Read more details on my blog post here: https://www.imperfectidealist.com/2019/04/race-review-paris-marathon-2019.html

I ran the Barcelona Half Marathon in February 2019 while I was living in France. I finished in 1:47:17, just over 2 minutes off my PR.

A heads up before I begin the rest of my review: when you register, you'll be asked whether you have a yellow timing chip, or want to rent one. I was very confused by this as I had selected "rent one," but didn't receive one at packet pickup, and panicked when I saw a sea of people with yellow chips on their shoes. Apparently people buy these chips, and they no longer need to get the chip on their bibs, saving them some money (so it's worth it if you race often). Don't panic if you don't get a yellow chip, as long as you have a chip on your bib.

Here's what I thought about the race:

Expo - the expo was very small for a race of this size (almost 20,000 registrants). There weren't a ton of vendors, and it was really just race information and packet pickup.

Course - the race was through the streets of Barcelona, though we didn't really see many iconic sites, other than the Arc de Triomf (we started and finished near there). The race was very flat (a women's world record was broken at this race in 2014), though there were some small inclines.

Weather - the weather was in the 70s (Fahrenheit) and just the right amount of sunny. I actually found this a little too warm for my tastes, having trained in much colder weather.

Fuel - there were aid stations ever 5km or so, and they did have water and energy drinks, but no gu. I don't remember any solid foods, but maybe there were some.

Swag - the v-neck tech t-shirt was super nice (Saucony brand), but the medal was very meh for such a large race.

Management - I normally wouldn't have this section here, but I had a lot of trouble with my registration. I never got the confirmation email, and had to reach out multiple times over a couple weeks over multiple platforms (FB, call, email) to finally get one. It never went through to my Gmail, but ultimately did to my Outlook account. The management was super difficult to reach and took a long time to respond. They also don't speak a ton of English, so be aware of that.

Overall, this is a fun race in an iconic city, but be aware that you may experience registration problems and not get the best customer service. Weather could also be warmer than you're used to in February, so be prepared. I probably wouldn't do this race again if I were in the area, but it was a cool experience (this was actually my first "destination" race).

For more race details, check out my blog post: https://www.imperfectidealist.com/2019/02/race-review-barcelona-half-marathon-2019.html

I ran the Lyon Half Marathon (Semi-marathon de Lyon) in October 2018 while I was living in Dijon. For the first time in 3 years, I ran under 1:55 and almost within 1 minute of my PR (1:45:07 vs. 1:44:03).

Here's what I thought:

Expo - this was outdoors at the Place Bellecour. Lines got horrendously long if you waited until the evening before the race, but were okay if you came mid-day. To save time, upload your medical certificate (physical clearing you to race) online beforehand. This certificate is required for all races in France. There wasn't a ton of free stuff at the expo (the *real* reason I'm there lol), but it was cool that it was outside and in the heart of the city.

Course - fast and flat. I didn't have a gps watch at the time, so I don't know what the elevation gain was, but I don't really remember many inclines, maybe just a couple little ones, tops. The course takes you out along the Saône River, which is mostly residential except at the beginning and end. The course goes back along the same river, but on a different side. It's not the *prettiest* course ever, nor the most spectator-lined (especially in the middle bits), but it's not bad either, and there are lots of spectators when you're in the city. My major issue was that there were inconsistent kilometer signs--I saw the first 5, then they were missing for until 10km, then missing again until 16km. I had to rely on beeping gps watches to get a sense for where I was. There was also a longer tunnel section (maybe 1km) towards the end, which was very stuffy since it was rainy that day.

Fuel - aid stations were every 5km or so, and didn't have energy drinks or gu, as is typical in France. At one station around the 10km mark, there was Stimium gel, which is kind of like a Honey Stinger, but even runnier. There was typically water in cups, and sometimes dried and fresh fruits.

Swag - the shirt was a v-neck tech tee for women, which was well-fitted and decent quality. The medal was pretty nice too.

Overall, a very well-run event, other than the lacking kilometer signs. There were almost 40,000 participants across the 3 events (3000 marathon, 11,000 half, and 16,000 10k), which made for great energy. Definitely an event I would consider doing again if I were in the area!

For more race details, check out my blog post: https://www.imperfectidealist.com/2018/11/race-review-lyon-half-marathon-2018.html