Disclaimer: I received a free entry to Rock ‘n’ Roll Virginia Beach as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find and write race reviews!

This was my first year running the Rock 'n' Roll Virginia Beach Half Marathon, and I had a great time at the event with my friends.

The course was very flat — with just one noticeable hill on a bridge, which runners go over twice. The course is nice, starting in the downtown area and running around there, then going out on General Booth Boulevard and into Camp Pendleton before finishing on the Virginia Beach Boardwalk. The finish on the Boardwalk and post-race party on the beach were great. That scenery would be a 5; I only marked it down because there were some not-super-exciting spots in between. It was still nice, though, and there was some shade, which was much appreciated!

There were so many water stops on the course, which is really important to me. The water stops were well-staffed, with tons of volunteers clearly stating whether they had water or Gatorade. I stopped at all of them except for the last one. There was also a guy with a hose at one of the stops. There were also some unofficial ice pop stops.

The expo was great. I quickly and easily got my bib and race shirt, and there were fun photo ops inside, along with a variety of vendors. I also got a chance to go in a Brooks Running wind tunnel for the chance to win a free pair of shoes, and although I did not win, it was fun. For the shirt, I sized up from a women's medium to large when I registered after running Rock 'n' Roll Washington D.C. earlier this year. I was not overly impressed by the shirt, and I would have preferred a color other than gray, but it is a quality tech shirt and I will wear it. I loved the medal and think it's cute and beachy.

Race management was great! Runners were notified with plenty of information via email and social media, and I was happy with the course, water stops and blocked roads. The only thing I was not a huge fan of was the long process to walk through and get food at the end. Since it's such a large race, I'm not sure if this could have been avoided, and we did get water right away.

Since I stayed in a hotel along the beach, I did not rate parking/access, as I did not have to park.

I would recommend this race and I hope to be back next year!

Check out my blog post here: https://sherunsbytheseashore.com/2017/09/08/rock-n-roll-virginia-beach-fun-beach-atmosphere-and-a-fast-last-mile/