I'm in agreement with the reviews that have already been posted. I was one of the people who dropped from the full to the half marathon (needed more time to recover from the full I did in March), so I had my medal mailed to me. The medals at the race site were for the people who had originally signed up for the half - no problem.

The aid stations were some of the best I've encountered, both in terms of what they offered as well as how enthusiastic the volunteers were. I live in the area, so the routes were familiar. Having so many people on the route cheering the runners made a big difference, and I really appreciated it.

Parking/traffic at the start site for the half was very, very congested. The roads in aren't big, and I think the event was much more popular than the organizers anticipated. I was fortunate to have a friend drop me off, but due to the traffic I had 1/2 mile or so to walk to the start. Iowa problems, I suppose.

The major improvement I would suggest is getting people over Rte. 6 more efficiently. This is one of the busier roads in the area. There are a couple of pedestrian bridges that go over it - perhaps including one would make it more efficient and less frustrating for runners. As it was I had to wait for a walk signal, as did everyone else. I've never had to do this in any other organized race I've run.

The multiuse paths in the area were wide enough to support the number of runners in the race, but as others have mentioned, the segment through Coralville routed runners on narrow and uneven sidewalks. That part really wasn't sufficient. If the organizers want the event to grow, I think they'll need to close entire roads off to support the race.

Still, I really enjoyed the event and plan to sign up for next year, when the start will be in Iowa City and go up to Cedar Rapids.