Frisco Railroad Run (formerly the Frisco Marathon)

Distances for everyone...8K, Half, Marathon, 50K and 50 miler. The small race is an out and back on the old rail line so it is flat and shaded. The event has ultra food tables, instead of only gels you also have chips, pickles, pb&j, oranges, etc!!! Plenty of volunteers and a porta potty at each support stop. Also, just before the finish line is a brewery that was open and we sat there afterwards cheering other runners in.

I ran this on 4/24/21. I drove down from St Louis and picked up my packet the evening before. Packet pickup was very quick and easy. No expo, but that is fine with me. The morning of, I arrived at the start area at 6:30 for a 7am start. There was plenty of parking at the Middle School, and I didn't have to walk a mile or take a shuttle. They had the school open, so we had access to large indoor areas including restrooms (which was nice because a light rain was falling that morning). The first (and last) 2.5 miles are on a paved trail, and the rest is unpaved 'chat' (hard-packed crushed gravel). Trail was in very good condition. I was expecting mud, because it had rained during the night, but the trail was not wet or muddy at all. I guess it drains well! I wore trail shoes, but road shoes would have been fine. Most people wore regular road running shoes. The trail is flat and straight, a little boring but pleasant enough scenery (mostly fields and farmland, with trees on either side of the trail most of the way). There were a few road crossings, but they are in rural areas, and we never had to wait for cars or deal with any traffic at all. It was very cloudy on our race day, but on a sunny day I think there would be enough shade from the trees. The course was never crowded, but there were enough runners that I never felt alone out there. The course is a simple out and back, and after the first few miles it was nice to see the leaders coming back in from the 50k and marathon divisions. So I never felt bored out there. The trail has mile markers posted trailside, but the race starts at about the six mile mark of the trail, so you have to correct for that in your head. I just broke down the race into quarters for the purposes of pacing myself, because there is an unmissable turnaround point for the half-marathoners at the quarter-marathon mark, which doubles as the 3/4 mark on the way back, and obviously the marathon turnaround as well. The aid stations were very well stocked. Otherwise there were only a few spectators out there, mostly at the road crossings. Obviously this is not a big city marathon. My only criticism is, I didn't love the t-shirt, which was kind of basic, not a tech shirt. Overall, though, a great experience.

The course is a simple out and back on the Frisco Highline Trail. Asphalt for the first/last two miles; packed gravel & dirt for the rest. Aid stations are every 2.5 miles and are well stocked with water, Gatorade, gels, and other snacks. There are more cows than people watching this race - one you get outside of Willard, there is not much but farmland and trees. The race director advertises this as a PR course, and I would agree. Any change in elevation is minimal and the slopes are gradual (this is an old railroad track, after all). Bonus points for a very good looking medal.