Highlights:
+Running this race will squash every excuse you find on course, there is nothing more challenging than fighting cancer. You will find every ounce of inspiration you need to finish thinking about what the race supports.
+Nuun on the course
+Donuts and chocolate milk at the finish
+Supportive downtown and neighborhoods
+Finishing on the field of AutoZone Park
+Late hours (9:00pm) for packet pick-up on Friday.
-Parking for the expo was frustrating.
-Paid parking for both the expo and race day.
-Walking up the stairs off the field after the race.

Detailed Review:
Living only a few hours away I didn’t drive in until Friday evening for the expo. The expo had great evening hours the night before the race with the expo open until 8:00 and packet pick-up available until 9:00pm. I arrived into the area between 6:00pm and 7:00pm. My biggest complaint about my experience over the weekend was the parking situation for the expo. I followed the traffic toward the Convention Center assuming there was a parking garage, I’m still not sure if there was actually parking at the Convention Center. After rounding the corner and sitting a good ten minutes trying to get down the block I whipped a U-turn and parked in one of the pay lots across the main street. I understand the race can’t control traffic (there was another event going on at the same time), but was frustrated they didn’t communicate it would be more efficient to opt for the parking nearby. There was so much communication about race day parking, but nothing about the expo (I went back and scoured the emails they sent). My recommendation, if you do this race, make the left turn and pay to park it will take so much less time.

The expo had a good number of vendors and sponsors. Thomas Breads was there handing out samples and it seemed like they may have also been giving out entire sleeves of English muffins.

My race day started earlier than I had originally planned after I started researching parking. In every pre-race communication, they highly encouraged arriving early to guarantee parking. There were a number of lots in the area but several of the roads around the area were closed or partially closed at points for the race. They run the 5k and 10k prior to the half marathon and marathon starts. As such, a number of the roads that may not be closed until later for the marathon/half start close earlier. The marathon didn’t start until 8:30, but the 5k/10k start was at 7:00 so I made sure I got into a lot before that started. I paid $10 to park about 2 blocks from AutoZone Park (finish line).

Pre-race there were a number of portables roughly a block away from the start (on the same block as the finish). These were also near gear check. When I got over to the start area, there were a number of runners searching for restrooms. They weren’t aware of the portables since they didn’t check gear.

As advertised, after corral 1 started each subsequent corral started about three minutes later. The corrals were self-seated. There was the normal crowding at the start of the race, I along with several other runners took to the sidewalk for a bit to avoid the constant weaving. Overall the course was pretty flat. There was one hill on Beale Street very early in the race (before mile 3). Much like other races of this size, there were areas with a ton of crowd support and then other areas that got pretty quiet. The race runs through the St. Jude campus where there is a ton of energy. I cannot count the times I heard a spectator thank me or another runner for simply being out there running that day.

The fun stuff on the course included donuts, three or four beer stops, and one neighborhood party handing out Fireball shots. Hydration stations were frequent and well-staffed with amazing volunteers. One of my favorite parts of this race, rather than Gatorade they had Nuun at the hydration stations, which is my preferred “sports drink”.

The finish line is on the field of the Memphis Cardinals. I always love the races that bring me into a stadium for the finish, this was no different. There are two downfalls with this though. They had plastic down to protect the field and I was a bit nervous with the rain in the area I was going to slip. Also finishing on the field required all runners to climb up a number of steps up to the concourse.

In the runner refresh area on the concourse, they were handing out beer (each runner had two tickets), pizza, DONUTS, and CHOCOLATE MILK. Once up on the concourse I got to do a full lap to exit.

One of the benefits of running races in the cooler months of the year is the long sleeve swag. It is always nice to add a long sleeve tee to my collection as I’m much more likely to get use out of it in every day wear than I am the t-shirts. I really liked that the shirts were specific to the race. When I put in the extra effort to do that second half it is nice to have swag that celebrates that effort. In addition to the tee they also handed out pretty nice reusable bags. They have a mesh back, great for airing out the gear and a clear plastic front advertising the race. The medal was a mock record player. The back spins just like a record and has mini Memphis symbols along the border.