HF#11988

This was the last year of the race being called the "Country Music Half Marathon"; yet another great race name gone and replaced as a city dot on Rock 'n' Roll's map. As a local, this race is the race of Tennessee, if you run or even if you do not, you have to take part in this race in April. Honestly though, it was not my favorite, there are just too many people to really enjoy your run as your are shoulder to shoulder and heel to toe for the entire race with over 20,000 participants. With that being said, if you want to have a different experience of downtown Nashville and see some of our southern hospitality then this might be your race. The course takes you all around downtown, starting at Bridgestone arena on Broadway, around and under the new City Center, down and up Music Row, around Belmont through The Gluch and the state plaza, around the capitol, and finally ending at now, Nissan stadium. You will probably not PR this race but you will have thousands of people supporting cheering you on from start to finish and extremely enthusiastic aid stations to keep you going. Also, the Expo is hard to beat, you can spend a couple of hours in there and not see it all and Brooks, as a sponsor, offers tons of gear, both specific to Nashville and also just generic.

This will always be the Country Music Half to me and most in Middle Tennessee and I might not run this race but every other year or so but it is a must if you need to get your Tennessee race checked off your state map.