I’ve done this race twice now (2017 & 2018) and it’s really a great way to see a bit of coastal New England! The race starts in the Willows and passes by a lot of historic Salem homes as you make your way to Marblehead.

The race highlight for me has to be Marblehead Neck; you’ll run across a bridge with Marblehead Harbor on one side and the Atlantic on the other before reaching Marblehead Neck, where you’ll do a loop of the island before recrossing the bridge as you head back north to Salem. It’s really a beautiful sight, especially for me since I’m used to the not-quite as nice waters of NYC, ha.

The race shirts are nice, and there’s usually some extra swag items you can get if you want. The only improvement I’m hoping for in 2019 is a new medal design since the same identical design has been used for both 2017 and 2018 (I had to put a sticker on one of the medals to distinguish between the two of them, ha). Besides that this is a nice scenic half, and a good excuse for me to make a yearly visit to New England, ha.