I've started and re-started this post a few times. I knew this wouldn't be the most fun race recap to write but I have to #keepitreal so here is goes..

I think I'll break this recap into the good, the bad and the ugly to make it a little easier to get all my thoughts down.

The Good:
Finisher Medal - Hands down, RnR has the best race medals, period. I have been pleased with all of their medals. They are super unique and heavy. Also this medal happens to do double duty as a bottle opener :)

Race Shirt - Again, great quality and the subway theme was different - I love it!

Volunteers - All the volunteers I encountered on the course were joyful, super energetic and always smiling. This is very typical for RnR volunteers!

Water/gatorade stations - I didn't need to stop for water until mile 9 but the stations that I saw had enough volunteers. A few volunteers were in front of the table holding the cups and then there were tables stacked with cups. I felt like the stations were very well stocked.

Race Course - Overall the course was flat up until Mile 11 in Prospect Park. That hill seemed to go on forever!

Perfect Weather - We could not have asked for better weather. Sure, it was a little cold at the start but it warmed up. It was a prefect Fall day in my opinion (just a little windy!)

The Bad:

Post Race Food - For the life of me, I do not understand why getting a bagel after running for 2+ hours is so hard? This is one of my biggest pet peeves! After the race they had power bars, bananas, granola, water, gatorade and chocolate milk available. It was just a weird mix of items.

Incorrect Tracking - RnR offers runner tracking through text message. Originally I signed up to get it on my phone so I could see my splits once I finished the race. As I was standing in the port a potty line, my phone buzzed stating I had crossed the 5K mark...even though I had not even crossed the start line yet! Eventually it worked itself out.

Music - A definite lack of bands on the course, but I think this could have been due to noise ordinances in Brooklyn, I'm not exactly sure.

The Ugly:

Okay, so before I start let me say that overall I like Rock 'n' Roll races, but what I and many other runners experienced on Saturday before the race was really unacceptable. I expect more from a huge racing organization that puts on races in many large cities.

The Security Line - Weeks before the race, we were told that there would be a security checkpoint before entering the corrals. This was fine as the NYRR Airbnb Brooklyn Half had the same thing. It literally took me 5 minutes to get through that security line so I assumed it would be the same for the RnR Brooklyn race...I was wrong. I was in line for at least 45 minutes. Finally we were told that if we didn't have a bag we could walk through the side entrance. So basically I just wasted almost an hour to not get checked at security. Yup, makes total sense. Look, I'm all for a security checkpoint, especially for a large race in New York, but that should have been planned way better. I still have no idea why the line was so backed up. Because if this, the race started 30 minutes late at 7:30.

Port a Potty Lines - After I picked up my bib and started my walk to the security line, I hard to urge to pee (never a good thing). I was going to use the port a potty but the line was absolutely INSANE!! I cannot even describe how long this line was. Basically if I had waited in that line, it would have been an hour wait easily. I knew there had to be port a potties available by the corrals. There were only 12 port a potties near the corrals...yes only 12! I'm sorry but that's total bullshit. Again, I waited on that line for over 30 minutes. Basically I crossed the start line at 8:15, 5 minutes before they were going to remove the start line mat. Also I had this exact same problem at RnRDC. Note to RnR - You can never have too many port a potties!!

Based on this experience I don't think I would run this particular race next year, but I will try other Rock 'n' Roll races in the future. I'm currently signed up for Rock 'n' Roll San Diego and Chicago for 2016. I did Chicago this year so I know what to expect but I hope San Diego is a good experience.

Update: Last night Rock 'n' Roll sent a Congratulations email and also apologized for the laste start. Below is a snippet of that email:

We sincerely apologize for the delayed start and otherwise hope you had a great race experience. To ensure the safety of the event and its participants, local law enforcement put counter terrorism measures in place where athletes have to be screened prior to the start. There was a delay in getting all participants through the screening point and clearing the course which delayed the start of the race. We are already working at ways to address this issue and others for 2016 and beyond.

We hope you enjoyed the rest of the day's festivities and we acknowledge and understand there are improvements we need to make for next year (we’ll be sending you a survey for your thoughts shortly!).

I really appreciate the email and the apology. I think that was very classy on their part. I still will not run the race next year but if I hear good feedback after the 2016 race I will consider going back in 2017.