Exuma is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. Having been fortunate to travel to some wonderful parts of this world, this island seriously took my breath away.

It's worth noting, that this is a tropical island. So similar to running in Honolulu for the Marathon, you must prepare to moderate your effort and your expectations! Thankfully the start is EARLY. We got to avoid the sun for about half of the race, but man did you feel it running back.

The volunteers at the aid station were super helpful. The course is basically an out and back on the only road on the island. My AfterShokz were clutch for maintaining awareness. There were not a ton of vehicles given the early start, but it was good to be aware.

NOTE: if you are nervous about running in the dark consider wearing a headlamp for the Half or if you do the Marathon or Ultra.

Also, be aware, this is a fairly undeveloped island other than the key resorts. It's part of the beauty and charm (so many beautiful laid back beaches, amazing food spots, etc), but it also means you need to watch the road if it's uneven. Also beware of feral dogs. Some returning participants were smart enough to bring rocks to throw!

But honestly, you come here to relax before and after. We had a partnership with the Grand Isle Resort that sponsors the race. The villas were amazing, the beachfront and water was gorgeous. Their restaurants were delicious. You could easily do the 5K and 10K but I did like relaxing after a Half Marathon effort to truly soak it all in!

One of my fav parts of the race - the adorable stuffed pig you got in your swag bag! Too cute (sine the island is known for swimming pigs!)

I was signed-up to run Missoula IRL this year and am really hoping to make it there in 2021! At the beginning of COVID I was feeling unmotivated to run any virtual races, but after a few continuous weeks of running longer and longer, I decided to pivot my IRL registration to Virtual and do the Full Marathon!

Communication from the race organizers was very clear on when they were planning to formally pivot from IRL to Virtual. They set a deadline and I appreciated the fact that they put a pause on new IRL registrations until they knew their 2020 plan. After switching my registration to virtual the rest of the details were clear and explicit. I loved the medal and the sticker that came in my race pack. The shirt ran a bit small but the race was quick to message about exchanging sizes if needed.

My race day was also enhanced by a few friends that set-up a virtual finish line with streamers! It definitely amped up my virtual experience.

Rating this as a 4/5 because there weren't over the top creative virtual bells/whistles that some other events have created, but it was a very well executed pivot from an IRL event to a virtual event!

What a delightful local turkey trot. You don't see many turkey trot Half Marathons, so it was nice to get in a few extra miles before turkey time!

The course was gorgeous, taking you through some more rural parts and then cute neighborhoods. The local volunteers did a great job marshaling us since we looped back a few times. Loved that we could show-up and get our bib quickly (dynamic bib assignment FTW!).

Afterwards there was pizza and cookies and a quick awards ceremony. Plus TONS of raffle prizes. Would definitely consider running this again if we are in town!

This was my 4th Boston, but I haven't run it in 3 years. It's amazing how quickly you can forget how challenging this course is.

I was thankfully on the Fleet Feet Boston 365 bus so I was able to wait-out the pre-race rain. By race time the weather cleared up and the crowds were as boisterous as ever!!

One thing I did notice was that the aid station signage was sparse, but i am guessing that is due to the crazy high winds pre-race.

As I struggled from the better part of the back half of the race the crowds really did keep me going. Boston knows how to treat their Marathoners right and make race day and the entire weekend a wonderful celebration. Despite my own struggles on race day I know I'll be back to experience this again next year!