I've run this race twice, 2017 and the inaugural in 2014. Pros and cons:

- Florida Sports Park is a great location for the start/finish of the race. There's plenty of parking, you finish in the stadium, there's both portajohns and preexisting bathrooms on site... really nice place to have a race.
- The course is pretty -- you go through Lely Resort, which is a nice neighborhood in the Naples. You see beautiful golf courses, public statuary, parks, and it's easy for supporters to follow you as you run.
- There was plenty of water and Gatorade on course; the aid stations were plentiful and reasonably well-stocked with enthusiastic volunteers. One station even had bananas.
- The medal and race shirt are pretty nice, as was the spike bag (for half marathoners) that had the race swag.
- Race day packet pickup was a breeze; they assigned numbers on the fly, so it was literally "here's your bib, input your name, pick up your swag to the left."

The cons:
- The course has next to no shade. On a day when the temperature is high and there's no clouds (eg, 2017 -- it was in the high 70's to low 80's all morning, with 100% humidity), it's a killer. The back of the pack turned into a death march after an hour and a half.
- Additionally, the course runs for about 4 miles or so on sidewalk, which is a little harder than blacktop on the feet. Not a huge fan. There's also only one bathroom (in the park, at Mile 7) on course.
- No differentiation between the 5k and half medal. Medals for the 5k don't bother me, but at least change out the ribbon...
- Just before looping around the lake (Mile 7) the course crosses over itself. Having a volunteer directing traffic, or at least some Tensabarrier or a rope keeping those going out from those coming back would have been nice. I didn't witness any problems, but I could see where there could be.
- The course also ran next to the main exit from the stadium. I realized as I was walking to my car, I could easily have been in a post-race daze and blocked someone (or gotten run over) without thinking.
- The postrace snacks were difficult to find; you had to leave the finish chute, exit the stadium, and double back to where packet pickup was. Would have been easier to set it up under the grandstand, or just outside the stadium exit.

Overall, the race is well-executed. I know people will complain about the lack of portajohns on course (Lely wouldn't let the organizers set them up, so I'm told), and there are some cons that might be worth taking into consideration, but it's not like they can control the weather. I'll run the race again.

This is the second time I've run an event at the Fort Myers Marathon. Last year, I did the full (and reviewed it here), this year I ran the half.

The good:
- Course is improved over last year, More beautiful Fort Myers scenery, less light commercial! There's also MUCH less looping around, making for a more interesting run. Still had some bridges (out along the Caloosahachee, back along the Edison, before finishing at Centennial Park), but that doesn't bug me so much.
- Well-stocked aid stations. I didn't have trouble getting water or Gatorade at any of them. There was no GU or food on course for the half.
- Free race photos.

The bad:
- The finish is about a mile from the start. So, if you pay the $5 for "on site" parking, you're hiking back to your car after the race. In theory, there were shuttles, but I never saw one. Solution: park in the city's garage. A little hike before the race, but that's easier.
- I'd honestly prefer the course ran backwards. The bridges were at the end, and the back half of the course was the least shaded. Running that once the sun came out kind of sucked. I'd rather be in the neighborhoods near McGregor when it's sunny.

Overall, the event was improved over last year. The biggest problem was the weather; November down here can be warm, or cool, and you have to take what you can get. This year? Mid 70's and sunny. Since I can complain about the weather, and not the event itself, obviously they're on the right track.

This was the first year of the Best Damn Race Cape Coral, and I surely hope to run it again next year. The pros:
- Well-stocked and enthusiastic aid stations (water and Nuun at all, with 1 that had Gu too).
- Walker-friendly, with a 6:30 cutoff.
- Responsive and accommodating race management (I changed from the full to the half 2 days before the race... without a change fee.)
- Great finish festival with plenty of food and beer, plus free massages!
- As flat a course as you'll ever find. Two tiny hills (a total of about 12') on each segment, and that's IT. Nice neighborhoods to run though, too.
- Semi-corralled start, with flags indicating projected pace (5:30 to 13:00+, as well as walker/stroller), so people could line up realistically and not have to dodge slower runners in the front.
- Pace groups! 14 pace groups! Everything from 3:30 marathon to 3:00 half!
- Medals for all finishers, from the 5k to the marathon.

The cons:
- Parking was difficult; Cape Harbor is oddly laid out for parking. Perhaps, next year, have some volunteers directing cars to parking spots?
- No differentiation between the full and the half medal.
- Though there were a fair number of portajohns at the start, there could have been more; there were people in line for the portas while the National Anthem was playing.

Overall, though, the cons were very minor, while the pros are huge. I'd do this race again in a heartbeat.

The good: Very nice expo, good venue for the start/finish (the race coincided with Pincher's Stone Crab Festival), plenty of nearby parking on race day.

The bad: Crappy course -- 6 bridge segments (hills? In Florida?), boring scenery (light commercial/industrial and old residential for easily 75%) with lots of loops. Poorly-marked and directed course; I know personally 2 runners who logged a 27.2 because they did an extra mini-loop (one part of the course, you did the first time you went past, but not the second. There was no marshal directing traffic, not even a sandwich board noting which way to go). Mile markers were misplaced -- I know that I didn't run an extra .25 miles in the first 2, but the 2 mile marker was at 2.25 by my GPS.

And the cherry on top? No difference in medals. The 13.1 medal is the same as the 26.2. Now, it's a really nice looking medal... but not differentiating them seems just wrong somehow. I've been to races where the medal was the same, but the ribbon was different; that seems fair. It's a different accomplishment, noting the difference only with the t-shirt seems wrong.

All in all, I'm not impressed. This race management company has done 2 local marathons here -- this one, and the Fort Myers Beach Marathon last year. Both times there've been course-map problems. Until they have one go right down here, I'd give this one a pass.

This review is officially for the 2014 race, although I have also run it in 2013. There isn't an expo per se, just a packet pickup tent at Hooters. Nice swag -- a spike bag, tee shirt, and samples of some products (eg, Hammer Fizz tabs). The course itself is a nice mix of twisty-turny road segments on the first 6.5, then a 1 mile out-and-back hill over the Edison Bridge (the lone hill on the course, accounting for two 55' segments of rise), and a long, straight 4.5 mile shot to the finish. The race is well-run, with a cyclist taking course-leading duties, officials at the halfway point separating the relay runners from those doing the half.

The only downside to this race, really, is the view on the back half -- there's about 3 miles of not-so-nice neighborhoods that you run due south through until you get to the turn by Edison Mall to finish. The only decent landmark on that portion of the course is the old City of Palms Park (where the Red Sox spring training games were held until they built Jet Blue Park outside town a couple years ago).

After the finish, the afterparty is excellent -- the title sponsor provides beer and wings for all runners (beer for those of age, naturally), in addition to the de regeiur bananas and bagels. There's a live band and ample seating for the awards ceremony. Age group and overall awards are a stein and a stuffed owl, but everyone gets a Hooters branded medal with the owl. Parking by the mall is plentiful, approximately 1/4 mile from the finish.

Overall, I'd recommend this race to anyone wanting to run a half in early March (1st Sunday in March, traditionally). It coincides with Red Sox and Twins Spring Training, so it makes a decent destination race if you've got a mixed-sport family (run the race, see some baseball). And if you're local, there's really no excuse for not showing up. The weather has been fairly nice for the past 2 years; 50's to low 60's at the start; sure beats running in the snow north of the Mason-Dixon!