We were up at 3a and out the door at 4a headed to Santa Rosa Beach. What normally would take about 1.5 hrs only took 1 hr on a Sunday morning!! But we were able to for go the shuttle from the local elementary school and park about 50 yards from the start/finish line!!

Perks for arriving really early to a race...choice of close parking spots, no lines at the porta potties, and it was quiet enough to catch 30 minutes of additional sleep!!

We headed to the start about 640a for a 7a start. The start was on time and we were in for an out and back. If you have ever ran the Seaside Half Marathon in the Spring, this one starts at the turnaround for Seaside. I hadn't ran Seaside since 2014 and forgot about the hills!! Yes, there are hills at the beach!! Actually, the first 3 miles and the last 3 miles were hills!!

The route took us into a neighborhood in Watercolor to loop us back out on 30A at mile 7. Now it was basically a straight shot back to the finish.

We enjoyed the beverages provided at the finish, but there were only bananas and granola bars for food choices.

We enjoyed this race, but mainly due to being familiar with the course. The only support/cheering on the route were the water stations. This was a closed road race, there were a few views of the inlets leading to the Gulf of Mexico, but the view was mainly residential areas along 30A.