In 2012 I participated in the UnitedHealthcare Triple Crown, which consisted of three half marathon: the Providence Half Marathon in May, the Jamestown Half Marathon in July and the Newport Half Marathon in October. I had originally singed up for Providence, then learned that the Triple Crown was formed and decided to do the others. I knew nothing about Jamestown (it was a new race), but had heard amazing things about Newport and decided to run it, even though it was a week after the Chicago Marathon.Providence was pretty much what I'd expected from a small city race. It had a small expo, nice course and here-and-there crowd support. It was well organized and gave a good tour of the city, which was a plus. It actually has a very similar course as the Rock n' Roll Half Marathon.
Jamestown was a fun race, which did a complete loop of the island. It was quite challenging, especially in the second half, as there were several very steep hills. Since there weren't too many runners, I was completely alone during that part (I couldn't see anyone in front or behind me) and spent much of the race just trying to push myself. The crowd support was very, very thin, but it was such a relaxing atmosphere that I ended up getting in a grove and really enjoyed it.
Newport was by far the largest race. After a very crowded and somewhat disorganized start, the running spread out quickly because we immediately ran up a big hill. The race then went through neighborhoods, and about half way through, became really beautiful. We started running by stunning houses and along the ocean. It was a really windy day, so I ended up taking in the scenery rather than focusing on my splits. The race finished along the beach and afterwards, we spent the day in Newport and enjoyed the town.
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