Latest reviews by Erica Haynes

(2014)
"Fireworks!?"
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I love running through the neighborhoods of Downtown Dallas and this course delivers on scenery. The race started with a party with fireworks when each corral was released, and the course was full of entertainment and spectators. Compared to other races I have done this one was not hilly at all, and just remained enjoyable throughout. The Dallas residents really make this race exciting including the naked cowboy passing out beer and the people across the street handing out margaritas. The expo had a decent amount of vendors including local races that I was able to spend all of my money at. I stayed at the Sheraton, which is not the host hotel, and was able to get to the start line/expo in just a short 15-20 minute walk, beats sitting in traffic and looking for parking any day of the week. I will definitely be returning to this race next year and I am beyond excited.

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(2014)
"Flying Piggy!!"
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Let begin by saying I love to race local and this race confirms exactly why smaller town races are just as much fun as the big ones. This race was my 2nd half marathon with my 1st being the Rock N Roll Dallas, therefore this was a completely different race even though it was the same distance. There was not a big race expo but a small in and our packet pickup at local running stores in the area. It allowed to me to get my bib and shirt, and pick up all of the last minute essentials I needed.

Finally race morning was here, I ignored all of the emails telling me to arrive at least a hour before start time because in my mind "surely it can't be that big...it's just Plano and I live 15 min away, I'll leave my house one hour before the start". That backfired. While traffic wasn't horrible it was just enough congestion to give me the extra anxiety that I didn't need. Part of the registration allowed for free VIP parking (AKA extra close parking) to the festival for the runners at the beautiful Collin College Campus. After parking getting my fifteen pounds of gear on and meeting up with friends, and tweeps it was pretty much time to start to running... on time. I love races that start on time.

There was very minimal congestion at the start and after mile one the hills came, and they were most definitely Texas sized ones. I'm not a fan of hills at all, but it became very easy to forget about the hills once you saw the hot air balloons floating your directions. Shortly after the start of the half the hot air balloons launch. As you're running you see all of the different balloons floating around you over the beautiful Texas landscape and you forget about the hills, the heat, and how there's still 11 miles to go. But that's okay because you will still see the balloons throughout the entire course.

There were plenty of water stations with cold water and powered properly placed throughout the course which was great because the Texas heat and humidity was very high on this particular day. The course allowed you to go through different neighborhoods in Plano which is one of my favorite areas to run through (extra motivation) and it had volunteers everywhere. I loved seeing youth volunteers out there on the course, I've never seen so many young volunteers before and their energy was exactly what runners needed.

After running through the neighborhood the course ended up on local paved trails to complete the final five miles which was really nice. I'm not really one to enjoy nature, but the trails are beautiful when it's lit up with brightly colored tech shirts and shoes. Before you know it you're back on the course where the first mile was for the final mile, and volunteers rocked it in giving us slower runners the extra boost we needed to finish. I finally finished in a less than favorable time, but whatever, I finished.

I got my sweet super awesome hot air balloon medal and time to find my free breakfast, but first I had to sit down. It was very very hot and I needed to cool of quickly, and luckily they had ice cold water waiting at the finish line. I quickly found the breakfast line which was provided by Central Market which was actually good (eggs, bacon, hash browns, coffee/water) and I was pretty happy.

One of the exciting things about this race in general is that it is part of a festival. So once you're done it's not so much that you have to pack up leave. There are vendors selling locally made jewelry, food, kids area with various activities, more food, hot air balloons music and just a great time. I would highly recommend that runners try this race out at least once because of the experience. I cannot say it enough how awesome it was to run under the hot air balloons. Nothing beats wanting to give up on a hill and looking over beautiful landscape to see a giant piggy poking out from over the trees!

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(2014)
"Fun Summer Race"
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I love to race local, and this was the perfect local race. It was put on my The Turning Point, which is an organization to help victims of bullying and sexual abuse. All of their services are free of charge and they go above and beyond to make a difference. I picked up my packet the day of the race and it took less than five minutes. But during that time I scoped out all the amazing goodies they had. Loads of bagels from Einstein’s, water, Gatorade, cereal bars, granola bars and fruit.

The Race:
At 8:00 the race started and it was time to go, it started with a loop around a lake, and down the trail under some trees (thank God). It was beautiful, and flat, no complaints. It was not a closed course so you had to dodge other runners and bike riders, it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t something I was used to doing in a race. Furthermore I saw a sign that had the symbol for horses, I was thinking that surely there weren’t any people riding horses along this trail. I’m aware of the fact that I live in Texas, but you don’t really see people on horses, at least where I live. Wrong, there were horses, I was in shock and couldn’t even comprehend possibly taking a picture. At the turn around point at 1.5 miles there was water and time to head back. Which is where I have my one problem with this race. In the beginning you run around the lake and go down the trail, the ending point of the loop around the lake is where the start finish line is. However, when you come back and have already completed 2.5 miles in the sun, running around the lake with no shade completely killed my mental state especially when the finish line was literally right in front of me, ice cold Gatorade was right in front of me, along with food. I run/walked sweaty miserable self around the lake and finished and immediately grabbed a Gatorade. They had a raffle, which was very generous of the organization, and the best part happened. The In-n-Out Burger truck arrived to feed us. The whole loop around to the finish line quickly became a distant memory. Overall I enjoyed the race, and it was nice to see such an amazing organization get such support from the community.

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(2014)
"Gladiator Rock'n Run"
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I’m a bit late writing this review, but I feel as if I just not got rid of all the soreness from the run (ha). I have always been terrified to do a real obstacle race such as this one because I didn’t think I could complete it. In addition to that I hurt myself when I fell at the Lozilu Mud Run, and messed up my shoulder. Well, I was beyond wrong. We pulled up paid our insane $10 for parking, checked our bags and got lined up on time to have a separate MC warm us up for the send off. Dan “Nitro” Clark, the man behind the race, explained the rules, including the “if you skip and obstacle you must do ten burpees” rule. Off we went.

The Race:
The beginning obstacles started off pretty basic, net climb, walk on beams, climbing over small walls… and then came the burpees…with cinderblocks. Meaning when it’s time for you to come up, if you’re a woman you pick one block up with you, men took two up. I’m 99% my form sucked, but I did my set of ten. After that things got interesting. I would soon approach my favorite obstacle, the “Trenches of Torment”. It involved a tunnel that was made underground and filled with water just below the knees (I’m 5’5) in the darkness, with a mud roof and walls. Best part of the race in my opinion, probably because it hurt my body the least. Run a bit through some grass, and go jump in a dumpster and pray to God you get out. This obstacle left me with bruises in ungodly places from attempting to climb out over the side, I’m thankful for the random person who totally grabbed my butt to help push me out. Run some more and bam there’s an inflatable Buddha, and hey there are some sand bags you need to carry down a path and bring back. Everyone looked absolutely miserable doing this task, but it was the best break from the dumpster dive. After that everything was pretty easy for a while, there were random hills of nothing but slick mud on a steep incline. Everyone had to work together, once we made it up, we stayed to help some people up as well. The four obstacles… my goodness, first off rope climb-with my shoulder I couldn’t do it, and I had a late wave so the ropes were covered in mud. The same was true of “The Beast” (a vertical wall with a slight incline with a rope) once again not a chance; I paid the burpee penalty instead. There was also the “Morning Wood” which required at least eight people before they would let you start, because you have to carry a freaking telephone pole in a circle. This screwed my shoulder up even more, left a bruise, and it was scrapped up from the pole-worth it. After that, my 10 burpees from not doing “The Beast” and I was on my way to do the one obstacle I waited for- jumping over fire and getting that awesome fire picture. Unfortunately it was really windy so there wasn’t really a fire, but I still jumped like there was a big fire because well… I still wanted an awesome picture.

Overall I had a great experience, it was an excellent challenge for me to take on. I’m not sure if I would be doing any more obstacle course style races, but this one definitely opened the door to potential new ones. I cannot praise this company enough for being super organized and hosting an amazing venue, and post race party. Dan “Nitro” Clark, is an amazing guy he gave his gladiators a personal send off before their wave started, interacted with everyone throughout the whole event, and was just super. It was just refreshing to see someone so involved, and I would recommend this race to anyone in any part of the country.

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(2014)
"Perfect Beginners Obstacle Course"
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I wasn't sure about getting dirty in the mud, but I knew I wanted to try and obstacle style race with light mud. Lozilu fits that perfectly. It's all women which is great, because it was a less intimidating environment.

Swag: A burlap tote, non-slip headband (cute), finisher's medal, and a towel for teams of 10 or more. It was nice to get a bag, and headband over another race shirt.
Course: There were hills, and downhills and of course obstacles.
Obstacles: They were challenging, but not over challenging to the point where I felt intimidated by them. There were plenty of women on the course to offer encouraging words, and volunteers to help out on trickier ones. Also, if you choose to skip an obstacles there was no shame, and no penalties.
Overall: I had a good time, and will be back again next year for a fun filled girls day mud run. The medal was amazing, the pictures at the end of the race were affordable, and it was worth every penny.

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