St. Paddy’s Day 5 Miler

Road Race Name: St. Paddy’s Day 5 Miler

Location: Portsmouth, NH

Distance: 5 Miles

Price: $37.75

Race Rating: 7/10

Course Review:

I would say that this course was generally pretty good, but nothing too special. The course started at Paddy's American Grille and led you around some backroads around the outskirts of Portsmouth. The course was a mix between a regular loop and a lollipop. The entire course was ran on roads that had one lane blocked off for runners. You never had to run on a sidewalk which was definitely nice. There were however many potholes since we were in New England. The volunteers did an excellent job marking the potholes and sometimes there was a volunteer who's only job was to point out a pothole to every runner (excellent work!). This ensured that nobody got hurt throughout the race which was very helpful. The sites around the race were nothing to be amazed about, with it mostly being houses on either side or office buildings. I enjoyed the course but it was nothing incredible.

Overall Course Rating: 6/10

Race Atmosphere Review:

The feeling that I got during this race was surprisingly positive considering the temperature was somewhere around 20 degrees at the start of the race. The general excitement for the race warmed most runners up, and didn't damper the mood in my opinion. It was wonderful to celebrate the upcoming holiday with 800 other people, and I highly suggest running a race around a holiday since it gives the atmosphere a special feeling. The post race party was nice, and you could get a glass with the race name on it to take home. Brilliant green long sleeve shirts were also given out that had the date and name of the race. The volunteers at the race did a great job to get everyone their bibs, shirts and food at the end of the race and everything went smoothly in my opinion.

Overall Race Atmosphere Rating: 8/10

Post Race Food and Drink Review:

I would say that the food was delicious but limited. You could get a banana, some chips, a deli sandwich and some soup (chili, or tomato soup). It wasn't a very large spread but it was definitely great to have a nice hot soup after a chilly run around Portsmouth. For drinks there was water and also a beer tent with which you could fill your St. Paddy's 5 Miler glass with. The beer tent was very busy, but everyone was packed together keeping each other warm. I am not sure how great a cold beer was for that chilly day but hey, it's free beer!

Overall Post Race Food and Drink Rating: 6/10