I signed up for this race with the thought of running it as a training/practice run for my goal race at the end of the month. If I have the distance on my training schedule, I might as well get a medal for it, right?!

Registration: Registration for any Rhode Races event is a breeze. I was lucky to find out about the race at the earliest price tier and got into the race at a great price! It's a tiered price structure so the earlier you register, the better! There was also limited day of registration, but the race organizers do say that if the race sells out beforehand, there won't be any day of registration.

Expo/Packet Pickup: I only live an hour from the race so I chose not to get a hotel room the night before. Which means I didn't make it to the expo. I really wish I would have come down the day before though. The day of bib pickup was BUSY. It took 30+ minutes to get my bib. I got there over an hour before the race and thought I was good to go. It turned out to be a stress-fest. There were only 2 people working the bib pickup tables (1 for the marathon, 1 for the half). I felt like there could have been at least triple the people helping out, but I suppose any volunteers are appreciated.

Swag: A nice technical shirt and a gorgeous medal for all finishers. The medal is super heavy too! It's also part of a bigger Rhode Races series medal if you finish all 5 races in a year.

Start Line: Pretty standard... the pacers were clearly visible and for a lot of people running we all made it across the start line pretty quickly!

Course: As a course that's touted as "fast and flat" and a "Boston Qualifier" (for the marathon distance) I honestly thought there were a TON of hills. There was one at mile 5 that went on for A HALF MILE! I thought it was never going to end. By the time I got to the hill at mile 10 my legs were begging for it to end. But some of the course was right by the water which was nice and we ran through a gorgeous residential neighborhood as well.

Aid Station: There were quite a few aid stations with a ton of volunteers. Unfortunately the water was a bit warm by the time I got to it, but it was nice to have it anyways!

Other: Parking at the Providence Place mall was simple and cheap. The weather was great. Overall it was a great race with a lot of spectators...but just beware that there ARE hills, no matter what they might tell you!