Ok, first let me say that I'm an ODU alumna and so my views on this race may not necessarily reflect the experiences of other runners. Sweet! Now that we've got that cleared up and you know that I'm probably totally biased, let's begin!

First things first: This race is put on by J&A racing (yep! The same folks that put on the Shamrock Marathon, Crawlin' Crab half, Surfin' Santa 10 miler, and the Wicked 10k), and THEY KNOW how to do a race!

Because this was an inaugural event with a 2,000 person cap on it (as opposed to the Shamrock half which has a 10,000 person limit), the expo was essentially nonexistent. It actually took place at an ODU game to which participants were admitted for free. There was a small table set up with inaugural gear (like the pint glass I snagged!), but again, that was about it for the expo.

Parking, which is normally an every day issue for an ODU student, didn't seem to be much of a problem on race day. Various garages were designated for runners, so that helped. Now, when I say I'm an ODU alumna, I must admit that my ODU experience was very different than most students. I went to ODU for grad school and completed my 2 year program in a year and a half and worked for my academic department... soooooo I really didn't know any buildings on campus aside from where my classes were and where my money went. This race provided me with an excellent opportunity to see parts of the campus I had never seen before which was pretty awesome! We ran from outside the football stadium to the back of campus, around the athletic fields (which was a little awkward, but J&A made work), to the Lion Fountain (which is kind of the most iconic fixture on campus) back to the football stadium. The finish of this race was pretty epic. Our last tenth of a mile is the same run the football players make out of their locker room and onto the field. The finish line was at the 50yd line on the fooseball field, and Big Blue (ODU's mascot) was there cheering us all on.

Like any other J&A race, the post race party was AWESOME! J&A actually teamed up with the university to allow runners into the Big Blue BBQ (essentially a GIANT tailgate before the spring game). There were at least three local BBQ tents with PLENTY of food and at least 4 beer/wine stations (because let's face it, this is why we really run, yes?).

Truthfully, the 'crowd support' for this race was basically nonexistent except for the women's lax team and the swim/dive teams. Thanks Coach Holt and Coach Withus for having your guys and girls out there! I say give it a year or two before the Greek system jumps on the band wagon and the crowd support goes from nothing to ridiculous!

Being as it was 'juuuuust' a 5k (as I heard some J&A followers mumble at the start line), this race's swag was AWESOME! Tech t's for men and women (none of this unisex stuff!), admission to the ODU/ECU baseball game, the Big Blue BBQ, AND the ODU Spring Football game, oh, AND a medal. A medal for a 5k! Um, yes please! J&A always does a great job, and this race was no exception.