Miami Beach Halloween Half

Miami Beach Halloween Half

Miami Beach Halloween Half

( 2 reviews )
100% of reviewers recommend this race
  • Miami ,
    Florida,
    United States
  • October
  • 13.1 miles/Half Marathon, Other
  • Road Race
  • Event Website

Whitney Vestal

Golden, Colorado, United States
10 16
2017
"Fun! Great course and swag! "
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
Whitney Vestal's thoughts:

copy and pasted from my blog:
Overall - 4/5 - I did enjoy this race for the most part. I could really see the locals having a blast at this event with all their friends and spectators cheering them on. A few things took away from my general experience; some race management related and some personal, as described further on.

T-shirt/swag - 4/5 - The shirt was high quality and fit well. The artwork was fun, I just didn't like the BIG plastic feeling of the sublimation. The medals was HUGE and a unique Halloween design.

Aid Stations - 5/5 - They were great! Each one had water and Gatorade. There was one about every mile with plenty of volunteers.

Course Itself/Scenery/Difficulty  - 5/5 - The course was easy with only one tiny hill. It was fun to run along the bridge where the cruise ships were pulling right into port. After the bridge, you wound around to a concrete and boardwalk trail that was along the beach with beautiful views as the sun rose.

Expo Quality - 1/5 - If that. There was not a real big expo beforehand (like those of Rock n' roll and such), but even at the finish line, there was barely anything except the food. Now, I didn't go to the after party that was at the local bar, so maybe there were some booths and vendors there. For most people, this probably isn't a low point, but I like expos and booths to see new running gadgets/trends and the local businesses.

Parking/Access - 3/5 - I stayed at a hotel right in Miami Beach. It was about two miles from the finish line and about 4 miles to the start line. They did have good instructions for parking on their website and in emails as well as a shuttle service from the finish area to the starting line (and vice-versa). I had already returned our rental car the night before (on purpose) and took an Uber to the finish area to catch the shuttle. I'm glad I did it this way because the Uber car would have gotten stuck in traffic trying to get me to the starting line.

When the bus dropped us off, we had a tiny walk to the starting line. Now, the starting line was right outside a parking garage that was open for parking. People were warming up and waiting in the chute while cars were driving in. SUPER DANGEROUS! There were a few police officers just telling cars to turn into the garage but no other way to block cars. I found it super curious the way they had an open lane of traffic next to so many racers. I know people aren't driving fast, but still!

Race Management - 3/5 - This is where I get to be the pickiest and only because I am a race director myself and notice things that not everyone notices. In addition to the parking/access situation, there were a few other things that took away points from this rating. First, I read online and in the emails that there was a bag drop so I brought a bag that I placed my small jacket and my cell phone in. Upon getting to the start line, I could not figure out where the bag drop was. I couldn't even see any booths for registration tents and there were no signs or any sort of communication. I asked the DJ, other runners and the kids at the water station. No one knew. I was starting to get concerned I'd have to run with my phone with nowhere to put it (my costume shorts did not have pockets). Finally, I overheard someone say they got their bib in the parking garage. To get there, the ONLY way to get there, I had to cross traffic, while police yelled at me to stay out of the way, walking alongside driving cars pulling into the parking lot, and around the corner were the tables for registration and alas... the bag drop!

That was a huge thing that made me give lower marks to the race management. Second, was just the advanced packet pick up. There were a couple of location and date options, and I chose the one that was closest to our hotel the day before the race. For a non-Miami beach resident, the traffic is HORRENDOUS. We had a hard time finding the Dick's Sporting Goods store even with the navigation on my phone. Then once inside the store, there was no employee or race person directing us to where to get my stuff (which was way in the back of the store). I would recommend investing in a lot more signage for ALL areas of their race from packet pick up to race morning.

And the third reason I score this part pretty low is that I had emailed the race directors about a month before the race to ask a question. I never got a response and found my answer, not on the website, but searching the visitor posts section of their facebook page. 

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