This was my second half marathon but my first one in Philadelphia. It was also my first experience with a Rock N Roll race. This year they had a running festival, which consisted of two days of running. This was my part two of the Remix Challenge.

Expo:
Bib pick ups were great; I picked up both the 5K bibs and the half marathon bibs at the same time. They were both quick and painless. The shirts for the half were gender fitted. I normally wear a small but the shirt ran really small for women's. Fortunately, there was a shirt exchange table at the expo.

There were plenty of vendors at the expos selling and giving out goodies. Traveler's Insurance offered free runner's tracking but it was a bit inconvenient. Brooks had a sign making area with photo op. There was also lots of discounted races to sign up for.

Race Day:
Again, I parked at a friend's place in Chinatown and gratefully, she agreed to drop us off closer to the race. There seemed to be a lot more runners for the half than the 5K. The porta potty situation was pretty bad. The lines were very long but good thing I was in the latter part of the corrals. I think at least six corrals started before I reached the porta potties. Corral monitoring was not strict at all.

Course:
I've been through Philadelphia numerous times but running through it was an awesome different experience. They had fun signs pointing out historical landmarks and noticeable mile markers throughout the course. I enjoyed the miles through the city more than running around the river (since I've done this part a few times).

There were plenty of water / Gatorade stations and one Gu station. The bands along the course were nice but I mostly stuck to listening to my own music. I didn't notice the porta potties along the course so I guess the lines weren't too bad. I did notice a few medical tents along the way and lots of people of bicycles.

Post race:
The finish line ended in the same spot as the 5K. There's a slight incline for the last .1 mile to the finish line. The race medal is nice and impressive. You had to go to a separate tent to pick up the Remix Medal. There were bananas, hard pretzels, power bars and Gatorade near the finish line with Rusted Root playing in the background. And yes, there was another free beer ticket for all runners 21+.

I also did notice that my GPS said 13.6 miles rather than 13.1. Not that I was attempting to PR but it was affecting my pacing.