Social Media: The Road2Hope running series Twitter account is fairly active, particularly during the race weekend. All of the free race photos also showed up on their Facebook page, so overall I was pretty happy with their social media. They also sent emails as regular intervals (enough, but not too many) to keep us posted on race information.

Package Pickup: Because we arrived fairly late in the day on Saturday, things were fairly quiet at the race expo. A few of the vendors were starting to pack up, but we had already been driving for a couple of hours so didn’t really want to linger. The expo was set up in a series of tents at the race finish line in Confederation Park. I wonder what it would have been like if it was raining?

T-Shirt/Swag: As noted in my blog post, they had run out of men’s t-shirts (and all but XL women’s shirts) by the time we arrived, and I wrote down my address on a piece of paper. I still haven’t received the shirt, although I know it is black and long-sleeved. The medal, on the other hand, is probably one of my favourites! It’s GOLD, which is rare – and makes me feel like a rock star!

Course: Starting on Hamilton ‘Mountain’ – the first 7-8km are relatively flat, running on long, straight roads – not especially scenic, but not bad either. In the middle, we had the long, slow descent on the Red Hill Creek Parkway, which helped with my overall time. The final few kilometres along the shore of Lake Ontario were beautiful, if windy. On the whole, I really enjoyed this course!

Post-Race: Pizza and soup! Perfect for a chilly autumn morning (although the weather this year was pretty spectacular!). They gave us a plastic bag to carry out fruit and energy bars, as well. We didn’t stick around too long, but I imagine they had massages and some other festivities.

Organization: With the obvious miscalculation regarding race shirts (maybe a lot of day-of registrations?), I felt the race was well organized. At the start line, there didn’t seem to be enough toilets, but then I was at the indoor washrooms. Maybe they had lots of porta-potties outside? I didn’t want to lose my place in line, so I didn’t check! Excellent volunteers along the route and at the finish line. Figure out the shirt situation, and two thumbs up!

Would I run it again? Given the location (in Ontario, plus very inaccessible even within Hamilton), I probably wouldn’t prioritize this race again. Having said that, I think it’s a great race for anyone living in the area – and, as one of the top Boston qualifying races in Canada, probably a great opportunity for marathoners aspiring to that goal! A great event – really glad I got to experience it!

Link to this review