Another year! Another 5k on 4th of July!…read more I especially loved this years race as they added a kids play zone and change the route just a bit so the track ends right at the finish line!

If you want a fun run this is one for you. If you're a competitive runner wanting a staged start…read morebased on you speed you might not like it as much. Organized: Check-in went very well with a decent race goodie bag and nice race shirt. The 2015 t-shirt choice was a patriotic tank top patriotic. The race is controlled start with Team Hoyt going first (as it should be) then 5-10min later the launch of everyone else. Orange cones and race personnel kept everyone on track and the whole event following. I never saw or heard of any hiccups. Parking: Plenty of parking next between the Y and Mt. Trashmore. No problem getting in or out. Race Route: Start (and end) on South Blvd. in front of Mt. Trashmore YMCA. From there you'll enter the park on Mt Trashmore Blvd for about 1.5mi around the back area between the two lakes before popping back on the Mt. T Blvd and South Blvd. Pre and Post Race Activities: For being a small race of approximately 550 to 600 runners it had one of the better set-ups for activities. Child play area, DJ, fruit (oranges, banana's, apples), water bottles, vendors with goodie items. Good job YMCA! Overall: It was a nice fun run supporting the YMCA's programs or for training for a competitive run but not much more than that.

I didn't run the Shamrock 8k in 2021, but I applaud them for their efforts to adapt Shamrock…read moreWeekend to the strange times we're living in while keeping the runners safe. The 2016 Shamrock 8K was my very first race and it will always have a special place in my heart because of that. The race is around the Oceanfront area so the crowd support is awesome! You even have people cheering for you off their balconies in the hotels. Since it's such a large event that means no matter if you're walking it or truly racing it you're going to have a good time. You have some people who go for PRs, but I'd say most dress up and have fun with it. If you're looking for an extra challenge you can sign up for the Dolphin or Whale Challenges which has you run the 8K on Saturday and then either the half or the full on Sunday. The swag you get at the finish and the quality of the after party hasn't been matched by any other race I've attended. Everything is five-star from start to finish.

2018 Yelpie 100 Challenge One of the most fun runs to do…read morewhether you live here or are just visiting!! Lots of music, fun, entertainment, and most importantly, FOOD!!! Crowd support is unbelievable! The police and organizers are wonderful with security and coordination, so such a smooth-running event!!! The medals are great! The Irish stew nourishing!! And, of course, for all you beer drinkers, lots of Yuengling at the finish!!! But make sure you have your ID or wrist band with your beer tickets (on your bib), otherwise, none for you!! The post-race party inside the tent is amazing! Great band playing great music !!! Great way to start your day and end your race!!!‍ but why should the adults have all the fun...bring the kids for the Final Mile!!! Then you can all get your day off to a great start!

Oh how I miss live races. Okay to be completely honest this was one of my least favorite races…read more That being said I still have a few amazing memories from each race weekend and I'd kill for any kind of race at this point so they're still getting 4 stars from me. Usually held Labor Day weekend it is a HOT one. Or there's a tropical storm. Either way the conditions can be pretty brutal. Definitely come prepared for anything and remember the final stretch to the finish doesn't have any shade. Oof it's a hard one. The good news in when conditions due to a tropical storm have been particularly bad they are pretty generous with their transfer options. That came in handy one year. Even in the heat the half marathon course is pretty neat. You run by the ocean, past the aquarium, and on a military base. Even better the course is mostly flat with the exception of a bridge. Rock n Roll races are always a good time. They definitely are missing a lot of true local touches. It's very corporate and that's okay! That also means everything is BIG! Big start, finish, course entertainment. The afterparty beverage sponsor could use an upgrade though.

I'm a local and have participated a few times so I figure I'll leave a review bc it seems some of…read morethe others are not from locals who don't know the area. This race weekend is a ton of fun and is well-run and well-coordinated with the city. It is at the beginning of the hurricane season for the East coast so there are sometimes weather issues but by no means is this an annual thing and often, the weather is beautiful and sunny (maybe too hot) during this weekend. It is almost always Labor Day weekend for this race which means it is the American Music Festival as well so there are several concerts at the beach on the oceanfront stages (there are several) at 5th, 7th, 17th, 24th and 31st. Some are free and you can bring a lawn chair to sit on and some you have to pay for with larger headliners. The convention center of Virginia Beach is where the expo is and this is a well-run expo with a lot of participants Brooks comes and sells a ton of merchandise and many other race vendors. Plenty of parking at the convention center and it's easy to navigate and get your race gear. The course is flat and easy with very little grade change. There are three races you can participate in: a 1-Miler, a 5k and the Half Marathon. The courses take you around the resort part of the city and onto the Virginia Beach boardwalk where you run along the ocean and, during the right part of the day, is absolutely beautiful. If you stay in the resort area in a hotel anywhere between 5th-31th street you will be more than close enough to walk to everything (though the convention center is a hike from 31st) and there are tons of great, fancier places to eat all around as Virginia Beach is a bustling resort city like Catch 31 at the Hilton, Eat: An American Bistro and Becca at the newly renovated Cavalier hotel (at around 40th St). The ViBe creative district has tons of farm-to-table shops like Commune and Esoteric as well as art murals all over. Coffee shops abound with Bad Ass Coffee, May's Parlor, Three Ships Coffee Roasters. Lolly's local-made ice cream is delicious. Shopping is niche and cute with North End Bag Company and the Old Farmer's Market near Java Surf Coffee and Cafe on Saturday mornings. At 1st Street and Rudee Inlet there are boats, jet skis and parasailing excursions you can rent and pay for for a day as well as night cruises and dolphin watching excursions you can join (for a cost of course). If you venture further down to Shore Drive you can tour the Cape Henry lighthouse which was the first lighthouse commissioned by the US government. You can also visit the nearby 2,888 acre First Landing State Park for a hike along the water at sunset with an entrance off Shore Drive or at 64th street. Bubba's fish house and many other shops and restaurants can be found on Shore Drive another 20 minutes away. For shopping, live music, and more trendy things to do (Lululemon, Anthropologie, Pottery Barn) Town Center is a short 20 minute easy straight drive down Virginia Beach Blvd to Cheesecake Factory, Finn McCools, California Pizza Kitchen and a ton of other things to see and do. All those things are within 20 minutes. I didn't even mention the things to do and see in Suffolk, Norfolk, and Hampton all within an hour drive. Even further (a couple hours) are the historic Williamsburg and Jamestown areas and if you want to ride some coasters you can always venture to Busch Gardens amusement park. Bottom line: this is a great race, with adorable medals, and it is always exceedingly organized. I live here in the city, as well as travel a lot for races to Disney in Florida and California, and I enjoy the ones in my hometown the most. Call me biased. If you come for this race weekend here and don't at least sample all the foods, see the art murals, listen to the bands, and enjoy the beach and lighthouse, then you've really missed out.

Beautiful day for a walk at the oceanfront! These fine gentlemen on their steeds keeping us safe…read moreand happy!!!

This park is great. I'm surprised I haven't reviewed it yet…read more It's a great area for beach events, a lot of races start here, and during the summer this is used for some of the free concert series. There is a large green space/lawn for seating and/or milling about depending on what show is on the small covered and framed wooden stage that is so cute. There is a cute sidewalk from Atlantic Ave directly to the beach boardwalk as well. There are bathrooms here but they are locked sometimes so you can't always count on that - it depends on the event and the coordination. If you have the PPPark App on your phone you can try to park in some off the metered spots in and around off Pacific or can walk a few more blocks by parking in the neighborhoods a bit further away. This year, the Wicked 10k weekend's Monster Mile started here on Friday night and it was an easy landmark to navigate to for this local.

Fantastic mud run; my husband and his best friend attended this event this weekend and they had a…read moreblast. They had such an awesome time, that I am planning on signing up for their next event, June 2014. Very well organized; great band and food. Everyone was very helpful. The course was very well-laid out. The only negative I would point out is that they should have had more showers available. There were 2 long lines and they waited over an hour to reach the showers. Not cool. But other than that...everything went well; great location.

This was a fun time!…read more Great weather also adds to a fun time outdoors! This was our first time and we'll be back! We visited around 1130a on Saturday and the crowd wasn't too bad. We were in traffic about 10 minutes but it seems going earlier is the move. As the day goes on, especially into the night, the traffic picks up. I believe on Saturday night fireworks set off at 930p. So what to expect if you decide to go next year, a lot of food vendors, rides for all ages, beer and wine sales, and entertainment for all. More is there, so I suggest you experience for yyourself! I walked away with peanuts, popcorn and a smile! Free parking! Don't forget to be awesome.

Carnival, peanuts, fun for families. Food eating contests. Live music. Carri games (expensive)…read moreplenty of rides and of course peanut samples. Petting zoo with Camel ride. Peanut butter carving. I was dissapointed there were less arts and crafts than previous years. The crowd was very small compared to the past but I hadn't been in 3 years. $10.00 parking was a little high.

5.6 miles long. No trash. Nice people who like to be active…read more Parking on either side you come in on although there's no physical address on Maps. I love this trail because it's the longest I know in Hampton roads. There're Mom's with strollers. Whole families. Mini field trips with small children. Bikers. Skateboarders.... Everyone. Of course it's shaded because of all the trees. Just be careful because it's so soothing to walk, you might end up at the end and have to walk right back to your car lol. And if you didn't plan on waking over 11 miles... that could be tricky. My feet were sore for two weeks when I made that mistake with the wrong shoes on. Happy trails!!

The food vendors are definitely on their business out here. I do appreciate the diversity of the…read moreselections to choose from. Vendors did mention having to go up on prices because SITW get paid off the top but every vendor gets plenty of exposure and the money is there especially for this 3-day festival. I like that they had BAR vendors that had options of non-alcoholic beverages as well as alcohol. Doodles was passing out free ice cream. White Claw also had tasting stations on top of being able to purchase from their tent or vendors that sold it separately (first time trying White Claw) and I buy it again. With 5% alcohol it was my only alcoholic beverage the entire festival, light flavorful taste and nothing to have you buzzing. Like all events there's pros and cons and takeaways. I hated the shuttle service issues 2nd day of festival. Virginia Beach provided school buses and their were contracted private shuttle busses. 3-day shuttle passes were $50 per person. They give you a wrist band you have to wear the entire weekend on top of your SITW wrist band...their were huge groups of people being corralled like cattle into a tight space when trying to get via the maze of the makeshift ride separators to catch the shuttles. No order what so ever...a lot of hurry up and wait. Had us all waiting more than an hour confined trying to make it to the actual shuttles. Mind you they were only supposed to be available up to 60 mins after the final show, so that caused lots of anxiety and panic. Better contingency planning should be done to avoid this issue in the future. Concept was good, just a tad poorly executed. Personally preferred the private shuttles over the school buses due to comfort and actual individual space. Truly thankful for this festival overall for a 3-day music festival it's well worth it. Some of my favorite acts were 3rd Eye Blind,WALE, Jasmine Sullivan, SWV, Summer Walker, Pharrell & Friends and many others. As I rest up for the final day I'm still excited and ready to take in the music for its last day. Enjoyed the drone show also. Can appreciate the drones better than fireworks and feel thats better for people who have PTSD to loud explosive noises. Thank you Pharrell for bringing something of this magnitude to Hampton Roads and continuously bringing exposure, talent and money into Hampton Roads. (We Love You). There's also been no major issues when it comes to behavioral or disturbances. Huge Plus factor to take away. Appreciate Virginia Beach police also for being on top of directing traffic and providing eyes from the roof toops to the ground. Grateful for all emergency EMT people that aided in making this event a success as well. Pack lots of patience and remember to be good to one another. Thank you. "SITW!!!!"

One word.... AMAZING!!!…read more The performances, logistics, the vibe, and that "thing" in the water made this festival a huge success thanks to Pharrell and his vision! There were so many elements of surprises throughout the festival in term of the performances that kept us in suspense. So here's a recap of my experience: TRAFFIC: Traffic was actually pretty good moving in and out of the Oceanfront. Even though I stayed at a hotel for the weekend, I still left the Oceanfront a couple of times and again no issues with traffic. TICKETS: General Admission- On the beach, no chairs or shade provided. There's plenty of food vendors to choose from. VIP - A separate entrance from GA that's on the board walk with stadium bleachers along with dedicated food vendors for the VIP section. A bracelet is to be worn during the 3 day event and it cannot be taken off. If the bracelet looks to have been tampered with, entry may be denied. For those who didn't get a ticket, there were still events free and open to the community. FOOD: There were many food options available from local restaurants to choose from such as Asian, Thai, Caribbean, American, Mexican, beer, wine and free water stations. CROWD: I love seeing all race, age and gender having a great time partying. I whined up singing and dancing with so many other party goers because we were all there to have a good time! There were No fighting and everyone was respectful. BUT when there's a popular artist performing that everyone wants to see, the crowd gets real tight to get closer to the front row and at this point no one is respecting any personal spaces. You can be literally on someone's back and someone will be on yours! So if you can't stand crowds, this isn't for you! I even had a moment of anxiety and I had to move to the back where it was less crowded and just watched on the Jumbotron. There were people passing out because of the heat and not keeping themselves hydrated. But with free water stations throughout the festival it can be avoided. Medics were on standby and did a great job getting to the people. PERFORMANCES: Pharrell pulled off this event so successfully! He brought top artist to this inaugural event. And that element of surprise I was talking about earlier was artists like Jay Z who came to the stage to preform!! Also the scheduled artists also brought their own surprise guests! And the crowd goes WILD!!!! VA needed this music festival and I am so glad I was there to experience it. I am so ready for SOMETHING IN THE WATER 2!!!