This is one of my FAVORITE half marathons. The course is relatively flat less one or two small hills along the course. The swag bags are filled with a multitude of 3M products and the medals this year were large and had a spinning feature. The crowd support during the toughest portions of the course are wonderful and there are many neighborhoods that set up their own aid stations in front yards. The highlight of the neighborhood stations this year had to be the free bacon. I highly recommend people try this race especially if they are looking for a race that is not too crowded and/or a easier entry into this distance.

The start of the race was well planned, but the route itself was quite brutal on some legs. Van 2 ran several legs on rocky and VERY dusty dirt roads. The race this year was also quite hot and during several of the hardest legs, our runners felt ill due to the heat. There were only a few aid stations along the course at the changeovers between Van 1 and Van 2, so other than that be prepared to rely on caring your own water and communicating with your teammates on where you need them to help you. The medals and shirts were pretty cool, but for the steep price, I wish there was more in the way of SWAG bags. I do like that for the Texas races, that if you run this road race and the trail race in the same year, you earn an additional medal.