I chose this race to check off Oklahoma from my 50 state quest, and to see what this popular race was all about.

There is a 5k on Saturday and half and full on Sunday. Expo was held for 2 days. I was surprised that the expo was relatively quiet both days, even though it had all the vendors you need (and Bart Yasso!) I was excited to do my first Half Fanatic event, even though I had been a member for years. The Half Fanatics, Marathon Maniacs and 50 states club have a HUGE presence at this race.

The 5k participants got a really nice lightweight hoodie and a smaller version of the goddess medal. The half participants get a jacket and a bigger medal and the full people get a vest and even bigger medal.

Even the 5k has a really big party afterwards. There was a band and 2 free local craft beers included. I did both the 5k and half. I earned a "doubler" coin for doing both. If you are a member of any of the special clubs I mentioned earlier, you can earn a custom club medal for this.

The half and full start together and run about 12.5 miles together. There is a fun confetti cannon for each corral. The first half of the half marathon is very hilly through downtown Tulsa. Then it went along the Arkansas river and was flat and exposed to the elements. This year's race was bitter cold, with windchils in the 20s. It was unfortunately too cold to stay and enjoy the post race fun.

The race is incredibly well organized, and there were so many people there celebrating milestone races - their 50th state or 50th half, etc. This race has a ton of support, whether it is your 1st race or 50th. You really feel like you are part of something big.