This was the sixth year of the Lighthouse Loop Half Marathon, and my first year running it. Full disclosure, I was running this as part of my marathon training plan, so I wasn't really racing it. This was more of a fitness check for me. The weather was so great (we might have just gotten lucky - I heard that 2016 was a hot swamp fest) that I wish I could give the climate five stars.

This race is undergoing somewhat of a renaissance, as I understand it. They have some new folks managing it, and this year was the first year that they had a race expo. They also redesigned the race logo and added a challenge (run the half at 7:00 and then run a 5K at 10:00 - get a fancy coffee cup for completing both). One thing I really love about this race is that all the proceeds go to local schools.

So, the course... You're running from Port Orange down to Lighthouse Park in Ponce Inlet, and then back to Port Orange. I actually had that moment in Lighthouse Park when I saw the same lighthouse that's on the medal ("A-ha!") so that was neat. There are 10 water/gatorade stops along the course, and they are all filled with volunteers from local schools; one school for each water stop. There was so much spirit at those water stops, and that energy really helped me out. At the end, you get to vote for your favorite water stop, and that school earns a little extra cash.

The swag... All half runners got gender-specific tech shirts (this is one my my key race search terms), and I love that. The medal was nice as well. I didn't see the coffee cup that the challenge finishers earned, but apparently it's pretty nice.

Constructive criticism... The first 30 (-ish) runners ran a short course because we were all turned too early to head back north. We all ran a 12.8-mile half marathon, which isn't really a thing. In the sixth year of this race (running the same course), I don't really think this should be an issue. However, mistakes happen, but hopefully they'll address that for next year.

Apparently sign-ups for next year start soon, and they are DIRT CHEAP in the beginning, so I'll definitely sign-up for this race again. Even though it wasn't the largest half marathon, it really felt like a community event, and I like that.