I highly recommend the marathon and if you have flexibility in your travel kick-off the weekend with the 5k on Saturday.

Highlights:
+Awesome swag. I loved the shirts I got for both the 5k and the marathon. The medals are my favorite to date, very unique. The bonus swag for doing the double (5k + marathon or half) was a Route 66 cup (not another medal) and there was a unique coin for those runners that took the Center of the Universe detour.
+Energetic start line. Between the Indian drummers and the confetti cannon at the start, I was pumped when I crossed the start line.
+Great event for those in the Marathon Maniacs, 50 States, or Half Fanatics with free VIP areas at the start and finish plus a specialized finisher medal.
+The neighborhoods are incredibly supportive and provide a lot of energy on the course (and the offer of beer or Jell-O shots).
-Running longer than the official race is inevitable due to the number of turns (unless you are a tangent pro). I clocked 26.8 miles with the detour (target mileage was 26.5).
-If you are looking for a flat race, this is not it. The hills are not incredibly difficult, but they do run throughout. I captured a bit less than 700 feet of elevation gain over the course.
-If you choose to run the 5k on Saturday (a little off topic), be prepared for a lot of walkers to start at the front. It made the first half mile a bit frustrating.
-If you thrive on the crowd energy, be ready to pump yourself up as there are several areas that are very quiet.

Detailed Review:
Expo. The expo was held at the convention center near my hotel. I was able to walk over so I cannot comment on parking. The expo was a midsize event with some popular vendors present including a large Fleet Feet booth and Brooks. For those running both races, most runners were required to stand in line to pick up both bibs. I got lucky and encountered some awesome volunteers, one of which graciously walked to the opposite end of the booth and grabbed my 5k bib for me. I went to the expo on Friday so a large portion of the attendees were there picking up 5k bibs and the line was going a little slow. Once equipped with my bibs, I had to walk across the expo hall to get to my shirts, this seems to be the new go-to setup at expos, bibs on one side of the vendor booths and swag on the other side. Going to the expo on Day 1, mid-afternoon there was not a large crowd. Moving through the booths was pretty easy.

Swag. For the 5k I received a tech-tee and for the marathon I received a nice quarter zip long sleeve tech tee. They also gave out reusable bags to carry the swag. I’m a huge fan of the reusable bags so I was pretty excited for these. For the other freebies (sample foods) they had a table set up near the front of the expo hall. You could choose to take what you wanted and pass on the items you didn’t.

Courses. The 5k course on Saturday started and finished the same area the marathon and half marathons would finish the next day. The 5k course did a quick route through the downtown Tulsa area wrapping up in the same way the races the next day would. There were a three decent inclines on the course. The start was a frustrating as a large number of walkers started at the front of the corrals making the first half-mile very challenging. I was very impressed with the finish line supplies for the 5k. At the finish they had heat sheets, water, Gatorade, and a few snack items.

I opted the run the full marathon with the Center of the Universe detour on Sunday. The course was a point to point with the start line being amongst the downtown buildings and the finish being near a park area. I had registered as a member of Marathon Maniacs so I had access to a private group area with designated gear drop and potties. I will say, upon wandering the night before, it seemed there would be ample potties with several stationed each block near the entrances of the four corrals. Runners were required to be in their start corral five minutes before the start of the race, otherwise they would need to start in Corral D. The same applied for any runners that wanted to run together but were assigned different corrals, it wasn’t a just go back to B or C if one was in A, both runners had to go back to D. I felt this start line had a lot of energy and we were sent off with a confetti cannon.

I flew into Tulsa having had several people tell me “oh, Tulsa, that should be a pretty flat race, right”. I am here to tell you, it is not. Runner beware #1, you will run hills the entire course. There is an incline within a half-mile of the finish, hills the ENTIRE course. My Garmin clocked just less than 700 feet of elevation gain versus my friend’s that clocked around 740 feet. Not incredibly difficult, but certainly not flat. Runner beware #2, you will run more than 26.2 (or 26.5 with the detour). There are a ton of turns and unless you are an expert on nailing the tangents it is inevitable to add extra mileage. I took the detour, which guaranteed me 26.5 miles my Garmin registered 26.8 miles. To reiterate, I have full confidence this is a certified on point course, but you must nail the tangents (and not weave around other runners) to finish at 26.2 miles.

Both the half marathon and marathon run together through mile twelve. The split occurs around 12.5 miles. Thankfully, this is far enough away you will not hear the finish line excitement. Both the front half and the back half of the marathon run through several neighborhoods. There are block parties set up in several and the neighborhoods are all in. At a minimum I was offered beer five to six times and there was at least one unofficial “hydration station” providing Jell-O shots. Unfortunately, the Jell-O shots came around mile 9. Runner beware #3, there are some quiet areas on the course with no crowd support.

Hydration was plentiful with aid stations at least every two miles early in the race and every mile from the twenty-mile point to the finish. Gatorade and water were provided at each station and there were three to four with additional fruit, pretzels, or energy gels.

Finish Line. The finish line area was nearly perfect (they didn’t have regular chocolate milk) with their offerings. Heat sheets and medals were provided shortly after the finish line, followed immediately by liquids including water, Gatorade, Muscle Milk, and soda (or pop). A bit further down, a tent was set up where they were serving pasta and had a spread of fruits, bars, and other individually wrapped goodies. I grabbed some plain pasta (the sauce didn’t sound appealing to me). Each bib also came equipped with two free beer tickets.

Medal. The medal I received is the most unique I’ve earned to date (in 40+ half marathons and 10+ marathons). In addition to the medal, since I’d completed the 5k the day prior, I received a Route 66 Marathon glass. On top of this coolness, since I opted to take the Center of the Universe detour I also scored a coin to add to my collection.