This was a race my friend and I decided to do so we could "level up" in Half Fanatics. It was in Clearwater, so about a 3 1/2 hour drive for me. We went down the day before and stayed about 15 minutes from the start line. I was excited this race is put on by the same people that do Ironman so I had some high expectations going into this. Plus I'd never done a women's only event so that seemed fun.

Registration - Pricey for a half.but I was able to google a coupon code for $10 off. Plus I went with a friend so we split gas and the hotel. Register early because the price jumps fairly early on.

Expo - It was outdoors in south Florida in April so it was HOT. Just walking around the expo I got all sweaty. Packet pick up was easy expect they wouldn't let you exchange shirt sizes which was a bummer. Mostly just vendors from other races but nothing spectacular.

Photos - Lots of photos online which was good however the photographers were at weird angles. Small watermark across the center of them.

Course - BRIDGES...SO MANY BRIDGES. So it was an out and back course with 2 HUGE bridges which really meant 4 bridges. Being from Jax bridges don't usually phase me but in Clearwater their bridges are crazy big. But other than those it was along the beach which was beautiful. You could hear and smell the Gulf which I loved. It was really peaceful.

Aid Stations - On the race webpage they said girl scout cookies at one of the aid stations. However, this was not available and there were Jelly Bellies instead. Not cool. But the aid stations were well staffed with great volunteers ready with water and gatorade.

Medal and Swag - The medal was a lot cuter in person than in the pictures. The shirt was a dry fit tee but it was pretty ugly and plain. That's really the only free stuff.

Food - Bananas and water at the end. That's it. There was a food truck but you had to pay for it. Not cool.

Overall it was a fun chance to get out of town. I probably won't do this one again but it's worth it to try it once. Plus the local breweries after the race were tons of fun.