Latest reviews by Megan

(2015)
"Super Jolly and Very PR-y!"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
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The Foot Traffic Holiday Half is a fantastic end to your year. If you are local, or even if you are visiting from out of town, Foot Traffic (a local running company) organizes a fantastic and fun race for all paces. I ran with my best friend from college, and we both felt welcomed and warm for the entire race. The morning started with ample parking in a lot on Swan Island, and a great number of buses to shuttle us to the start. This was VERY well organized, and we had no problem getting right on the bus.

Once we arrived at the start line,we noticed right away that there was a huge line of porta-potties to greet us! Every runner's dream! We were led into an INDOOR packet pick-up and waiting area in Adidas campus, replete with fun Oregon Lottery photos, merchandise to purchase, coffee, and some snacks. We had a great time catching up before the race in a warm, inviting environment.

The race itself was well organized, and fairly flat. The route led us along the Willamette River, which was a little cold but beautiful. We were greeted with several groups of carolers, lots of local cheering residents, some excellent costumed race volunteers (see picture), and, yes, MORE porta-potties! It was a relief to my relatively inexperienced friend who is just starting out again.

At mile 7ish, we heard that there was a horrible tanker truck accident that caused a thick plume of black chemical smoke that was blowing into our route. Unfortunately, police had to cut our race short, so we had to finish our route later. Even though our half was actually 10 miles due to this, we had a great time. At "mile 12," they were even passing out gingerbread cookies!

The only thing we wished Foot Traffic offered was an opportunity to buy either beanies or sweatshirts. We loved the race so much, we wanted all the swag! Their race shirts were very high quality, I got so many compliments on it the next day. The medals were also VERY cute, if you're a bling person like me! I'll definitely make this race an annual thing.

HF#11936

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(2015)
"Great Experience, Remix Rocks! But Please more potties!"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management

First off, I had a great time. My husband, a fairly novice runner, came with me, and I was hoping to make it a great experience for him so he felt like he could do it again!

Well I'm happy to report that the 5k was a hit with him and me, we were corralled pretty well, and didn't have to bob and weave too many other run/walkers. We LOVED the glow my vibe of the race. Matt and Kim were excellent performers, and the post-race fuel and beer was excellent.

The half the next day was pretty big. We knew this going in, but did not anticipate the wind/rain, so we froze a little before the race! I highly recommend either estimate your time at your PR when you register, or wear three layers, at least. We also heard a lot of people talking about the need for porta potties next to the wait lines. You are waiting for an hour, so even if you went earlier, a lot of us really needed added ones beside the corrals too.

During the race, the scenery was great, but we planned on running a lot and there were a LOT of walkers. It was almost dangerous at times to Weave around so many walkers. Most people in our 12:00 min/mile pacing estimation were walking. Again, I highly recommend you estimate your finish time to the upper level of your abilities so you are corralled with people who run more, if you are a slower runner but still intend to run much of it.

Water/aid/medical stations were great, the bands were awesome! The only thing I deeply hope in the depths of my soul is that there are more porta potties on the course in the future. We lost 20 minutes on our finish time waiting in porta potty lines (mile 6+ had one, but there was a wait of 10 people for that one, so we kept going and finally at mile 8+ there were two with another 10 people and NO TOILET PAPER)...I really hope this changes.

All in all, though, we had a great experience. Thank you, Rock N Roll, for making my hub's experience so great!

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