This was a unique race. You could choose to do a trail half or the road half or both for a marathon. They started at the same time, which was a little confusing. The trail halfers and those completing both went one way through the start/finish and the road halfers when the other way through the start/finish. Once I turned around and went the right way things got better. The race started and finished on Turkey Mountain, being from out of town this name alone should have warned me that it was going to be a little hilly at some point. I completed the road half, so this review is based on that portion of the race. It was a small race so there were no pacers.
We started in the park and quickly followed a sidewalk on a four lane road to a paved trail that ran along a creek. This part was flat, we ran into non racers exercising but they all gave us the ride a way once seeing a race bib. Along creek were a few aid stations, after about three miles we reached a turn around point and headed back toward Turkey Mountain. Once back in the park we went down a very steep hill, at that point I realized I would be going up that hill at the end, Since there was a little bit of construction the course had been modified the day before and it ended up being 13.5 miles instead of 13.1 miles. The hill at the end was one of the worst hills I have ever ran, and I was told by a fellow racer at the beginning that most people don't run it because it is so steep.

The swag- I got a long sleeve cotton shirt which is ok and a half medal. (The medal as yin/yang one half for road/ one half for trail) While it is a neat concept I don't know if I will get the yin as I saw the hill at the beginning of the trail race and I don't know if any yin is worth that much.

Rock the Parkway was the first half I ever completed in 2012. Since then I have "Rocked the Parkway" in 2013 and 2014. I had to take a year off due to a surgery but hope to put this race on my list in 2016.

This is a great first half for anyone looking to do one because the Expo will get you excited for the race and the fan support will help you finish it! The course has a few small hills but overall is a fairly easy run. Along the course different bands play live music to keep you pumped up while you run. The pacers are always fabulous too.

The post race food is great and the medal is huge!

First of all if you are a runner and you ever get a chance to do an overnight relay, please do it is an amazing experience.
Ragnar is unlike any other race- this 200 mile relay goes around the clock until your team of 12 finishes. Each person get three legs of the 200 mile race, ranging from 12-20 miles in total. Most teams travel in large 15 passenger vans. These vans are decorated by the teams and other teams "tag" or graffiti the vans while parked at the drop/pick up points. Some teams report "kills" (people they pass along the race route) in tallies on the sides of their vans. The whole atmosphere of being with other runners for two days in a nonstop running environment is awesome.

The scenery was amazing, as we started in San Francisco gong over the Golden Gate Bridge and ended in Napa Wine Country.

The race wasn't well marked and it was very easy to take a wrong turn especially at night. One of the people in our group ended up going 8 miles instead of his 4 during his overnight leg. There was also one leg that I didn't see anyone else running so I could see how a person could get lost. I'm sure it wasn't fun at the time for him, but it became quite the story later.