The race is put on by Road Runner Sports, and is part of a series that also includes San Diego and Seattle. You're going to get lured in by the idea of delicious craft beer at the finish, but boy do you have to work for that!

The course features an over 800 ft elevation gain through the picturesque town of Fountain Hills, AZ.

Packet pickup was held at the Tempe store location on Friday and Scottsdale on Saturday, but there was no packet pick up on race day. Parking filled up fast and lots of streets are blocked off, so it's a little tricky getting there. I got there just under an hour before start time and it was pitch black outside. It made it hard to meet up with other runners, there weren't many street lights illuminating the street.

However, there were NO lines at the porta potties!

At packet pickup I received a really nice super soft fitted tank top, a Huss Brewing pint glass, and a nice pair of sunglasses. They also had small samples of Huss Brewing at the expo.

Race morning, we started on time and the first 3 miles of the course were very gentle rolling hills. The monster hill started around mile 4 and lasted for 2 miles. Steep and brutal. Miles 7-10 went pretty fast. The last 3 miles were smaller rollers, but your legs are so beat up from the big ones that it is tough to press on.

There were an incredible number of race photographers out there, felt like almost every mile had one! This was a small race, only 400 people ran the half.

There were Huss Brewing mile markers at each mile, but no clocks.

Finish line was pretty low key. There was water and fruit, and also the beer garden. One complimentary beer came with registration. One disappointment? The 5k runners and the half marathoners earn the same medal. That is one of my pet peeves. We earned a unique half marathon medal after dealing with those hills! There was also a fun photo pro area for selfies.

All in all, I would say you get a ton of swag for running this challenging course!

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