Latest reviews by Jenna Kinzie

(2016)
"Great race, perfect weather!"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management

This was my first race to do by myself, as well as my first official half marathon. It was a great experience! The race is at Fair Park. I drove (easily accessible by the DART as well), and found the parking gates fine - there was a bit of a cluster of people trying to find out which direction to go in order to park, but that's to be expected with 5,000 people arriving somewhere at the same time. After about 10 min of driving around, I parked, and was practically right by the start line. Yay!
The race started right at 7:30am and there wasn't a huge jam at the start of the race - the pacers helped keep people near people of their speed. The scenery was GREAT! I would definitely do this race again solely based on that. We went around Fair Park and White Rock Lake. The weather was also perfect running weather - never hot, but not cold. The sun never really came out as it was overcast (I personally enjoyed that). The elevation did change a bit, but the hills were beautiful and worth the scenic route.
The aid stations were great - so many awesome volunteers holding out water and Gatorade cups for you - it seemed like they were every about 2-3 miles. There was at least one (I think maybe more) porta-potties as well along the course. The volunteers, police officers, firemen and other staff were great and friendly.
The finish line experience was great - lots of people cheering towards the end and the announcer said every person's name as they crossed the finish line! You got your finisher's medal, then headed towards the breakfast tacos!
The expo area was inside and was nice - breakfast tacos, chocolate milk, bananas, drinks and other treats available for us hungry runners. There were also benches set up to hang out with family/friends while you snack. Right outside the expo area/finish line is a pond (nice scenery, good for photos, great for sitting/stretching).
All in all, I would definitely recommend this race to a friend and would do it again! I hope the breakfast taco people are there again! It was so nice to have something warm after the race. Good job, Dallas Marathon!
NOTE: I'm not sure why the site says December - maybe it's twice a year (?) - I did this race this past weekend (April 10).

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(2016)
"Amazing energy! Epic Expo!"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management

Where to begin....
This was my very first marathon as well ad my first BIG race. 47,000+ runners were in Vegas this weekend! The entire Las Vegas strip was closed off for this event. It's a nighttime run (start time is 4:30pm), so you get to enjoy the night-life and lights. It's like a 26.2 mile long party.

The organization that goes into this is amazing a fine tuned. The expo is unbelievable! We spent the entire day looking through all the booths, wanting to buy everything, and taking pictures.

As for transportation, we stayed at a hotel on the strip (purposefully near the FINISH line) and took the monorail (highly suggested) everywhere else. So, if you're staying on the strip, transportation isn't an issue. Everything is close-by, but the monorail will save you a 30-minute walk everywhere. or, for a pricier option, you can always grab a cab)

The swag was perfect. A nice tech-tee, nice blingy spinny medal, lots of goodies at the expo, and a super rad marathon finishers jacket for marathoners. BIG THING for me here was that you could CHANGE your shirt size AND jacket size if needed! There was an area to switch your shirt (because if you're like me you picked a large but need a small) AND a place to try on the marathoner's jacket so that you are completely satisfied with your hard-earned swag after crossing that finish line. I was really, really thankful for this. I am 5'11" but a stick, so I never know if I need a small or large.

The ENERGY. It was amazing. EVERYONE is out on the sidewalks and overhead on bridges cheering. There were so many emotions that evening. I couldn't help but smile practically the whole way (OK, maybe not miles 19-25...) and come close to tears, overwhelmed with emotion.

The course was fairly flat with just slight incline and decline throughout. The start and finish were a tiny bit down-hill, which was nice. No drastic change in elevation, though (yay!). Just watch out for potholes. I witness one face-plant and my friend twisted her ankle. I had no major issues with that, though.

It was dark for the majority of the run, but the streets were well-lit from all the casinos and night life. Any non-lit areas (some of the course is off the strip) were lit by race management. There was one spot I encountered that was pitch black - maybe a light went out or something. Not really a need for a headlamp or anything in my opinion with all the lights, but I saw one or two people wearing them. I'm sure it helped in that one 20 foot area.

Overall, this race was phenomenal. I would definitely recommend it to someone and it was an amazing, unforgettable first marathon experience.

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(2016)
"Ran smoothly & Will do it again!"
Overall
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Course Scenery
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Ok, so if you did the Plano Balloon Fest half marathon 2016 you're probably thinking "RAIN!"
Thankfully the race had an early start (7:00am) because it was clear skies the whole run for me - it started raining a few minutes after I finished. I still managed to get the Runner's Breakfast, though ;) the ONLY downside (which was uncontrollable) was that it started POURING rain on anybody that took 2 or more hours to run as well as anybody who was finished and trying to check out the vendors. I personally didn't let this effect my overall opinion of this run, though. Though it did affect the experience, it is something that just can't be helped.
So, leaving mother nature out of it - I would definitely do this run again and overall thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought it was extremely well organized. I arrived very early (recommended in the reminder email) and got an AWESOME parking spot. If you get there early, the runners basically get VIP parking. This is a HUGE bonus for me because I get lost. I can never find my car or the start line. I parked and the start line was practically right there. YES!
There were PLENTY of port-a-potties (clean ones!) and hand sanitizer stations outside of them (bonus!). I had time to use the restroom a few times for we took off.
It was clear where to go for the start of the race and they did have pacers ranging from 1:40 to 3:40, which was nice. There wasn't any crowding or traffic jams on the course. There were a lot of people running, but it was spread out and again the pace groups helped avoid congestion.
The views were great! Some of the course was going through beautiful Plano neighborhoods (some with horses in the front yard) and some of it was on a path going through parks. I enjoyed the scenery and the wide paths (less crowding).
As for after the race, it was great (minus the rain) - nice bag check and lots of good vendors - chocolate milk, snacks, and best of all Central Market provided an actual HOT breakfast! Eggs, bacon, has browns, cinnamon rolls, and yogurt and bananas. It was nice.
Overall I would recommend this race and hope to do it again!

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(2016)
"Great run!"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
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Elevation Difficulty
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I loved this run. It was well planned and executed and the scenery was great.

The Rocky Mountain Half is a half marathon as you'd guess, but they just started also doing a 5K run the evening before. So, the 5K was on a Friday at 6:30pm and the Half was the next morning. Many people did both the 5K that evening and half marathon in the morning from what I heard.

The parking was great - we got there very early so we parked right by the Finish line. They give you a map at the expo - in fact, they give you a newsletter with ALL the info you could need in it. The expo was Friday all day and up until the 5K start - lots of good vendors... Honey Stingers, Altra running, hammocks (that you can try!), and lots of other goodies. The volunteers and Vacation Races people were AWESOME. Extremely nice, helpful, enthusiastic... all of the above. I really hope to do more Vacation Races because of this.

We went straight from the expo to the run and the announcer was great and informative. They had corrals/groups that you were pre-assigned to run in, which is great. There were 1,000 people - so not TOO big, but not too small of a group. It thinned out after about a quarter mile.

You might be wondering about elevation on a course in the mountains... it did START uphill (better than ending uphill, right?) and there were a few other up-hill spots throughout, but nothing to dissuade anyone from running it (in my personal opinion). The lowest elevation is about 7,450 ft and the highest is about 7,570 (for the 5K) according to the site. So, nothing too extreme.

The aid stations were fine... there was only one, but for a 5K that's about all you need. I didn't even stop at it, but they had water to fill your pouch. Yes, pouch! They didn't use cups but used "hydrapouches" instead... I think it's a GREAT IDEA... but... for a 5K, and if you're only going to have one aid station... it's just as (if not, more) wasteful because everyone is just throwing away their plastic thingamajig (given to you for free at expo) instead of a cup. Not to get TOO into it, but one tiny paper cup is recyclable/biodegradable and these hydrapouches will probably remain in a hole somewhere for years to come unless they are made out of some special material that I don't know about. Also, everyone was drinking out of them and filling them back up out of the same spout, so I'm not sure how sanitary that is... again I LOVE the idea!

At the end of the race there was an area for you to pick up your goodies... awesome goodie box full of snacks, bananas, chocolate milk, Smarty Pants gummy vitamins, nutrition bars, etc. Then there were a few picnic tables to hang out, eat your snack, and catch your breath.

The swag was awesome! Great T-shirts that come with the run (tech-shirts, that silky material) and AWESOME medals at the end. By far my favorite so far. They also had older shirts you could buy at the expo for $10 or 2 for $15 and they had a really cool shirt with EVERYONE'S name on the back!!! It was $30 so I don't own it but do have a photo of the spot with my name on it :)

Bottom line, do it! The view of the lake is amazing, weather perfect, and people friendly!

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(2016)
"Great Scenery, Not "Too" Hot!"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management

This was overall a great race! The event was very well planned, the weather was hot but not TOO hot - it was a bit overcast and the fact that it starts early in the morning is wonderful because you beast some of the heat. Which brings me to the AID STATIONS! They were WONDERFUL! They were really essential in keeping cool. They were frequent and each one had not only plenty of volunteers handing out water but also more lovely volunteers (THANK YOU!!!) handing out ICE cold towels! They had actual towels at the start and finish of the race, then throughout the race they handed out disposable towels so that you could just get the cold towel on your neck then toss when finished. This really made the difference, especially in miles 8-9.

There were also many nice police officers throughout the course making sure we didn't get run over or anything. They were great and super friendly.

Parking/Access is completely fine and great, though I had a little hiccup with parking - be prepared to arrive EARLY or know your way around White Rock Lake. This is even recommended in your race email as well - to be prepared to walk or even bike to the start line. I thought I parked fairly close to the start line (oops) and thought I had plenty of time to walk there (also oops) and, long story short, ended up running 2 miles to the start line and being very late. TOTALLY NOT the fault of the race management or anything like that - just my own fault for assuming and not being the best at directions/realizing how far I parked. This being said, my recommendation is just to be plenty early and be aware of where the start line is!

The race swag was great - a tech tank for women and tech tee for men and a super nice medal for all finishers.

The post-race was great... lots of samples, popsicles, bananas, water, nutritional drinks, and more. Plenty of shade at the finish and overall nice space for cooling off and hanging out after your run.

The course scenery was GREAT - views of the lake, lots of greenery. And it wasn't crowded (thinned out quickly) so you had room to breathe. There were bikers zooming by in the left lane in some areas, but it didn't really affect us much as we were on the other side of the road. The course was overall fairly flat in my opinion. I think I remember it being a bit downhill and having a breeze at the end, unless I was just delirious and happy to see the finish line. I only remember one tiny uphill part, other than that maybe just slight up/down hills - nothing noteworthy in my book, though. I think course-wise, it was perfect.

Overall, I give this run 5 stars (out of 5) and would definitely do it again (but arrive EARLY) and recommend to a friend!

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