I prefer small “hometown” races as opposed to those big “for profit” ones. The Alton Illinois Half Marathon met this criteria.
They answered email questions quickly, they had a warmth at the packet pickup (and later at the finish line) that only happens with smaller races. The medal had a representation of the bridge which made it very special and I even got a second medal for coming in first in my age group. The long-sleeve tech shirt was fantastic with a bridge design on it and had a great fit. It was the type of shirt you usually only get at big races.
Parking was a breeze-adjacent to the start line. Plenty of portapotties at start and enough along the route. Each water stop had awesome encouraging volunteers. Along with enthusiastic volunteers cheering us across the line (even those of us at the “end of the pack”) were plenty of snacks – water, bananas, bagels, etc.
The race route was absolutely awesome!!!! It runs alongside the Mississippi River on both the Illinois and Missouri side. The Missouri side include a beautiful Mississippi River National Wetlands Area. It was thrilling to cross the beautiful Clark Bridge twice. There was minimal “road-share” with cars but where it was, there was plenty of safe space coned off.
The weather was overcast and in the 40s so ideal running weather. Course was open for 3:45 hours so very friendly for those of us “slower” run/walkers.
Alton itself is a very friendly small town with an interesting history (Lincoln/Douglas debates, home of tallest man and Miles Davis, etc.) Their downtown has great restaurants including Morrisons Irish Pub which we loved. It’s just across the river from St Louis, so you can easily get in a trip to the Arch and the Budweiser Brewery when visiting the area.
I highly recommend this race and would definitely do it again if I was in the area.