Expo: 5/10
A pretty standard race expo, with some unique vendors I haven’t seen at other expos (Texas Drain giving out free plungers, I’m looking at you). The system for picking up packets right when you walk in was probably the worst I’ve seen at a race - it took almost half an hour just to get through the line to pick up my packet. I would’ve liked to see more vendors and possibly a larger event space to alleviate some of the crowding.

Course: 9/10
The course is absolutely fantastic and by far one of my favorites of all the half marathons I’ve done. Even with as challenging as it is with all of the hills, it’s so scenic and takes you through a few very different parts of the city. Crowd support was great throughout 90% of the course. My only complaint is with the aid station drinks - half of the time, I could barely taste the Nuun mixed into the water, meaning there likely wasn’t much for carbs/fuel in it. While the Nuun was a unique touch, perhaps Gatorade would’ve been a more practical choice.

Production/organization of race weekend:6/10
From the expo to the finish line, this was a very well designed and organized race overall. This is one of the first races in years where I haven’t felt gridlocked until like four miles into the race, so whatever they did for start corrals worked wonders. The finisher’s area was nice and large, so there was no extreme crowding while grabbing your post-race goodies and leaving the chute. My one gripe would be with the post-race food - we only received water and then a bag with popcorn, a fruit cup, and one other packaged item. I had heard that in prior years, the spread was a bit more impressive.

Swag and medals: 8/10
The medals were next-level; I LOVE the design and the sparkles! The shirts and all the merch were made by Under Armour, which is a huge plus for me. The designs for all of the merch were a little plain, but I found plenty of things I liked and ultimately bought. By Friday at 4pm when I was at the expo though, most women’s items were sold out in sizes larger than small, and they weren’t restocked after the race when merch was for sale. Honestly, if there was enough merch in all sizes, I probably would’ve given a 10/10 in this category!

Overall: 7/10
No doubt a solid race overall. If you’re looking for a challenging but scenic course through a rather eclectic city, I’d totally check the Austin Marathon out.