The Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in DC on March 10, 2018, was my first half marathon -- and my first Rock 'n' Roll event -- but it will not be my last. I registered to challenge myself, setting the minimalist goal of crossing the finish line and assuming I'd get half marathons out of my system once and for all.

I had no idea how much fun this would be.

Pre-race communication was overall excellent. For months prior to the race, I got email updates from Rock 'n' Roll. Though these updates mysteriously ceased about a week before the race, by then I was so excited, I was regularly visiting the website to ensure I had all the information I needed.

The expo at the Armory (easily Metro accessible) was well laid out and operated pretty smoothly. Bib pickup was quick and easy, with readily navigable traffic flow. T-shirt pickup was a bit more awkward; once you got upstairs to the main exhibition floor, there were obvious signs for the 5K shirts, and less explicit signs for "T-shirts." I walked straight past all the t-shirt distribution tables, expecting to see some tables clearly designated for "All Other T-Shirts" or "Marathon and Half-Marathon Shirts," before I realized that the non-5K tables must be for everyone else. The t-shirt distribution tables were understaffed halfway through the first day of the 2-day expo, so nobody beckoned me or other confused runners, but we eventually figured out where to go. The Rock 'n' Roll swag shop was huge. Booths at the expo were plentiful, well laid-out, and touted a variety of freebies, races, and gear.

Cut to race day. The website included a map of several blocks around the starting line, and everything was laid out as expected. Bag drop-off at UPS trucks designated alphabetically by last name were easy to locate, as were our waves in the starting queue. My relatively late wave started about half an hour after the first runners. The first few miles of the course were in parts of the city I regularly run in other races, so there wasn't anything especially new to me there -- other, of course, than a band on a stage around 1.5 miles into the race.

The rest of the 13.1-mile path through DC was extraordinary. The course runs through some neighborhoods like Adams Morgan and the H Street Corridor where residents came out to play music, hold signs, cheer us on, or distribute snacks and booze. None of it is sanctioned, of course, but it's great to see people come out and support the runners.

There were water stops every 1.5 to 2 miles, and bands about every 2 miles. Some water stops also had Gatorade, and there were also free tubes of Science-in-Sport (SIS) at about miles 3, 9, and 12. Portable toilets were available not just at water stops as promised, but also at a few other unexpected places along the course. Police blocked intersections and cones marked much of the path. Some potholes apparently caused people trouble, so that is something to watch out for if you run this race, as DC never has perfectly manicured streets.

The bands were varied and interesting. Not all were rock bands, but all played upbeat music. The mile markers also contained speakers blasting rock music, which was a nice touch. There were some great views, especially along the waterfront, on Rock Creek Parkway, and heading south on Capitol (so named because, of course, you can see the Capitol). The steep hill about midway through the course was made a little better (or at least more fun) to run because it was at the end of the Blue Mile: for a mile leading up to the hill, sandwich boards of soldiers killed in action lined the left side of the route. I found these very inspirational as I headed to the hill, where over a hundred people wearing blue cheered, gave us high fives, and held American flags by the side of the road. Wear Blue: Run to Remember made this toughest mile of the course also one of the most fun to run, and I can't thank them enough.

There were a few points in the course (especially entering Adams Morgan) where the crowd had thinned out enough that it wasn't immediately obvious where the path turned; more cones in those areas would have been useful. The photo walls at the finish festival were after the finish line but fenced off from bag pickup, so for people like me who left their phones in their bags, it was necessary to rely on friends' phones or MarathonFoto for those classy, sweaty, red carpet-style photos with our medals. The UPS trucks also apparently were only rented for a limited time; towards the end of the festival (but before all finishers crossed the finish line) they peeled out of the lot, leaving the remaining bags behind on a long row of folding tables. Fortunately there were race staff on hand to facilitate the rest of bag pickup.

Overall, the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon spoiled me for other organized races. I am absolutely going to run another Rock 'n' Roll event. This was the most fun I've had at a race all year.

Pacers is a very efficient organization, so overall this was a great race. I only rated Aid Stations 3 stars because I didn't have occasion to observe or use them. I only gave Expo Quality 1 star because there was no expo -- packet pickup was in-store at Pacers. I love an excuse to drop by Pacers, but if you're looking for an expo, this isn't the race for you.

The only other low rating I gave here was for Parking/Access. It was a cold morning, there were lots of road closures (which, when there's a race, is a good thing). Metro wasn't going to get me to the start line on time, so I took an Uber, but my driver had difficulty navigating the road closures and I still almost missed the start time.

But once I arrived, everything was great. Bag drop was a cinch, and spirits were high. People were decked out in holiday colors or costumes, Christmas music blared from the speakers, and the announcer provided high-energy incentive to run: bad jokes and holiday puns! There was hot cider at the finish line and a cute snowman medal.

The 5K course was a beautiful trot around the Tidal Basin and adjacent monuments/the Mall. The only major drawback was an icy bridge. Because of a government shutdown that ended the night before the race, the National Parks Service (which owns the property on which this race was held) did not salt or sand the roads. For most of the course, this presented no problem, but there was a dangerously icy bridge in the back half of the course. Pacers didn't attempt to make the bridge safer but did post a volunteer on one side of the bridge to announce to all passing runners that we should be careful because of ice on the bridge. Most of us chose to shift gears down to a delicate, penguin-like waddle. I doubt anybody made a PR that day -- and I hope nobody slipped and fell.

The only other complaint I have about this race is minor. The swag options were excellent, as they often are with Pacers: a $10 donation, $10 to spend at Pacers, or a themed winter beanie. I chose the beanie, which I picked up with my packet and wore during the race. But I would have chosen one of the other options if I'd realized there would be "extra" beanies handed out for free on a first-come, first-served basis to finishers exiting the premises. Why waste race bucks or a donation? I ended up with two hats -- but would have rather put my "initial investment" to a different use and only gotten one hat.

Since the first time I drove over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, I knew I wanted to run over it. Seems I wasn't the only one so inspired, because lo and behold, there's the Across the Bay 10K for thousands of people like me every year.

The course itself is about as good as it can be: point-to-point starting less than a mile from the bridge and ending just over a mile from the Eastern Shore side. The bridge itself is a joy to run across. Boaters wave at passing runners, you can smell the salty air, and you can see the distant shore gradually approaching. When I ran this race in 2017, it was cool and overcast; fellow racers told me the views are even better when the sun's out. I may run this race again to find out.

But that would mean putting up with a few real drawbacks:
1) Parking is distant and expensive. Shuttles are frequent, but there is no parking for racers within several miles of the start or finish line. Since shuttles are the only arrival/departure method allowed for the race, participants have to pay for parking.
2) Water on course is hard to come by. Since paper cups are (appropriately) forbidden on the bridge, the water stops were all piping with taps for runners to fill their personal water bottles (or, I guess, blast directly into their mouths). I don't like that kind of water stop (I find it slows me down and it can be unsanitary) so I just took my chances with no water for the whole race. It went better than expected.
3) Bag drop was available for days before the race, which is an amazing benefit. But there was no bag drop on race day. For solo runners like myself, this meant "take your chances," AKA, don't take anything to the race, and run the course carrying your keys. I'd love the ability to pack my bag the night before the race and drop it off that morning, knowing everything is waiting for me like at most races of this size -- either on the other side of the bridge, or even back at the too-expensive parking lot.
4) Spectators are only allowed in the last roughly half-mile of the course. And spectators, of course, also have to get on a shuttle (and so also have to pay for parking). I have to imagine this makes for a dull, expensive outing for runners' friends and family.
5) Crowd control is awful. There were almost no staff on the Western Shore. A sea of runners climbing off the shuttle buses had to navigate their way around the Northrup Grumman campus to a parking lot so teeming with people that finding one's starting wave was a matter of luck. The expo was also poorly crowd controlled: runners were forced to walk through the race shop and exhibitors' booths. Though I understand most exhibitors wouldn't participate or sponsor races if runners weren't forced to see them, I bet even the exhibitors at this expo wouldn't have minded a different layout: their booths crowded both sides of an artificially narrowed hallway in Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, with an aisle of less than four feet across.

The race was fun, and I felt accomplished and invigorated afterwards. But the logistics could use significant improvement.

I spent weeks searching for my first Turkey Trot. There are PLENTY of options, and many of them are much closer to my house than this one. But I had very specific criteria: a Thanksgiving Day event to benefit a charity I believed in. After all, Thanksgiving is about giving and receiving blessings, and it's a family holiday. Besides, what good is a Thanksgiving-themed race if you're not running it on Thanksgiving? Why convince your body to eat a ridiculous amount of food four days before or two days after Thanksgiving, when you can do it that very morning?

The Turkey Trot for Parkinson's, put on by Metro Run & Walk in Lorton, Virginia, fit my needs perfectly.
It was on Thanksgiving morning and all proceeds benefit research into Parkinson's disease -- the disease that tormented my beloved grandfather in the final years of his life.

Packet pickup required me to drive pretty far out of my routine to Springfield, Virginia. But it was worth it because it introduced me to a great running store: Metro Run & Walk. The owners and staff are friendly and knowledgeable, and the store has stayed in contact with me, offering frequent deals and sponsoring lots of free and cheap races and training programs. (Too bad most of them are so far away that they won't fit my schedule.)

The race packet itself was generous: a bib, a t-shirt, gloves, and socks. It was almost hard to believe my entry fee was a donation to Parkinson's research! But the Fox Foundation was a visible, active sponsor, so I know the money went where I wanted it to go.

The logistics of race day were a mixed bag, but nothing bad enough to stop me from running this one again next year. Here are some of the major good and bad points.

GOOD:
1) Parking on-site at the high school hosting the race was plentiful and convenient.
2) Members of the high school marching band played at two points on the course, which was a great confidence booster.
3) Finishers received little brown sacks of snacks, and could donate any unwanted food to charity on-site.

BAD:
1) A faulty PA system made it nearly impossible to hear announcements and opening remarks (which, to the extent I heard them, seemed to be about what a difference this race makes for Parkinson's research).
2) Makeshift fencing of portions of the high school's outdoor track (where the race started and finished) were hard to navigate prior to the race. For some late finishers, these were hard to navigate during the race, as well, despite the presence of volunteers pointing the way.

This was a decidedly small, community event, operated on a much lower budget than other nearby races. But it's put on by a great shop and benefits a worthy cause. It warmed my heart to participate in this event on Thanksgiving morning, and I hope to do it again this fall.