I've never met a race I didn't like, especially in a half marathon distance. However, of the 7 half marathon's I've done so far, this was probably my least favorite. Perhaps I had my expectations set too high. I will start with parking. While they had enough, there were minimal entries and exits to get to said parking. So, we spent a lot of time sitting in our car. Even though we arrived an hour before race time, we actually made it to our corral with only minutes to spare. Now, this was also due to extraordinary long porta-potty lines. They really needed more potties! Then, the corral start was on an honor system of sorts. You had to enter the corral at the 12 minute pace section and try to weasel your way up to whatever pace you were hoping to start with. I was trying to get to the back of the 9:00 minute pace and it was very hard! Thank goodness for chip timing, but oh my gosh, was there quite the bottleneck at the beginning of the race.

As for the course, the website really made it sound like it would be pretty. I guess they meant pretty boring. Lots of car lots, auto body repair shops, empty fields...the one cool part was running through New Town, a very quaint little neighborhood with a lot to look at. My suggestion, bring music or a running buddy! I was very thankful to have both. I was also lucky to have my own hydration, because water stations were scarce!

The biggest draw to this race is that it is mostly flat. You will enjoy that. With the exception of a never-ending hill from mile 10-11. You know, just when you are starting to get pretty tired?

Fast forward to the finish. There were big cheer zones at the end, lots of excitement and they even called out your names as you passed through the finish line. So, after the excitement wears off, and you are done admiring your new bling, I hope you are not very hungry. The post race snacks consisted of water, slices of cinnamon bread, bananas and chips. Yes, chips.

This is still a relatively young race, and I can only assume it will get better each year. However, I will probably wait a few years before trying it again.