The expo is held at the Convention Center, which is in the middle of the downtown district so parking can be tough to find (or spendy). I opted to park at a trolley station (free!) and pay $5 to take the trolley to the Convention Center. While it isn’t the quickest way to get there, it does provide a great opportunity to people watching.

The expo itself was quite standard. It had your freebies, photo opportunities, and most importantly, race bibs! The staff was quick and efficient at the bib pickup station, and that is all I could ever ask for.

Before I knew it, race day arrived. Again, I parked at the trolley station and took the trolley downtown. Once I arrived, I just followed the masses of people from the trolley to the start. (I’m directionally challenged.) If you do opt to take the trolley, leave 30 minutes earlier than you think to allow some wiggle room in case there are issues with the trolley. I remember some people missing their corral start times and yelling at the staff, which isn’t fun for anyone.

At the start, there was a DJ playing music and everyone lined up according to their corral numbers. There was some miscommunication between the volunteers at one point regarding the placement of the corral numbers. It went from 27 to 31 to 35, etc., but who cares because everyone was going to run the race regardless.

Along the course there were plenty of aid stations and a ton of people around cheering the crowd on as they raced. There were a few places where people set up bars and offered shots and other liquor options to help “numb the pain.” One mile was dedicated to fallen soldiers, which I thought was very thoughtful and added to the uniqueness of the event. Throughout the course there were a few bands, but I thought there would be more music involved. The energy of the volunteers and the spectators was very contagious and helped me when I was running on empty near the end.

In regards to the race support, I felt that they had enough first aid stations and water stations for an event of this caliber. A few more restrooms at the start line to decrease the length of the lines at the port-a-potty station would be nice.

The end you receive your medal and walk to the Waterfront Park to partake in the post race festivities, grab other medals you may have obtained (Remix Challenge, etc), and enjoy live music, beer, and FOOD. They had a wide variety of food trucks where oh could purchase food. The area was perfect to kick back and hang out after the race.

The only downside is the traffic leaving the race. If you drove, then plan on traffic due to the road closures for the marathoners. If you took the trolley, then you should be able to avoid the trafficked area.

If you have never run a half marathon and are looking for a fun first experience, then this is your race.

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