WHAT WAS AWESOME ABOUT THIS RACE?
Most races do the typical race recap survey. I usually fill them out and needless to say, I don't always see the differences. I just always figured that I was either in the minority on what I didn't like or I just liked the race too much. Last year, Fort 2 Base had its issues. It did some things that were confusing to many. Some races would have brushed back the comments. Fort 2 Base did not. They embraced every comment they could and made the necessary changes. The biggest complaint last year was parking. People were waiting to get on to the base to park for hours starting at 4 a.m. because of mandatory car and ID checks. It was hard to get upset because we were parking on an active military base. Race officials responded to this by communicating with a local college to use their lots. There was no waiting to get into lot and busses were very easy to find. The second complaint were the medals. Personally, I loved last year's challenge coin. It was a bit weird because you had to carry the challenge coin around in your pocket or your bag and not around your neck. However, when you learned more about it, the more meaningful it became. For those who were able to, extra 3NM medals (with a chain on it) were used to treat the challenge coin as a medal. This year, the medallion part was a little smaller, but it was supported by a chain so the runners could wear their medals around town.

WHAT WASN'T SO AWESOME ABOUT THIS RACE?
Back to the buses for a bit. Getting to the race start was awesome. Getting back to our cars from the Naval Base was not so great. From my perspective, there were four buses making loops from the base to the college transporting finishers and their families. Forty-five minutes later, we had appeared to lose two buses. The post-race party was supposed to go till noon, so it was sad that we lost the two buses as most people were leaving. It was a minor inconvenience, but something that definitely should be addressed. My other complaint was a lack of course marshals. The water stops were well-staffed, but there were a couple places along the course where either people were in their car staying warm or were out of view when I was running by.

For more. check out my blog entry: http://tkmarathonman.blogspot.com/2012/09/race-report-fort-2-base-10nm.html