Race Reviews for 2022

Photo by Rob Cummings

As always, I put up reviews of the race here so that they are saved for posterity instead of being lost in the endless system of tubes that, I am told, make up the internet. Or at least, I post them if they are good.

And as they come in, this page is amended, revised,  supplemented and otherwise improved. Comments that come in via email are, of course, only posted here with permission.

So without further ado:
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Thanks so much for putting on a terrific race yesterday; it was my first time participating and it was a TON of fun. I will definitely be back! (Nora Carroll, 3rd place overall women)
I ran Paine to Pain yesterday for the first time, and it was an absolute joy. All of the logistical stuff was great, from the clear and abundant pre-race information to the nice finish area. The course was fabulous; well-marked, a variety of terrain, and wonderful volunteers at the key turns.  It is a minor miracle that one can assemble a race that is over 90% trail so close to NYC.
And the wave starts are genius. I tend to start slow and get faster as a race goes, in the 8-9 minute/mile range, so have always run into issues with traffic in other trail races. Here, after the first mile or so, I was completely free to run my own race, and I got my trail-half PR out of it.  My friend, who is far faster, also had nothing but good things to say.  He loved ending on the track — that was very cool.
A huge thank you to you and the volunteer crew for putting this together, and I can’t wait to come back next year. (Kevin Schlottmann, via email)

@painetopain awesome race! Will be back next year! (Greg Barthelemy via Instagram)

Didn’t break any records, but this was my fifth time running and the trail never gets old. Congrats to all the runners and to Eric for another successful race.  (KC Choi via Facebook)

Incredibly grateful for @painetopain! It has become a tradition for @kissmycooly this being our 2nd year. It was a gorgeous day with phenomenal people.  We highly recommend registering! (Adrian Ochoa via Instagram)

I completed my 6th Paine to Pain Half marathon. My favorite trail run 🙂Thank you Eric Turkewitz and all the volunteers for creating a memorable running adventure:-) Thank you NewRo Runners for your motivation and Inspiring achievements!!! (Carl Reid via Facebook)

This was the best and hardest race! Thank you so much Matt Lewis for helping me get there from NJ and all of the organizers!
Great day and great people! (Michelle Pollitte via Facebook)

That was a different race but I did it; half marathon 17 in the books. The hardest half marathon course I ever did. I survived it and I didn’t fall so that a win, win. This is the race I needed to get back on track for @nycmarathon. (Bushwickrunner via Instagram)

Easily the best race I have EVER been part of (and I am not saying that because I literally crossed thru over my own backyard – my dogs barking and all –  which is a far cry from the Verrazzano Bridge).  From the ease of bib pickup to the fun finish I could not have had a better race experience.

The medal is unlike any in my collection; I love the uniqueness of it. And the race shirt, WOW, so comfy I plan to wear it dare it say doing something other than running.  (Tara R. via email)

I ran my first Paine to Pain this past weekend.  It was AMAZING (I’m sure you know that). I really think a lot of credit must be given to the girl scouts at mile 11ish.  Without them I would have thrown myself into the pond and called it a life.  They told me I could do it, and by golly I did. I would hate to know what would happen if I disappointed a Girl Scout!!!

Until next year…  (Allyson Fricke, vi email)
Yesterday was my third Paine to Pain, first since covid.   I want to thank you.  I love this race, probably my favorite.  It’s much more than just running or just a race, it’s also about the people and the great energy you bring into the event. (Sara Parrode via email)

What a perfect day for a trail race!

Every year I look forward to this event, and every year I look for the “stupid cheap” rate sign-up so I can get the best deal in town!!  Amazing trail, the best food, shirt and metals you can get for the price.

Thank you so much for all you do to make P2P an epic adventure.  Rain or shine, I make the trip from Brooklyn to New Rochelle to be a part of the action.  Special thanks to all the volunteers that make it all possible.

Already looking forward to next year. (Mark Wellman via email)

3 thoughts on “Race Reviews for 2022”

  1. This was one of the most difficult and yet most fun things I have ever done. Organization of the whole event was amazing. Hopefully I recover enough by next year that I can try it again!

  2. This was one of the most logistically well organized races I have ever been to and I have been running for 3 years (have ran a variety of races with NYRR, Pace Runs, NYC Runs, etc).

    Pre-race info is highly detailed and the history of the trails is nice, volunteers have a huge impact in putting things together!

    The weather was absolutely delightful, the scenery was refreshing (very well marked trials, no fears of getting lost, so much more fun than running the same loop like 4 times until you reach 13.1 miles) and the on-course volunteers were so vibrant with energy, thank you so much for organizing this!!!

    Small lovely crowd, I just focused on not tripping on the trails, no on-course traffic like you get with the larger, hectic races. Very relaxing experience, from start to finish 😀

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