Dam to Backpocket 7 mile Run

I picked up my t-shirt and bib number on Friday, one day before the race. They also gave me a glass with the Backpocket emblem embedded on the glass.

Cost of the race: $45 dlls.

Buses departed from Backpocket at 4:00 PM on Saturday. They took us to the Coralville dam, where race started. We walked to one of the shelters on the one side of the dam, where there were bathrooms. The shelter was a nice place to hang out before the race, which started at 5:00 PM.
First mile is tough because first we go downhill, but then we have to climb up the first hill again. Once we get to the Overlook Rd things get flat. The bicycle trail on Dubuque Rd is not too hard. Most of it is downhill.
The "heartbreak hill" was at the peninsula neighborhood. There was a table with water just before the hill, which was very nice. I received third place in my age group. Unfortunately, no medals are given in this race.

Very happy with my chronos this year, improved more than a minute from last year:

2013:   56:43 min
2014:   56:23 min
2016:   55:15 min

Results: http://xterrasugarbottom.com/backpocketrun.com/files/Dam-Backpocket-Run_7-Dam-Miles_Overall_Div_old.html

Amana Millstream Amana Back Roads Half Marathon

I registered a day before the race trying to save some money on on-line fees. Cost of the race was $65 dlls. On the expensive side, but a lot of half marathons are about that price these days. Walk-in registration ran from 5:30 to 7:00 PM on Friday. I got a t-shirt this time. Not a bad quality t-shirt.

Race started at 7:00 AM on Saturday. Excellent time to avoid the warm weather. The director did a wonderful job letting runners how much time there was left before the race started. There was plenty of parking near the start line.

There were 137 runners for the half-marathon, 65 males and 72 females. There was a 5K race that started at the same time than the half-marathon. There were enough porta-potties near the start line.

First couple of miles were on asphalt. Rest of the race was on gravel roads. Some parts of the road were nice to the feet, but others were too rough (to go barefoot). There is a tough hill in mile seven (from 724 ft to 892 ft). A couple of other hills are also a little bit tough. On mile 10.25 you go down on a steep hill and then gets flat again to the finish line. You can find a map of the race with elevation chart @ http://www.mapmyrun.com/us/fairfax-ia/back-road-half-marathon-route-325368875.

There were enough water tables on the way. Most of them provided runners with water and/or Gatorade. There were volunteers in most of the turns, and not being an elite runner, it was easy to follow the route with other runners.

Results were posted a few hours after the race the same day. http://www.wayzataresults.com/event/show/355387862.

Award ceremony started around 10:00 AM. Socks were given to first three places in each age group. It seems to me there was a mistake, and 60 and + group did not get awards. That was a misfortune because these guys deserved proper recognition. I hope the director pays more attention to this important detail. It's not about the award, but the recognition all these runners deserve.

Medals were given to all finishers. It's not a bad medal, but I have seen better ones. The medal can be used to open Mexican beer!