I ran this race in 2015 (I can't figure out how to delete and re-post with the correct running year) I LOVE half marathons and I especially LOVED this race. The course was beautiful, it was very well organized and overall it ended up being a great day! My only complaint is that the course was long. I had it at 13.4 miles. Not to say it wasn't hard. Because it was! Especially around the 6 mile mark. I felt sick, my legs were tired and overall I had pretty much no energy. Thankfully I had a gu with me. Drank that and made it over the hump. Once I hit the 7 mark, the countdown began! Thankfully the miles really seemed to fly by during this race. All except for the last 2 miles. I tried to push my pace harder to finish the race but there was nothing in the tank. Those last two miles just wouldn't end. When I finally saw the finish line I got very emotional. I'm not sure if it was because I was sick, but when I finished and saw my parents and my husband I almost started crying hysterically. Tears of joy for sure. It was definitely emotional to finish.

I also loved that they had people dressed up like zombies. If you said a certain phrase, it was their queue to chase you.

The course was a mixture between running through the actual city and a park. Overall, just beautiful course.

I love the finisher shirt and medal. I highly recommend this race!

The Broad Street run was by far the most fun I’ve ever had during a race. I’ve already got my fingers and toes crossed that I get accepted through the lottery again next year. I had read a TON of tips for people running the Broad Street run the first time, and I still found there were a lot of things that I would have liked to know beforehand. So, instead of doing a race recap, I decided to put a list together of helpful information for anyone running the race for the first time:

Leave yourself extra time! We boarded the subway at about 6:30AM. I had heard that it didn’t really get packed until 7:45AM. In our case, that was not true. The train was packed! If we had left any later, I think we would have run into issues getting to the start.

Dress in layers. This one is pretty obvious, but I wanted to go into more detail. I usually run in shorts and a tank, so I purchase cheap sweat pants and a sweatshirt. I was worried about how I would shed the sweat pants, so I took those off at about 7:45AM. I left the spot that I had been standing in and brought them to the side of the coral where there are metal barriers. Then, I had to “excuse me” my way back into the center of the road, which is where I had chosen to start. I could have just left them where I was standing. As we started moving, there were piles of clothes and people seemed to know to look out for them an avoid them. So, when discarding your clothes, don’t feel the need to bring them to the side. Drop them right where you are!
Modify your layers. This is related to the above tip, but specifically to the sweatshirt. If you’re like me, you probably wear an arm band with your phone. Getting a non-zip sweatshirt over your head with your armband on can be difficult, and probably dangerous with the crowd. I saw a get idea (which I will definitely be copying). Cut a straight line down the entire front of the sweatshirt and use 1-2 baby pins to “button” it closed. Then when the time comes to toss it, simply undo the baby pins, close the pins back up and toss it. No need to worry about pulling it over your head. I thought that was brilliant!

How the start works: I would have been able to stay warm in my sweatshirt longer (I tossed it at about 8:00AM) had I known how the race kicks off. This year, it seemed to kick off at right about 8:00AM. However, in the gray coral, we didn’t actually move forward until about 8:10-8:15. After a few times of moving forward and then stopping as a group, we arrived at the glorious starting line. It felt pretty magical, one of those "holy !#$@ this is actually happening" moments. The announcer gave a minute or two heads up that we were going to be released and then set off the starting gun. I get goosebumps even thinking about it.

The start (at least for me) is not the most crowed part of the race. So, contrary to normal advice, use the first few miles to get some speed going. You won’t be able to make up for it at the finish, so push harder here than traditional wisdom may have.

The two most packed moments of the race were at City Hall and the finish line. I usually try and sprint to finish at races but this just wasn’t plausible for the race. Had I known that, I wouldn’t have been so conservative with the first few miles (the reason for the above tip!).

Mile 1 is weird (still smiled the entire time!). For me, weird is the best description and I'll tell you why! I was still getting into my groove. The nerves of the unknowns like, "will I be too cold at the start" and "what is the transportation to the start going to be like?" had all passed and all that was left was to run. I was super excited to finally be running, but concerned about going out too fast. I was constantly checking my pace. I had no interest in interacting with the spectators because I was only focused on hitting my goal time. There weren’t too many people cheering us on in the beginning either. My mouth turned to a pasty mess too. I knew I needed water ASAP. One of the tips I had read, was to hydrate early because once you’re dehydrated, it’s too late. So, at the first stop 2.2 miles in, I headed to the left of the course and picked up what I thought was water. It ended up beginning Gatorade. I mention that because I don’t usually drink Gatorade but luckily for me, it did the trick and my pasty mouth was gone. So, a two-for-one tip! (1) Mile 1 is weird, don't worry though. You're just getting into the groove of the run and you'll be fine and (2) stay hydrated!

Water stops get crowded. Another one that probably seems obvious, but the water stops killed my pace. Stopping and hydrating early in the race allowed me to skip the last few hydration stations and make up some time. The water stations are LONG. I’d always head right to the stop so I wouldn’t miss it. They did a great job with having the water tables spaced out and very long so it would be really hard to miss. Had I known this, I think I would have opted to wait until the end (less crowded) part of the station. Here are the stops:
Water stations will be located at the following mile marks:
Start area
2.2 miles (Gatorade station)
4.2 miles
5.2 miles
6.3 miles (Gatorade station)
6.9 miles
7.8 miles (Gatorade station)
8.5 miles (Gatorade station)
9.1 miles
Finish line

Don’t slip on the cups! Seems simple enough, but I almost fell when I stepped on one, so I feel compelled to share. Cups on the wet ground can create a slippery surface.

There are a lot of downhill spots on the net downhill course. Make up some extra time by letting gravity help you move faster, with less effort down these hills.

Miles 2-10 fly by. So live it up! I'm pretty sure I had an enormous smile on my face the entire 10 miles. The race goes by way too fast (have I mentioned that I’m already hoping I get in next year?!). Everyone cheering is there for YOU. Slap people’s hands, scream woo, hit the “power up” signs. Play to the crowd! I had originally had no interest in doing this because I was focused on my time, but it was a big part for why this run is so special to me and probably why I was able to negative split most miles. It was truly a blast. I swear, I had an abundance of energy just from playing it up with the crowd is something you can't get many other places.
Mile 8 doesn’t suck. I heard someone at the start say “I hate mile 8. It is the worst mile. It is dead, no fans”. The other people in the group all agreed. So, I said to myself.. “okay, mile 8 is going to be the worst. Get through that and there is one mile left”. Mile 8 had fans cheering us on, a hydration station (which I opted out of). I actually enjoyed that mile (truth be told, I enjoyed them all – best experience to date running. I haven't said that yet, have I ;-) ).

Once you enter the naval yard, you’ve got about another ¼ mile. There was a huge sign letting you know. There are cameras taking pictures here so look out for them and SMILE!

Do not stop right after you cross the finish line. In my case, this was IMPOSSIBLE because there was a herd of about 15 people deep which stopped right after crossing the finish line (see the first picture at the top of the post... it is from the moment I crossed so you can see how packed it was!).

GO IN THE CORRECT START CORAL! If you’re not taking the run seriously (ie: you don’t care how long it takes you to finish and you’re more than likely going to casually walk some of it) PLEASE do not go into the faster corals. My coral was for finishers with the estimated time between 1:30 and 1:45. There were numerous people walking before they had even completed a mile.

If you need to walk, that is fine! 10 miles is a lot. Just PLEASE don't just stop! There are thousand of people running. If you need to stop, someone behind you might not expect it and crash in to you or have to dodge to avoid you and hurt themselves. So, move to the outside of the running area and then begin to walk. Even there, slowly bring yourself to a walk. Don't just stop.

Don’t expect to sprint at the finish. It was shoulder to shoulder, the only way I made up any time was by squeezing through people and apologizing if I bumped them (SORRY EVERYONE!).

This is the MOST important tip. Phone service will go down. This isn't a "might go down" it is... I'm telling you it will absolutely go down. You will not be able to call your loved on to arrange a meeting place. Have an EXACT pre-planned spot to meet. It took me about an hour to find my husband. I was cold and started to get really anxious that I wouldn’t find him.

Medical is available in the “finish village”. For the hour, I was looking for my husband, who had a sweatshirt for me, I was freezing. If I had gone to the medical tent, I’m sure I could have gotten a metal robe thing (NO idea what they’re really called). That would have been helpful but I was so panicked, I didn’t even think about it.

Don't panic! I did.... and it made everything seem worse than it really was! Can't find your loved one right away? Stretch. Hydrate. Eat a soft pretzel (still kicking myself for not doing this one. I could go for a pretzel right now). Go to medical if you need it. Eventually the crowds will begin to leave the finish festival area and cell service will begin working again.

I loved the finisher shirt, the medal and the race organization. My only complaint is the 6.66 race finishes after one loop and the half is two loops. You feel all the excitement of the finish line and then turn the corner to face the reality that you've gotta do it all again. There isn't too much to look at. Mostly fields, but it is beautiful.

My goal was to run every mile sub 11 minutes, putting me at a 2:15-2:30 finish. Mile 1, felt great. Found a nice pace that was not too fast and kept myself there (even though I wanted to go faster, I knew I couldn’t that early in such a long race). Mile 2, 3… 4 I realize how long this race is going to be but I keep my pace at around 9:30. Mile 5… "I thought I was only at 4… sweet"… 6… 7… all consistently at about 9:30-9:35. Mile 8. I’ve just begun the second loop of the course and I hit ‘it’. That thing I’ve heard about from so many runners. My wall. This I when I really slowed and wondered why I was doing this and if I will be able to finish. Mile 9. More of the same. Fighting through the exhaustion and definitely bleeding from my toe. Every step I can feel my flesh rip from the blood soaked sock. Finally mile 10, double digits. "Time to run hard" I tell myself but nothing happens. My pace stays then I’m passed by an older woman who looked more like she was walking than running. First I’m angry with myself. “Why are you going to let this person finish before you?” Then I accept that she is better than me and deal with it. Then my body finally responded to my demand from earlier and I began to pick up my pace. Slowly but surely every step I took my pace increased and I passed the woman then another and then a few more. 2 hours 13 minutes and 40 seconds from when I began the race, I finally finished. I was in pain but I was also in heaven. I did it. I finished!