Classic. A must do atleast once, twice or three times in your life time. We check it out every…read moresummer. Get out of your usual rut/routine and go there for a race or two.

July 10, 2011 was the first Mad Marathon, and it was a great inaugural event! The staff and…read morevolunteers were super-friendly, as well as everyone else in town. This event really had a friendly small-town feel and I felt very welcome. The course itself was beautiful and scenic, and there were plenty of water/Gatorade/Gu stops on the course. However, the hills were much more challenging than the website let on. In their defense, they do have an elevation chart on the website, but it's hard to really tell how difficult the hills are from the chart, and the course description really downplayed their size. These definitely are not "rolling hills", and anyone who does not live and/or train in this kind of area is in for a rude awakening. I was lucky that I drove the course the day before or else I would have planned a really ill-advised running strategy. The solution is really easy: the course description just needs to be revised before next year to more accurately prepare runners for what is to come. More bathrooms would be a good idea, as would more free food at the finish. I'm not a big stickler about race swag, but after 26.2 miles I really need something more substantial (and gentler to my stomach) than donuts and cider. Some fruit or bagels would be nice. There were a few food vendors in the finish area, but I don't normally carry money during a race. I love the technical T-shirt and the fact that the medals for the marathoners and half-marathoners were different. However, the two goodie bags (one at the expo and one at the finish) were a little excessive. My advice would be to keep the grocery bag (useful) and ditch the drawstring bag. Give it to us at the expo with all the swag, and use the money saved for more food at the end. For an inaugural event, the race was well-organized with few real problems. I would recommend it to others, with a sharp warning about the size of the hills.

Great Marathon in an awesome small town environment. The locals are great and are happy to…read moreencourage you along. The hills are no joke though...you don't get it...they're NO JOKE.

Fun 5k + extreme bounce houses = Awesome!…read more With your entry you get a t-shirt, a beer, a free bag check, and discount on merchandise. The course was not hard like most fun 5k. It is not timed and the inflatables were fun. Some of the slides were HOT as it heated up in the sun and it was dangerous sliding down if it touched bare skin. I got burned as did many on my team. No water obstacles for this race. Pro tip: parking was $10 but you could have just parked across the street at the mall for free.

Who doesn't want to run deep into the night? I found this 24 hour ultra while looking up races on…read morerunningintheusa.com. I signed up too late but managed to get into the 30 mile race event, which is a few more miles than the marathon distance. The Ghost Train 24 hr ultra & Haunted 30 miler is a themed ultra distance event in the heart of Milford, New Hampshire. The course was designed to be this way, since it was close enough to Halloween. The course was 15.5 miles per loop, set in a park trails around the Milford, NH area. The 24 hour event started at 9am on Friday and the Haunted 30 mile event started at 5pm on Saturday. It was an odd hour to start an evening race, but it was cool to be able to run in the middle of the night. Head lamps are required for a night time race. I arrived here at the race venue around 4pm via Uber. After picking up my race number, I chatted with the locals before we need to line up for the race start. At 5pm, we were off and started my 1st loop of 15.5. There was 2 aid stations on the course, along with the one at the start/finish area. The course was good and nice. Quite flat trail with an unexpected hill with roots and plenty of places to fall and hurt yourself. Since this is event largely takes place in the overnight hours, best thing to do is to carry a headlamp so you can see in the dark. As far as me though, I'm thankful that I had mine juiced up to an appropriate level so I could function in the dark and didn't have to avoid any injuries during the event. Safety first! It's It's a good one for New Hampshire and it's generally held in mid October. The weather is fairly good, but could get chilly in the overnight hours. Bring layers if you need to. The overall experience at the Ghost Train Ultra marathon event was good, fun,and definitely an educational experience. Doing this kind of thing at night has its hazards but brings a lot of rewards as well. I guess you just need to want it more if you are chasing a goal like many who sign up for these kinds of endurance events anywhere around the world. For someone like me who doesn't live in the area, knowledge of the event course and the general area can be a good or bad thing, depending on how you look at it. Thanks to the volunteers and everyone who made this event possible. It was cool to see Halloween themed items out there on the course, but if you're prone to seeing things that aren't there late into the night, it may be a problem! It was a fun addition though and kept up with the Halloween atmosphere. It was cool to be there, especially when the leaves were changing and the traditional fall weather was there to keep us cool, although for some, it was a little too cold. Not me though. Temps in 2024 started around 72 F and dropped to 45 F around 8pm, then 39 F around 3am. It was cool that they had a fire pit with a roaring fire to keep those who needed to keep warm. I was happy that the fire was there. I was happy that a volunteer at the aid station suggested that I warm up at the County building nearby. It was open and I could warm up there while using the restroom facilities too. It was great and much needed. After sunrise, I called an uber and got a quick reply to head back to the hotel. And so, if you want to run your first ultra marathon in New Hampshire or run with an Halloween themed race, consider this one in middle October. The Ghost Train 24 hour Ultra marathon and Haunted 30 miler is a good one. Definitely recommended but be aware of the hill! The Ghost Train 24 hour ultra marathon & Haunted 30 miler is staged in Milford, New Hampshire. Race organization was good and was good to have packet pick up on race day. It's a small ultra that feeds the soul. Like many others out there, race registration is online and requires a major credit card. They did offer merchandise sales on race day and required cash on site. Many participants drove, but the parking options here generally limited parking here for anyone and everyone who either volunteers or is participating. As for Me though, I ended up taking Uber to and from the event venue, which was good. Best bet would be to have some sort of reliable transportation option here since I don't know if the city of Manchester or Milford, New Hampshire has public transportation options to get you here. Or even from Boston, Massachusetts. Just be prepared for the long haul and you'll be definitely rewarded. The aid stations are stocked with your favorite foods, mostly snacks and water but the real food comes out later in the evening and the overnight hours. It's super fun and I encourage everyone and everyone to be inspired and run a marathon or beyond at least once in their lifetime. The Ghost Train 24 hour ultramarathon and Haunted 30 miler in Milford, New Hampshire is a great starting point. Definitely recommended! 5.0 stars for the overall experience. Support local! A+

This is such a great group! It was one of my favorite parts about living in Lowell. It's a…read morebeautiful 5k down by the water followed by an after party! Who does love that?!?! Best part are the PR medals. Each week you are judged against yourself and only yourself. If your time is a PERSONAL RECORD (PR) you get recognized at the after party and given a rubber Miely award. These awards mean so much to me because it's more than participation, it's pushing yourself and proof you're improving as a runner. These were such good inspiration when you're only half a mile out and feel the tank on empty, knowing you just need to shave off 5 secs from your previous best. I recommend this group to all ages and abilities. It won't disappoint.

On Tuesday evenings at 7pm from April through June, runners compete in 5k road races in downtown…read moreLowell. There are ten races in this Springtime running Series, and runners may sign up online or at the beginning of the race. The Good Times 5K Running Series runs every Tuesday night at 7:00 from at the Hookslide Kelly's located at 19 Merrimack Street, in downtown Lowell, MA. All races begin on French Street near Lowell High School (just 1/10th of a mile from the Hookslides) and ends near the beautiful Boarding House Park. The ten week series will feature a different "theme" each week. Runners compete for weekly prizes based on the theme that evening. Runners will also be competing for weekly points that will be counted towards overall series awards (see series scoring). An awards ceremony will be held each week starting at 8:00 PM at Hookslides.

First time I've heard about the New England Challenge was in 2017, the inaugural series was held in…read more2016. What an insane way to pick up states for the half marathon or marathon goal in a minimal amount of time. I've been around the block, but 6 days in a row seems pretty nuts. I've been around long enough to know virtually everyone in the club who's done at least one round of the 50 states marathons. Race morning started at the Granite State marathon / half marathon here in Nashua, New Hampshire. The New England Challenge attracts veteran marathoners and half marathoners who wish to run a half marathon or a marathon up to all 6 states in the series. You decide on what states you want to do or need for your own personal goal(s). With that said, we arrived at Mine Falls Park in Nashua around 5:30am on a brisk Tuesday morning. It was interesting to be running a race on the weekday, even though I was just in Maine the day before! The New England Challenge / Granite State marathon & half marathon draws a small field, which is less than 100 individuals for both events. I ended up running the half marathon for New Hampshire this event, which was quite scenic trails within a large park. You never know you were in a city, since the trails seemed far outside the city. The event was small and felt like a training run, even though it's a race with a race number on your t-shirt. The overall experience here at The Granite State marathon / half marathon in Nashua, New Hampshire was quite nice, quite excellent, and casual. The main thing about the entire series and not just this event is that there is no time limit. Many others do have a one, ranging from 6 hours to 8 hours, depending on the race. It's not festive like many races out there, but you can say that it has its purpose for goal oriented people - like myself. The course is basically multiple loops around Mine Falls Park, which was 4.96 miles once around. We had a shorter out and back loop of 1.6 miles (for the half, 1.4 for the marathon) to do initially before we started the larger loop around the park. It was nice to see familiar faces each time I came across them. I did enjoy the scenery while I went around purposely and it help me motivate myself to keep moving and keep on smiling - since it was just day one and already a bit tired from doing the same thing in ME the day before. The trail itself was nice and we creeped around the river on the last 2 miles of the loop. It was nice and serene, especially during a week day morning. Registration is conducted online, but they do have race day registration. Just need to get there early to fill out an entry form and pay the fee. There was an electronic timing station that was basically next to the main parking area at Mine Falls Park. It recorded the time for every lap that we do, which is cool. The lone aid station was loaded with food and drinks - you probably could gain weight while doing a half marathon or marathon. The support staff was great, cheering us on lap after lap. It was inspiring to see friends out there to help me push forward, even though I had 4 more days of this - just different venues. It was a cozy race that was nice. Mine Falls Park was the ideal location for this race. Upon finishing my half marathon, I announced that I was done and got my finisher medal. I hung out at the finish line area to wait up for a friend of mine to finish. Once everything was in order, we gingerly walked back to the rental car and headed to Vermont day 3 in Springfield the next morning. The appeal for The New England Challenge and doing marathons or half marathons is the economic factor. Doing them all together brings travel costs down a lot, but you'd have to be physically and mentally prepared for such an adventure. For the most part though, I enjoyed my time here in Nashua, NH and at the Granite State marathon & half marathon. 5.0 stars for the overall experience. Consider this race or the series when you are running 50 states half marathon or marathons. Support local! Run More! A+

As soon as I heard about the festival which holds the Guinness World Book Records for the most jack…read moreo lanterns lit at one time (30,581 to be exact), it immediately made its way to my bucket list. It took a few years, but I finally got there and it was just as wonderful as I had hoped, even in the cold rain! The weather added a bit of fog and mystery to this amazing annual festival in a quaint New England town. And really what's more perfect than a sweet little town with incredible foliage and perfect crisp, cool mountain air? The streets of town were absolutely filled with pumpkins! Everywhere we turned there was a new display to discover! Some kept We loved seeing them during the day, and then again at night. Make sure you plan to stay for both! Well worth it! Some shopping around town at both new and vintage stores, costume parade watching, fair and street food truck noshing, games and races for kiddos too. The entire town is one big festival! We enjoyed a seasonal, candle-lit dinner and sat outside where the wait staff were dressed for Halloween, and then it was time to head back to see the pumpkins lit at night! Seeing them all lit up was magical!! The Pumpkin towers was awesome! Don't miss that! I actually thought the bit of rain we experienced was perfect as the light from the Jack o lanterns reflected off the puddles! So even if the weather isn't perfect, don't let that stop you! I've been to a few pumpkin festivals and what I love about this one is they are all real! There's nothing more going on than the simple art of pumpkin carving. Street parking was easy to find. Everyone was super nice and helpful. The entire weekend was amazing! If you have the chance to go, make a weekend out of it!! *older photos did not sync with this review. Check 'em out!