Little Rock has been on my list since I first heard about it, and it's EPIC HUGE marathon medals! Ultimately, I would have loved to have run this full marathon to get that blinged out, extra large, glitter covered, glow in the dark medal that measured 8 INCHES across, but 26.2 miles was NOT in the cards for me for this one. This weekend was more about celebrating a good friends amazing accomplishment as she was finishing her 50 state marathon challenge. She was checking off that last 26.2 in LR and I wanted to make sure I was AT the finish line when she crossed.

EXPO/PACKET PICK UP: I hit the expo at about 2pm on Friday afternoon and there virtually NO lines! I had my packet and shirts within 2 minutes. Since I registered for this race almost a year in advance, I was happy to see that they did offer a shirt exchange if you ordered the wrong size! Glad I was able to swap mine for a smaller one (don't need anymore sleep shirts!)

The expo itself has everything you need, and then stuff that you didn't think you needed! Like being able to play with goats! and awesome cookies from a local bake shop! Looking for your next race, there are plenty of other races set up with booths!

RACE DAY: Since race day was blessing us with cool temps and rain, I was really not looking forward to waiting outside, for the race to start! We had a friend that was running the Marathon and taking the early start... as much as we love her, we opted to watch the start from our hotel room (we were at the Marriott and could see the start line from our window!) When it came time to head down, we were excited to see that they opened up the expo hall for runners to wait inside, away from the elements- complete with a bank of porta johns. Shortly before race time they made announcements to start moving people outside, based on which corral they were starting in. In the end, we only ended up waiting outside for about 10 minutes.

RACE: As I mentioned, it was cool and rainy. This was the first time that I EVER started the race wearing a garbage bag (I forgot to grab one of my disposable rain ponchos from home). The course for the half marathon is a fun one. Few hills, but nothing that I would get too excited about (I hear that the marathon course has a few bigger hills tho). Meandering past the Governor's Mansion, the airport and the Clinton Library, as well as through some fun neighborhoods, the course keeps you going! I was running with a friend of mind that I only see a few times a year at races and we didn't let the rain dampen our spirits. We enjoyed each others company and the course and before long, we were nearing the finish line!

THE BLING: be honest, this is why you are considering the Little Rock Marathon races. this race is knows for is EPIC race bling. I will be honest, I was a little jealous of those 8+ inch Marathon medals, but the one for the half is nothing to joke about either. Best thing about this years? It covered all the criteria... BIG, bold, glitter, spinner and it glows in the dark! Jackpot! What will next years look like? No one knows. They don't reveal the medals until a few months before the race.

OVERALL: Fun race! It's one of those smaller races with big race appeal. Will I go back and run this one again? Once I finish y 50 start half marathon quest... you just never know!

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