Manchester City Marathon

This is not a PR course. The first half is fairly hilly. The bigger hills are definitely downhill, but that can also be hard on your legs. There is nothing super steep, but the hills are pretty constant the first half. You also run on a dirt/gravel trail from mile 17-23. This was hard for me to keep my speed on the uneven surface. The spectators were great and the organization was top notch. This race is the obvious choice for a 50 stater for New Hampshire.

This marathon course has most of the hills during the first half of the course. The second half of the course is mostly an out and back on a bicycle trail. The highlight was running around inside of a baseball field that had the giant TV on so you couuld see your self running around the field . It was a cold rainy day, so spectators were few. However, the volunteers at the water stations were excellent! It should be noted that for food at the rest stops, they gave out small packets of maple syrup , not Gu shots. This race is really for runners, no bands on the course or expo. You can get your bib race day morning with ease. Results were provided quickly. Food at the end was suppose to be soup, but they ran out before 3 hours into the race! Both medal and long sleeve tech shirt were very nice! Very nice race to do to get New Hampshire off your 50 state list.

I ran this race for my 30th marathon and I really enjoyed the course. It's a tougher marathon due to the hills and some of the descents are a bit steep to go really fast. I did not realize a portion was run on actual trails. I loved the trails but they did mess up my timing and I rolled my ankle on a large rock due to not paying attention to the trail. It's a great smaller race but not too small that you feel isolated. Organization was top notch and great after party. I loved running around the city as it's historic and has some interesting architectural to looks at. I'd definitely recommend this one if you are looking for a more challenging race.