I ran the inaugural Love Run Half Marathon in Philadelphia, PA. This is a great spring half marathon held in March.

Expo: The expo was at the convention center that year, but it has since moved to Citizen's Bank Park. I loved that they had lots of booths as well as Love Run merchandise for sale. The swag included not only a tech tee but a finisher's mug! It was a really unique touch!

Race course: The race runs through downtown Philadelphia for a bit before running out along the Schyulkill River, up a hill past the Please Touch Museum, and back towards the start line. It starts/finishes in front of the Art Museum and the famous steps! While the downtown portion had lots of spectators, the sections along the river had barely any opportunity for spectators. The finish location was incredible though! The course was flat overall and had the usual aid stations set up.

Race logistics: It was really hard to find parking in that part of town for so many people, so take their advice to get to the race early! The course was well marked and I liked that there was a halfway timing mat to let you know what your split time was. I loved that you got to see so much of Philadelphia along the course. There were no super fun pre/post run events, but after the race there was hot chocolate and food goodie bags filled with Tastykakes and soft pretzels! The medal was really big and had a part that spun around which was really unique. I did get lost trying to find my way out of the runner's area after the race, and it didn't help that it was very rainy and difficult to find anyone.

Overall, I would recommend this race for any east coast runners that really love running and want to explore Philadelphia on the run! The swag was great and the course was really fun and showed you a few different areas of Philly. It's great that it's so early in the running season and there's no heat or humidity yet!