This was my second time running Cap City, the first being in 2012. This year, the weather messed with us and the race ended up being shortened because of lightning, but here's the low down.

The Expo: This year, was held at the Vue. In the past, it's been at the Convention Center. Since the location was smaller, there was only Fleet Feet, Front Runner and Second Sole there. I feel like with the running community in Columbus, there could have been more local running groups, etc there. I wasn't a fan of the location, especially if you were flying in. It wasn't easy to get to and not a lot of parking.

Swag: Loved the shirts and the string bags (which were sturdy as compared to the flimsy ones I've seen in other races). However, the shirts ran really small. Some women were going from small to larges and they'd normally be a small.

Distances: Half Marathon, Quarter Marathon (6.55 miles), 5K

Race Day: Race started at 8 AM in the Brewery District at Columbus Commons. There were storms the night before, but at the start of the race, it was only cloudy. The course goes through German Village, the Short North, OSU and Downtown Columbus. The Course is relatively flat, some minor hills that aren't that bad. Some of the course mirrors the Columbus Marathon/Half Marathon in October. There was some rain around mile 2 that didn't last and again around mile 6 that also stopped. I got to right before Mile 9 where the quarter marathon and 5K headed towards the finish and the half marathon continued on when lightning and thunder caused the race to be diverted, so I ended up only running a 15K. Taking a medal kind of felt cheap to me since I didn't finish the race. I actually ended up running another 4 miles at the hotel. Some people were stranded on open course with no good way to get to clear safety.

Post Race Party: I enjoyed some of the VIP tent (personal bag check, porta potties pre and post race food from Mitchell Restaurants), however, the race and post race party ended up being cancelled. They were giving pizza for runners to take so it wouldn't go to race

Bag Check: you could drop your bag off at the bag check at the finish. Some people were checking cell phones and keys, but when the race was cancelled, bags were stranded and people were complaining that they couldn't get anywhere. That's on you if you're checking car keys and phones!

Overall, I know how good this race can be, but weather didn't cooperate this year. I think the shirts need to be reexamined because they were too small. I also think the start time should have been 7 AM instead of 8 AM. Not sure how much the US Half Marathon Championships had to do with it, but when only 1200 people finish the half because of weather issues that were predicted, I feel like things need to be looked at