I ran the Alamo 13.1 this past weekend and it was a blast!

Hotels: If you're coming in from out of town, check the race website. They had a deal with the Menger Hotel for $120/night, which given it was week 2 of Spring Break and baseball being in town at the Alamodome, and right next to the start, this was a pretty good deal.

The Expo: I had the chance to talk with the Race Director, David, about this one. The past few years, the expo was held downtown. When the Ranger started coming into town race weekend to play in the Alamodome, people were driving around for 45 min and paying something like $50 to park and weren't happy by the time they got into pick up race stuff. This year, it was held at the Grenberry Events Center, which was 15 min outside of downtown. People driving in from the area or out of town had a way to get there and parking was free. I took an Uber there to check it out and it was $15-$17 one way. Easy bib pick up with some local vendors there, but definitely on the small side of expos. IF you couldn't get there, there was pick up from 6-730 Saturday at the Menger Hotel for out of town guests and again on race morning. I was ok with that.

Social Media: active on facebook, not so much on twitter. More emails the week of would have been nice!

Race Distances: Half Marathon (individual or relay), 10K, 5K. I would have been cool if they could set up some sort of challenge where if you did 2 of 3 or 3 of 3 you get some sort of extra bling

Start/Finish: Literally, in front of the Alamo. The half marathon started at 715 (though more like 725) and the 5K/10K started at 745.

The course: You start in front of the Alamo and go through town and circle back to the Alamo. There were parts of the course that went through neighborhoods and then through an areas that were kinda rough. There were parts through Breckenridge Park, the golf course and the Zoo. The last mile and change was along the River Walk before taking you back through the downtown area to the Alamo. Water/gatorade was available on course every 1-1.5 miles, but sometimes they seemed more spread out than others. The course itself was long according to my Garmin and the mile markers seemed a little spread out. I wish they were a little bit easier to see because I missed at least 2 of them. One thing I would suggest is looking at a course that doesn't have so many surfaces; we ran on everything from pavement, sidewalk, brick, brick with the centers cut out, gravel. The more difficult parts were some of the back roads with massive road unevenness and potholes.

Finish/Post Race: In front of the Alamo. You got your medal and bling right away. The only downside was the wait for food. The line was long to get it, I think if they can have 2 sides going instead of one, it'll speed things up. Music, massages, giveaways, etc available

Swag: A small gym bag (which I'll actually use!), shirt, medal

Please do this race if you're in town! It's a good one to do