Footstock Race Weekend

I will definitely come back next year. It's worth the long trip in my case. They have good refreshments, good organization, and good course markings.

Course: Shaded, winding, red-shale trail (fun!) and straight, out-and-back, exposed gravel road (tough!); there was some repetition of loops of the shale path, which was not too bad as I became quite familiar with where the aid stations were located. But have to say I was glad to be done. Cochrane is a hilly town, so the hill at 13K was expected. Small field was also expected, but not lonely thanks to the out-and-backs and the other races going on at the same time plus the variety of going over and under bridges and across street. Loved merging into the 10K and half marathon course, which gave some contrast of quiet moments and gregarious moments. At first thought I didn't like so many out-and-backs but it did allow us runners to see each other once in a while. Frequent aid stations with gel and Gatorade was an unexpected plus. Organization: very smooth. RD kept in touch via email. Registration was easy. The race team welcomed comments and actually listened. Tons of prizes. Lots of local runners. Friendly atmosphere. Pancake brunch. Great race announcer. Chip timed. Massage was truly fantastic as the therapist took her time and didn't rush at all. You can tell this race is put on by a group of dedicated runners and a lot of work went into making it run so smoothly. Spectators: not many but lots of encouraging volunteers who had a registration list in hand and cheered us on by name. I thought that was a nice thing. Overall I enjoyed this but if I come back it would be to support a local race rather than for the run itself. Personally I like either a road course or a trail course; this one was kind of in-between, which is maybe why I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to make of it. It's a great training run, however. There was some talk about possible course change for next year. Course preferences are such a personal thing; Footstock has an organizing team that knows how to put on a race and that's the core of what made this weekend such a success, for me! There were 36 people in the marathon, 200+ in the half! Plus there's a Kids of Steel, 5K, 10K, and duathlon....