The BCS Marthon Half is a race I'd heard nothing but great things about, and it lived up to its name. It's a good size race, not small but not HUGE, is well-organized, and the swag is great (sweet finisher's jackets!)

I drove down to College Station from Dallas, Texas (about a 3 hour drive) and stayed in a local hotel. I went to the expo at the Baylor Scott & White hospital on the Saturday before the race and it was quick, easy, and painless. A hospital was an interesting location - it was in a hall-way type area so it bottle-necked easily but there wen't a ton of people there so it wasn't too bad. The expo was a lot smaller than I expected - maybe 6 booths, tops and an area to pick up your bib and your shirt. They also had course info available and a few Pacers that were there as well, which I thought was nice.

Race morning ran smoothly - the hotel I stayed in had free coffee and breakfast (and even some bagged breakfasts available for runners to take to-go), so I went down for some coffee and lucked out by getting a ride to the start line with a lady I met in the elevator. There was plenty of parking at the nearby mall, and not a far walk to the start line, which was organized by corral, had an easily accessible gear-check area, and a long line of porta-potties. The race announcer was great and kept us updated.

And we're off! The course was nice - not the MOST scenic in my opinion but you got to see part of the A&M Campus and College Station surrounding it (college town) and the course was pretty flat. You were always running at a *slight* incline or decline, but I'd say it evened out overall. There weren't a ton of spectators - probably the least amount of spectators I've seen at a half marathon, but the spectators that WERE there were really supportive and awesome. Lots of high-5's and even a cocktail stop.

The finish line was SWEET! Not a huge ordeal but you got your medal, a water bottle, and a food tray. Yep, food tray. There were a bunch of food truck there with free food (and beer!) Sausage on a stick, pizza, breakfast tacos, chocolate milk, all the goods! So that was nice. I hung out for a while, hit the gong for getting a PR (loved that cool addition!!), then called it a day! A GREAT day! This was really an experience I will never forget.

Overall I had a lot of fun running this race and enjoyed the ease of access and organization. My favorite things was the finisher's jacket and the giant gong at the end to hit if you PR or BQ. Also the announcers and race organizers were great, caring, and it just seemed like such a personal, memorable and important race. I say its the perfect mid-size race, would definitely run it again and recommend it to friends!