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Latest reviews by Marcia
Marcia recommends this race
(2017)
"Run the Golden Gate!"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
San Francisco is already a beautiful city; add a half marathon and it is bliss!
I came from Seattle arriving at SFO around 12 pm the day before the race.
PRO TIP - - Get a Clipper card and take the BART into the city. I saved about $50-$60 on a taxi/Lyft/Uber.
My hotel was about a block from the finish line and my hotel which was incredible. The hotel had great support for runners (Holiday Inn Express) and did early check-in's and out's by request. I got all checked in with a roomy set up. In true runner fashion, I unpacked, took some photos and checked the bus schedule to head down to the Embarcadero for the Expo. The bus ride was about 30 minutes but took us through some amazing scenes.
The Expo was relatively some for a Rock'n'Roll race but got all the essentials. Grabbed my bib, some souvenirs and then headed off to the pier. With a 6 am start time, dinner was early and then a bus ride back to the hotel.
The race offered shuttles from the finish line to the start line beginning at 3:30 am. Great! Since the finish line was a block away, I had a 3:30 am wake up call and headed to the shuttles at 4 am. The one thing I love about San Francisco is the cool weather in the wee hours of the morning. There were plenty of runners and great organization to get folks on the shuttles in an orderly fashion. Kudos to Rock'n'Roll for having Porta-Potties at the shuttle pick up along with the start line.
We arrived at the start line area around 15 minutes later with plenty of time to stretch, hit a bathroom and get in the chute before 5:45 am. As always, lots of patience needed to get through the bathroom lines. There was not music or a normal celebratory start since we were in the middle of a public park and neighborhood. Everyone did their own countdowns as the groups departed. We left the park and up our first expected gnarly hill before mile 1. It was great to have a selfie stop right at mile 1 which reinvigorated the runners after battling hill number 1. One of the great parts of this course is "what goes up must come down". Great downhills help manage the steep inclines and average a decent pace.
By far the best part of this course was crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. What a view! There are only 2 races that shut down the bridge and it was a treat! It also helped that the turnaround at the bridge marked almost the halfway point of the race. I absolutely loved the photo opportunities! The end of the race (miles 10-13) were some challenging/not-impossible rolling "hills" which was great for run/walk intervals. The finish line is at the bottom of a hill which made for a great sprint to the finish.
The finish line was gorgeous and full of amenities. Massages, treats, a complimentary beer and some insane music. I hurried myself along, as I had a 12 pm flight back to Seattle. I would recommend this race to anyone. Great support from the community, great aid stations and selfie stations were amazing!
Don't miss an opportunity to run the Golden Gate in this beautiful California city!
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Marcia recommends this race
(2017)
"Desert Fun! Phoenix Half Marathon Review!"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
Hands down Phoenix is a gorgeous sight! Adding a marathon/half marathon/0K into the mix makes for an amazing weekend!
I personally took on the half marathon and will give you a run down of my experience!
The festivities begin the Friday before the race at the Race Headquarters Hotel for the Expo. Now, for those of you who don't know Phoenix; things are spread out so rent a car or become comfy in your Uber/Lyft. I headed over to the Expo which had a great flow to quickly grab your bib number (if needed), grab your bib and take a look at the course maps. You were then quickly whisked into the fun of the Expo, including a wall of Marathon runner names patterned into the races new sponsor, BMO. Tons of free goodies and even discount athletic wear from local running shops. They even gave out free sponsor socks on your exit. One item that I wasn't too keen on was that women only received tank tops and men received t-shirts. I am not a tank top gal but I was happy with the keys/ID/money pocket in the back of the tank top!
Race morning was pretty stress-free! An Uber/Lyft was able to easily drop you off at the location for the shuttles. The race is point to point, so shuttles are offered to take all runners to their start line beginning at 3:45 am! There were plenty of race volunteers around to make sure that you got on the correct bus (don't want to start at the wrong place). The weather was surprisingly chilly (even for the locals) so the race organizers promised heaters at all the start lines. Well, this may have worked for other races but we were like sardines at each of the probably 30 heaters. Since the race started at 6:30 am, some runners were standing upward of 2 hours prior to taking off; not the best for the legs! There were a TON of porta potties available and lines at the half marathon only became normally long at around 5:45 am. Gear check was available until 6:30 am, which helped so many who brought extra layers to stay warm before the start. Also, water, extra safety pins and vaseline were provided to runners right near the starting line. The awesome announcers gave us plenty of time reminders and we were all easily able to gather at the start line. We were greeted with fireworks to kick off the start of the race...and we were OFF!
The half marathon course is mainly residential and business districts. The scenery was filled with gorgeous gated communities, oranges trees and cheer zones. Along the course there were plenty of aid station stocked with water, electrolytes, gels and even bananas! Many locals came out to cheer and some families even camped out to see their loved ones. The elevation is mainly downhill with only two rolling hills. The finish line was at a popular strip mall with plenty of amenities. Tons of local businesses offered lunch, ice cream, cookies, fruit, even free massages. For a mid-pack runner, everything was pretty packed when I arrived so I passed but grabbed a few snacks. One thing to mention is that this race has FREE RACE PHOTOS! Needless to say this is always a plus of any race! There was some insane traffic to leave the race but that is common anywhere!
I hoped in my Uber and headed back to my hotel (about 10 miles away) and headed to the airport.
Overall, I will do Phoenix again. It was a terrific experience!
Key thing to remember try to book your hotel close to the finish line to avoid long rides back to your hotel.
Happy Running Everyone!