I attended the first year of the Silo District Half Marathon, and probably encountered most of the hiccups since it was the first time this race was put on. First off, I'm not a fan of the show at all. I told my mother to pick any half marathon and I would run it with her. She is a BIG fan of the show and it wasn't too far from home.

Packet pickup was easy and painfree, and surprisingly not at their shop. A nice tech t-shirt was included. (Unisex sizing, so their smallest size I use as a sleeping shirt). One complaint though is that it was white, and easily sweat through. So lots of see-through shirts the next day!

The next day, we waited outside of the corral for the marathoners to start. And waited....and waited. I guess the star of the TV (Chip?) was walking the marathon (in jeans and his toolbelt) and they wanted to get him on camera and started before the rest of us did. It was about 45 minutes late before the half marathoners started.

The race had great pace groups, and I paced right before the 2:00 half pacers the whole race. They were perfect on time. And the course went through very pretty parts of Waco, but also down several bare strips of hot, shadeless highway. I did get a free picture of me crossing one of their gorgeous bridges. Water stops were often and every mile had a large inspirational quote from one of the people from the show. I can see why big fans liked it!

The last few miles were without any shade, and we had a late start. It was May...In Texas. It. got. hot. After I finished, I went through the shoot that fed into their large shop area and wrapped back around to the finishline. Since this was a race that was advertised to the fans of this show, I think many of the runners were not from the area and were not ready for the heat., as I saw several people collapse at or soon after the finishline. It was 50 when we arrived at the race venue and 85 by the time my mother finished the race about 3 hours later.

We received an AWESOME rotating medal at the end. I say if you're a fan of the show, or love Waco, this race is definitely a must do. If not, I'm kinda meh on a half or full marathon in Mid-May in Central Texas. Be prepared for a hot race!

I'd forgive a lot here. Neither of the organizers were runners, they were shooting for TV at the same time, and it was the first time the race was put on. I hope that the issues that I encountered for the inaugural race were addressed this next year.