This is my 5th time running the Brooklyn Half Marathon. This course was actually the first race I ever ran, and it's located in in my home borough - so despite its flaws, it still holds a dear place in my heart.

The Expo is... meh. NYRR tries to make this a sort of marathon-eque expo. They have a whole venue set-up on one of the Piers in Brooklyn. It's a gorgeous area, and they have music blasting, and a fun atmosphere. But A) it's a bitch to get to. I mean, it's very inaccessible by car (parking ANYWHERE in Brooklyn Heights or DUMBO is a nightmare) or train. B) There aren't many vendors there or things to do. C) No free sample stands. NYRR wants you to think this is more than just a bib/shit pick-up experience, but it's really not. I wish they just did the pick-up at their Manhattan location at this point. Also, the shirt design has been kind of lazy these past few years. It's not creative or stylish.

Getting to the race is not as challenging as is dealing with the crowds of people. This is a huge race, and the vast majority of people are taking the subway to get to the start. You pack like sardines in a train-car to get to the Grand Army Plaza area where everyone treks through security. Because the start is only a few miles away, I've resorted to jogging there.

The atmosphere at the start is tremendous. This part DOES feel like a marathon. There's a lot of energy, anticipation, crowds, and costumes. Because there are so many racers, NYRR actually splits up the runners into 2 waves which is a smart idea.

The first half of the race has your running around Prospect Park and then through it. There are lots of crowds. Around the park there are some inclines and declines but nothing brutal. The park itself is hillier though with one steep-ish hill at mile 4.75 that can make or break your race if you're not careful with it. There's also a serious before you leave the park which is where I tend to pick up the pace.

The second half of the race is down Ocean Parkway. It's basically a straight-away down a 6-lane avenue. There's a ton of space to run, but not a lot of tree coverage. All the shadows are on the left side of the parkway, but the race and water stations are on the right-side - so on a hot run, you have to strategically decide where you want to run. The road itself is very flat with one incline/decline at Avenue H, and a slight incline as you turn onto Surf Avenue. In terms of scenery, it's mundane. Ocean Parkway is all residential, so nothing cool to see. But you will see bunches of people all along the streets cheering you on. I think at mile 10 there is a powebar-gel station. Every mile or so there is a Gatorade/water station

The last part of the race has you running up to the boardwalk and sprinting to the finish, The boardwalk is lined with crowds and it's just a cool experience.