First off, lets talk about Charleston, SC. If you haven't been, its a fantastic southern city filled with amazing eats, history, views and shopping. So, if you're looking for a weekend getaway and a great race to wrap around it, the Cooper River Bridge Run is perfect.

The Expo...
It's huge. There can be long lines for pickup (if you registered early you could pay for mail delivery of your bib). There were lines to pick up both your bib and freebies/packet but they went fast and really weren't a big deal. From there, tons of stuff to try, buy and see. We had an awesome bloody mary sample (including vodka), some great trail mix, and bought some Nuun tabs at a pretty good discount w/ a free Nuun water bottle thrown in. You could easily spend 1-2 hours at the Expo...and while busy, you could move around just fine. I like a good expo and this qualifies.

Race morning...
We were staying at a hotel 3 miles from the start but it was best for us to drive a mile (further) to a local shopping center where there is free bus transport. Race start was 8am, we got to the bus line at 6am which was a good decision. Took about 15>20 min for the buses to really start rolling in and the line was long but got to the start with no problem. There were a good number of bathrooms to use (and lots of people to use them) and had to walk a bit to our corral but what do you expect with 40k runners.

Pre race..
Lots of corrals (register early to get a better spot) and ideally submit a sub 50min time if you're capable to move up to the faster groups. Good program, national anthem, audio is excellent and the atmosphere is a lot of fun. A great crowd all up. The start was exactly on time and good spacing between corrals meant if you made your way to the start of your group you could get a quick mile in before hitting those in front of you.

Race..
Lets be clear, there are a lot of people. Starting from a mid pack corral meant the first mile was okay (given breaks between starts) but the race narrows up to the bridge and you will weave in and out if you're running anything sub 8:30 pace (unless you start up front). Still, I was able to PR but it was not easy (still lots of fun) and the walkers who start with the runners dont help. Especially when they stop on the bridge to take pic (I mean, come on people, at least start in a walkers corral). But, the views are great, lots of fun people, music and once you get over the bridge and into town its a blast running thru the streets of Charleston.

Post race..
Big party after...food, beer, etc. All the usual but lots of options (both free and paid) and worth hanging out for a bit. The busses back to the start were about a 30min ride (since the bridge was still closed for the racey you had to take another route) but wasn't bad at all and really a good chance to catch up on social media, check out some pics, post some things and look up your official time.

All up...super fun, a great city to enjoy for a few days, and a very well executed huge 10k. Recommended for a great time and if you have a fast previous race to register for a front corral spot, you can run a good time.