San Diego is home away from home for me so I was fairly biased in favor of this race from the beginning. The expo was terrific, as is to be expected from a Rock-n-Roll event, there were plenty of vendors to talk to and lots of good information. I didn't have any issues with parking at the expo, it was a pain to pay $15 to park at the convention center but most big city events are going to gouge you on parking, especially if it's in a downtown area. I used the shuttle system to get to the starting line, which meant standing in a long line at 5AM but it moved fast and was way better than fighting for a parking spot. The biggest problem pre-race was way too slow of corral releases which meant that a lot of people spent over 30 minutes slowly shuffling towards the start line. This wasn't a huge problem, but when you're fired up and ready to get going, that's a long time to shuffle around after the starting gun has been fired. The course itself could have used some more water front views but the section in Mission Bay was great. It was a big out and back but it was along the ocean so it was a great view. I liked the neighborhoods we ran through and thought it was a good mix of houses and eclectic local shops and restaurants. Fan support in those areas was great, plenty of cheering people and you could definitely feel the support. About the massive hill on Highway 163 from mile 22 to 24 that everyone talks about in regards to this race. I honestly don't mind a race throwing a big challenge in the later miles, I run a lot of hills in training so I don't mind them that much. My issue with this stretch is that running on a highway is just not a lot of fun, especially that late in the race when you're dog tired and need all the distractions you can get. Once you get over the novelty of running on a closed highway, it's a long slow climb that never seems to end with very little scenery and no fan support because you're on the highway. All that being said, once you reach the top it's all downhill to the finish. I loved this race, love the city, and really appreciated how well run the event was from start to finish. In typical Rock-n-Roll fashion, there were plenty of opportunities to be separated from your money and the event has a very corporate feel to it at times. But, I would highly recommend this event and hope to be able to run it again in the future.

As a Baylor alumni and a Waco resident, I am very biased in terms of how I feel about this race. Its’ position on the calendar coming just after the Cowtown is the reason I haven’t run it before this year. But, since I was due for a 12 mile run as part of my training for the Rock and Roll San Diego Marathon in June, I decided the Bearathon would be a fun way to get my miles run.
THE COURSE: As far as what the race director can’t control, the weather was nice and cool at 43 degrees, but a 20 MPH breeze made some parts of the course even harder. The crazy Texas weather that had me dehydrated and hot the Thursday morning before the race had hundreds of runner bundled up and shivering at 7AM on race day. Because I live and train in Waco, I run the hills on a regular basis so I knew what to expect. That being said, those hills are no joke, and it was very easy to pick out the runners who weren’t prepared for them. Fortunately, the hills are in a highly wooded area which eliminated the strong wind from being a factor, they provided plenty of challenge on their own.
SCENERY: The course travels through part of the campus of Baylor University and Baylor Stadium which provides some fantastic views, especially this time of year as spring is just starting to put everything in bloom. The Cameron Park area is where you hit all the hills, but the scenery is excellent and does provide some distraction. Unfortunately, the last mile and a half was routed through an area under construction and the road was in terrible shape. There were way too many loose rocks and pot holes through this area and it seemed really unsafe, especially coming at such a late part of the race.
RACE PRODUCTION: This event is put on by the Baylor Student Foundation and it definitely has a small town, grass roots type of feel to it. There is no expo, just a day before packet pickup at the stadium which went really smoothly, definitely no complaints. The start and finish were done in the same area by the stadium and they were both high energy with good crowds of family and spectators. The food provided after the race was some of the most I have seen at any half marathon. There was plenty of fruit and yogurt, as well as boxes and boxes of Domino’s Pizza for anyone in the mood for some post race pizza. There were also tubs of iced down boxes of chocolate milk, my favorite post race drink. The only negative during the race was the massive confusion at every water station about what was Gatorade and what was water. There was no separation at the stations, the cups were all the same, and the volunteers were only sporadically announcing what was in the cup they were holding. Again, this is a grass roots event designed to earn money for the University so I don’t expect the water stations to be perfect, but this is an area that can be greatly improved.
OVERALL: With or without my bias, this is a great early spring race for anyone looking for a challenging way to get back into gear after a winter layoff. I would encourage everyone to come to Waco and experience this event, just be prepared for big hills and unpredictable Texas weather.

Just finished the 2016 running of the Cowtown Half Marathon in Ft. Worth. This was my 3rd time with the Cowtown (although last year's version was severely affected by ice) and it did not disappoint.
EXPO: Typical large event expo with plenty of vendors. I went early on Friday so it wasn't very crowded and was an absolute breeze to get in and out of with my bib and packet. I would imagine anything needed for the race could have been had at the expo and all vendors were friendly and helpful.
T-SHIRTS: The race shirt is really nice this year with blue stripes down each side of a white shirt. The finisher shirts are dark, which isn't that great for me because I run early in the morning and don't like to wear dark colors, but it's a nice design. The bib had a ticket for a race jacket at the finish which turned out to be the thin, one use type of jacket for staying warm after the race. After getting a cool jacket at the Route 66 in Tulsa, this was a little disappointing.
AID STATIONS: These were all very well done. Plenty of volunteers ready with water or Powerade and all stations matched the format of water first, Powerade second and each was in a different cup. Since I only ran the half marathon, I didn't pay much attention to what food was being offered but there was at least one station giving out Gu packets. There was a kid on the course with a box of doughnut holes and I snagged 2 of those from his box. I assume he was offering them to the runners and I didn't steal a kids' doughnuts, but it was about Mile 11 and I didn't care. Some fruit being at the later stations would have been nice, but again it wasn't expected on the half course.
THE COURSE: I really like this course, it's not hilly but not really flat, either. There are enough rolling hills to make it interesting and the areas the course takes you through are typically active with spectators with a lot to look at. I'm not all that concerned about my time so I like plenty of turns in a course and this one only has one really long straight stretch, I enjoy the change of direction from time to time. The only negatives of the course are two pretty long bridges which are devoid of spectators and don't really go over anything interesting and the run through the Stockyards is on brick paved streets which is tough on the legs. That being said, the spectators and scenery of the Stockyards make this one of the best parts of the course so the bricks are tolerable.
OVERALL: This is a really well managed race with big crowds and great local support. It may be heresy to say, but I say this is a better event than the Metro PCS Dallas Marathon. The only thing to watch out for is the total wild card of Texas weather in February. The same race we fought through ice one year ago and this year we were hoping to get done before the temperatures got into the 70's and it got hot. Highly recommend this event, will stay on my calendar in the years to come.