Reader's Digest Version: the course makes for a quiet long run through the woods...not crazy about the parking situation or the race shirts.

First, this race sells out like hot cakes. Get it while you can.

Course: it starts in a park on paved streets (first two miles) before turning onto the American Tobacco Trail (unpaved bridle). This paved part is downhill, which makes it uphill on your way back to the finish. It's not steep, but it's just long and continuing, and makes for a finish where you'll need something in the tank. The path is wide, and that's where the half splits from the full and the crowd thins some. It's an out and back on the trail, with ample aid stations. But the route itself is better for a quiet long run than a race mentality for me. I found I got a bit bored for a bit around miles 3-4 and from miles 9-11. It's pretty, but it's pretty much all the same, too.

T-shirts/Swag: I'm not a tall girl. I got a small women's shirt, and it is nearly too short for me; it barely meets the top of my shorts. I don't like wearing it because the cut is boxy and short - a bad combo. I do love the big, train-themed medal.

Parking/access: get the parking pass. It is worth every bit of the $10. Otherwise, you're crunched on race morning catching a bus or scrambling for somewhere close-ish to park. Buy the pass, but like the registrations, they sell out crazy early.