This race has 20,000 runners from all over the world. This was my first time running the race and it was probably the coldest race I have ever done. The weather was not ideal at all, but I'll try to provide a breakdown of the race.

Miles 1-6: Central Park
So the first half of the race is in Central Park. As a runner, you either love or hate Central Park. It’s definitely challenging with the hills. Around mile 3 we hit the biggest hill which is Harlem Hill. It’s a pretty big hill and you feel like it will never end, but once you get to the top, you rejoice! After that you have a few more hills and then you exit the park.

Miles 6-8: Times Square
SO MUCH FUN! I usually hate Times Square because it’s way too crowded but it was so awesome to hear the spectators and give a bunch of high fives AND I was lucky enough to see the kids race in Times Square while I was running so of course I had to cheer them on as well! I think I smiled the entire time.

Miles 8-12: West Side Highway
This was by far the worse part of the race for me. I was still cold and now getting hit with wind gusts. Also it seemed like this part of the race just went on forever and ever! This is probably the most boring part of the race by far, but it's primarily flat so that's always good!

Mile 12-13.1: Tunnel and Finish Line
Around mile 12 you enter a tunnel, which was awful. I’m not afraid of tight spaces or the dark, but In just felt uneasy. It was also super windy so that was of no help at all. Once we exited the tunnel you see a 400ft sign which means it's time to pick up the pace.

Expo - This wasn't a regular "expo". There werent many vendors, but they did have a shopping area, a place to eat, easy access to the t-shirt/bib pickup and a chance to hear course strategy from experts.

Aid Stations - Water/Gatorade stations were fully stocked and volunteers we awesome, as usual!

Post-Race Food - We received a bag with an apple, pretzels, water and gatorade. While that was nice, an apple is not something I want to see after running 13.6 miles (the course measured long for me). Give me a bagel!!

Overall, the race wasn't bad but towards the end it can get a little boring for sure!

I've started and re-started this post a few times. I knew this wouldn't be the most fun race recap to write but I have to #keepitreal so here is goes..

I think I'll break this recap into the good, the bad and the ugly to make it a little easier to get all my thoughts down.

The Good:
Finisher Medal - Hands down, RnR has the best race medals, period. I have been pleased with all of their medals. They are super unique and heavy. Also this medal happens to do double duty as a bottle opener :)

Race Shirt - Again, great quality and the subway theme was different - I love it!

Volunteers - All the volunteers I encountered on the course were joyful, super energetic and always smiling. This is very typical for RnR volunteers!

Water/gatorade stations - I didn't need to stop for water until mile 9 but the stations that I saw had enough volunteers. A few volunteers were in front of the table holding the cups and then there were tables stacked with cups. I felt like the stations were very well stocked.

Race Course - Overall the course was flat up until Mile 11 in Prospect Park. That hill seemed to go on forever!

Perfect Weather - We could not have asked for better weather. Sure, it was a little cold at the start but it warmed up. It was a prefect Fall day in my opinion (just a little windy!)

The Bad:

Post Race Food - For the life of me, I do not understand why getting a bagel after running for 2+ hours is so hard? This is one of my biggest pet peeves! After the race they had power bars, bananas, granola, water, gatorade and chocolate milk available. It was just a weird mix of items.

Incorrect Tracking - RnR offers runner tracking through text message. Originally I signed up to get it on my phone so I could see my splits once I finished the race. As I was standing in the port a potty line, my phone buzzed stating I had crossed the 5K mark...even though I had not even crossed the start line yet! Eventually it worked itself out.

Music - A definite lack of bands on the course, but I think this could have been due to noise ordinances in Brooklyn, I'm not exactly sure.

The Ugly:

Okay, so before I start let me say that overall I like Rock 'n' Roll races, but what I and many other runners experienced on Saturday before the race was really unacceptable. I expect more from a huge racing organization that puts on races in many large cities.

The Security Line - Weeks before the race, we were told that there would be a security checkpoint before entering the corrals. This was fine as the NYRR Airbnb Brooklyn Half had the same thing. It literally took me 5 minutes to get through that security line so I assumed it would be the same for the RnR Brooklyn race...I was wrong. I was in line for at least 45 minutes. Finally we were told that if we didn't have a bag we could walk through the side entrance. So basically I just wasted almost an hour to not get checked at security. Yup, makes total sense. Look, I'm all for a security checkpoint, especially for a large race in New York, but that should have been planned way better. I still have no idea why the line was so backed up. Because if this, the race started 30 minutes late at 7:30.

Port a Potty Lines - After I picked up my bib and started my walk to the security line, I hard to urge to pee (never a good thing). I was going to use the port a potty but the line was absolutely INSANE!! I cannot even describe how long this line was. Basically if I had waited in that line, it would have been an hour wait easily. I knew there had to be port a potties available by the corrals. There were only 12 port a potties near the corrals...yes only 12! I'm sorry but that's total bullshit. Again, I waited on that line for over 30 minutes. Basically I crossed the start line at 8:15, 5 minutes before they were going to remove the start line mat. Also I had this exact same problem at RnRDC. Note to RnR - You can never have too many port a potties!!

Based on this experience I don't think I would run this particular race next year, but I will try other Rock 'n' Roll races in the future. I'm currently signed up for Rock 'n' Roll San Diego and Chicago for 2016. I did Chicago this year so I know what to expect but I hope San Diego is a good experience.

Update: Last night Rock 'n' Roll sent a Congratulations email and also apologized for the laste start. Below is a snippet of that email:

We sincerely apologize for the delayed start and otherwise hope you had a great race experience. To ensure the safety of the event and its participants, local law enforcement put counter terrorism measures in place where athletes have to be screened prior to the start. There was a delay in getting all participants through the screening point and clearing the course which delayed the start of the race. We are already working at ways to address this issue and others for 2016 and beyond.

We hope you enjoyed the rest of the day's festivities and we acknowledge and understand there are improvements we need to make for next year (we’ll be sending you a survey for your thoughts shortly!).

I really appreciate the email and the apology. I think that was very classy on their part. I still will not run the race next year but if I hear good feedback after the 2016 race I will consider going back in 2017.

When I first heard about this race, I signed up right away. This was the first time that the organization was holding a walk/run in Stamford. I love this organization and all that they do to help children battling cancer and their families. It's one of those organizations where I wish I could do more because of all the great work that they do.

What was pretty cool about this race was the 11:00 a.m. start time. Luckily the temperature was very "Fall" like so it wasn't too hot at the start. I appreciated the late start time.

We arrived to the race around 10:15 and it was very well organized. It only took a few minutes to get our bibs and find our friends.

Before the race, there was an opening ceremony filled with music, zumba and a warm up to get everyone ready for the run/walk. They also had a photo booth available to take photos before the race.

Overall the race was very organized from start to finish. Bib pick up was a breeze and they had food and water available before and after the race. I also liked that they had entertainment and a Kids zone for the children.

My only one recommendation would be about the course. The 5K race started 15 minutes before the walk. The route required two loops in a park and by the second loop the runners were merging with the walkers. It caused the runners to slow down and/or run on the grass just to get by the walkers. To avoid this, I think the walk should start 30 minutes after the run. In addition, the mile markers were way off so it made it hard to know when to "push it" and the end. Even with these issues, I still think it was one of the best local races that I have done in Stamford and I would definitely do it again.

The communication for the race could not have been better. The race director was constantly providing updates on their Facebook page and sending emails weeks leading up to the race. Some smaller races do not have this communication so it was great to see that everything was already very organized.

The race was scheduled to start at 8:00am so I arrived by 7:00am to make sure I had enough time to pick up my bib and prepare for the race. Make sure you get there early to find parking. It was already very crowded when I arrived an hour before the race. Bib pick up was easy-peasy and only took 2 minutes.

Let's discuss some of the pros/cons of the race:

Pros
Communication - As I mentioned before, great pre-race, race day and after-race communication. Couldn't have asked for anything better
Water Stations - There were plenty of water stations along the course (I believe 6 in total). I didn't have to stop for water since I had my Nathan handheld with me, but there were plenty of volunteers to hand out water and Gatorade. They also had volunteers handing out GU along the course which I thought was great (even though I don't use GU). Most races only have GU available at one station but this race had it available at multiple locations.
Community Support - Since this race goes through Milford, many residents came out to cheer us on. It was really heart-warming to get high-fives from children and cheers and thumbs up from adults. Sometimes that support is really needed and I needed it a whole bunch!
Goody Bag/Race Shirt - This is the first race goody bag I have received where I will actually use everything. Also the race tech shirt is sleeveless!
Bathrooms - Luckily I didn't have to use the bathroom but I didn't see any lines, which is always a good thing.
Medal - You know I'm all about the "bling-bling" and this medal didn't disappoint. It's very fitting that the medal is a scull because I felt like death during and after the race.

Cons
Course - The race course was okay but there were certain areas where someone could/should have been directing traffic. I didn't feel comfortable running on a two-way traffic road with cars to my back. Most drivers were nice but some were assholes.
Finish Line - Okay. I know the beach is great and all, but finishing a race on the sand is just evil. Granted it was only the .1 of the race that was on the sand, but it was brutal. I was so worried about twisting my ankle. I can barely run on solid ground so running on sand was not for me lol.
Post-Race Food - This is just a personal preference since I prefer bagels and fruit at the finish. This race offered Subway sandwiches, chips and a cookie after the race. I'm not a huge fan of deli meat, but I did like that they had a somewhat healthy option available.