Maryland Half Marathon Review

This is the first installment of the Big Blue race review. We will review each race that we participate in and give an overall rating using a 1 to 10 scale with ten being the highest. Four separate areas will be looked at during the review: course, operations, communications, and trinkets.

The first race reviewed is this past Sunday’s Maryland Half Marathon. Darby and Chris from Big Blue Running participated.

Course: The course was difficult but fair. The first three miles were a steady up hill climb leaving the fair grounds. Mile 8 features the most difficult phase with a 1.5 mile up hill on Thornton Road. You reach the top and are rewarded with a nice downhill thinking you are done. Then you turn on to Seminary Road at mile ten and are faced with a steep incline while battling traffic. This is where I have to give a poor rating. The roads were not closed during the race and with the limited shoulders on Seminary, there was a huge amount of danger. By this point in the race runners are exhausted and focusing on traffic should no be of concern. I hate to say this but if this procedure is continued there will be tragedy. Several times during the race we where affected by vehicles. Please, take the race away from the east end of Seminary and keep us safe. Running through the neighbors gave us a chance to interact with people. Kids were cheering us on and even had their own water stations set up. People were drinking, barbecuing and celebrating the event. The finish has to change. We ran the last ½ mile on the horse track and I was not sure if I was running from the police in O.C. or was chasing down Rachael Alexander. This surface was a killer.

Operations: The operations were excellent for a first time event but I am not taking the course safety issues in to consideration in this area. There was plenty of well staff, highly supplied and well placed water stations. The registration and pick up procedures were uncomplicated. The Baltimore County Police were on the ball keeping us safe even with the open roads. The after party seemed good but I wanted a free beer.

Communication: The members of the neighborhoods complained that there was little information on the few road closures and expected delays. Also, I tried to register late and had to send an email to find out how to register during the packet pick-up.

Trinkets: I will be direct and say the shirts stink. The basic red cotton tee does not match the level of this race. Charge me $5 more and give me shirt I am proud to wear while giving the event free advertising. My shirt will be adverting to other items at the land fill. The metal was top notch and unique.

Overall I give the race a 6 which can easily be changed with upgrading the shirt and making Seminary RD safer. Having the Governor start the race did bring my scoring down. I don’t think the racers were happy when he said he was taxing runners an extra 30% to pay for those who can’t afford to run in these events. I just hope someone runs against the “Tax Man”.