This was my second year participating in the Indianapolis Monumental Half Marathon. The race was well organized and the pre-race instructions and emails were frequent and informative. There are many hotels that are close to the start/finish line. Four hotels connect to the expo center making parking a breeze once you park at your hotel. I parked once I arrived and took the catwalk to the expo and walked to dinner. There are many options for good food ranging from world class steak houses (St. Elmo's) to typical American eateries. Indianapolis is a great city to enjoy some post race activities such as the zoo, children's museum and shopping.
The expo was well stocked with a variety of vendors. You received a dry fit tech shirt upon packet pick up in your race gear check bag. This race has become a hot ticket in the mid-west. It is a fast and flat Boston qualifier and sells out. I registered right before the sell out and paid $150 for the marathon entry. I decided I was not recovered enough from an Ironman a few weeks ago so I determined it was in my best interest to downgrade to the half marathon. I was able to do this without any problems at the race expo. I was however, charged a $20 downgrade fee. Basically I ended up paying $170 for a half marathon. I do understand the change fee cost because of timing chip, new bib, etc. I know for 2017 to register early. However, the IMM donates a lot of money for public education in Indianapolis so at the end of the day I have no issue with the price or fees.
The corral start was a bit unorganized. The placement of the stage impeded the flow of people heading to their corrals. Many people were in seeded corrals without the bib identification. Other than the usual few people that line up in a seeded corral and start walking from the get go, the start went smoothly. The course is flat and the pavement is smooth with the exception of a few places around miles 9-10. The course was clearly marked and the marathon/half marathon split was clearly visible at mile 7. There was good crowd support and the aid stations were plentiful and well staffed. The finish line area is great! The finish area is organized and runners receive a nice finisher's hat, medal and snacks. Medal engraving is available on site as well as the sale of monumental merchandise. The results tent allows runners to get a print out of their preliminary placings upon finishing. Oh and there is Tru Moo, my favorite!
One thing I want to add is that the IMM does a great job of supporting healthy communities in the schools in Indianapolis. My friend sponsors a running club at a high poverty school and her students get to complete the 5k. Several students are assigned a teacher or parent volunteer, and the kids from ages kindergarten and up make their way to the finish line. They receive, like all 5k finishers, a medal and a hat and a race shirt. I loved seeing all the running club kids at the finish line, knowing just how much they trained for the event. To me, this makes this event extra special as it focuses on fostering healthy communities and promoting the joy of running.
The race management does an outstanding job of communication, production and giving back to the community. I highly recommend making this a must do fall half or full marathon!

This is my fourth year participating in the Rock and Roll STL half marathon. I love the beautiful course that winds around the iconic Busch Stadium, passes the Fox Theatre and the Botanical Gardens. The course also goes through some beautiful neighborhoods that are great for viewing fall foliage. The start line is well organized and there are ample porty potties at the start line. Corrals are organized and and the start moves quickly and efficiently. The water stops are plentiful and well staffed. There is plentiful on course entertainment. The expo seemed to be very sparse this year. There were not many vendors present although the RNR merchandise was very reasonably priced. The race shirt included with your entry is a high quality Brooks tech t-shirt. The medals are heavy and well representative of the downtown St. Louis area. The finish line was well organized and staff members kept athletes moving through the finish corral. Snacks included pretzels, bananas, chocolate milk, water, gatorade, Micehlob Ultra and more. This is one of my favorite fall races in the Mid-West! The downtown hotels are reasonably priced for a big city and are walking distance to the start and finish lines.

Run the Bluegrass takes runners through the historic thoroughbred farms around Keenland Park. The race course is recognized as one of the most beautiful half marathon courses in the US, and for good reason. This is my second time doing this race. It is not an easy course by any means. You are either going up a hill, or down- nothing in between. The scenery is picturesque as the rolling and winding hills take you by pastures of magnificent thoroughbred horses and their babies frolicking about.
The weekend of events kicks off with many tour options from Bourbon sampling to driving tours through the area. Race weekend even includes options for yoga and a post-race themed party. I only participated in the race expo and the race. The expo is situated on grounds at the gorgeous Keenland Race Track. The expo is well organized and stocked with a variety of vendors. Pre-race communication is excellent as race emails detail events, parking and other important information. Parking is plentiful but it is important to arrive early to avoid long lines for parking entry. There are three distance options including the half, a 7 miler and a 3.6 "yearling" event, new this year. The three options are great because it gives people time to walk a shorter distance if they desire as long as they make the 3.5 hour cut off time. The medals are heavy, high quality and representative of the history of thoroughbred racing. The medals are some of the best I have seen! Ample restrooms were available at the start line and I was able to move through the line in about 10 minutes. There was a delay in the start due to an accident on the highway coming into Keenland that backed up traffic. However, the race started off smoothly and for the most part people lined up in the appropriate corrals. My favorite of any Kentucky race start is the playing of "My Old Kentucky Home" on the trumpet. This race, was no exception! Racers start off and immediately the grind of the up and down begin. This is a course in which pacing is imperative. The hills are not forgiving so proceed with caution and dial it back a bit so you can finish strong and enjoy the magnificent scenery. The aid stations were stocked with a local company's electrolyte drink called, SWORD. The drink is deliciously refreshing and was available at every aid station. Water and SWORD were the only options for refreshments on course, albeit the beer you could grab! I did not see any problem with liquid nutrition on the course only. If people need gels and other items they can easily bring them. Maybe having orange slices would be a benefit but I was completely satisfied with the on course nutrition. There were a couple places were bands were playing but there is not a lot of spectators due to the fact it goes through closed roads around people's private farms. You don't really need spectators when you have sweeping views of historic horse country. The finish line is well organized as each finisher is handed a goodie bag in order to allow all finishers to receive snacks. I do not like races in which people literally take handfuls of snacks at the finish. This is a great way to make sure all runners receive post race snacks. In addition to a bag with chips, a granola bar, fruit snacks and some candy, runners were treated to donuts, bananas, bottled water, Tru Moo Chocolate Milk, SWORD, beer, Papa John's pizza and sausage patty sandwiches. There was probably more food there that I missed! I got the chance to see the awards!! Of course, I didn't win one but wow, they were one of a kind small bourbon barrels with the award placing on them! First class all the way! There is an option to "Double Down" and finish Run the Bluegrass and the KY Derby Half/Full Marathon April 30 and you receive an additional series medal as well. This will be the second year I have doubled down. The race shirts this year were a black light weight hooded pullover. Nothing fancy but I like that they are doing something different than the overdone, cheaply made tech shirts! I am impressed with the race director as he clearly makes it known how much he cares about the production of this event. The course is difficult and serves as a great hill workout with sweeping views of Kentucky horse country. The host hotel, the Griffin Gate Marriott, had late check out available and reasonable room rates as well. Overall, a well orchestrated, first class event.