The Inaugural 2018 Palmetto Peach Half Marathon, 10K, and 5K was held November 24, 2018.  Weather, 42° F with occasional rain.  This is my first race since getting back into running a couple of months ago and I have to say I enjoyed it.  

Packet Pickup - The day prior packet pickup was held at the local Fleet Feet store in Augusta, GA.  I have to say that it was a mad house in the store.  Not only where runners getting their packets, it was Black Friday and there were a lot of people in the store shopping.  Even though it didn't take long to get my packet and swag, it still was a pain to maneuver around everyone.  I think they should have either used a different location or maybe set the pickup outside since it was a descent day.

Race Day – Race day was chilly and rainy at times.  The race started and finished at SRP Park in North Augusta, SC (A minor league baseball park).  This was a good place for the start on a day like this as we all had cover to help keep us dry.  There was plenty of parking, the race organizers had 3 parking areas to use.  At the finish they had plenty of bottle water, bananas (this is why we do it), tangerines and cookies.  Even the concessions were open, so people could get other items if they desired.

The Course – The 10K course was mainly on the North Augusta Greenway, which made for a nice run.  The 5K course was also on the greenway and the Half-Marathon was partially on the greenway as well as through downtown North Augusta, SC and parts of downtown of Augusta, GA across the Savannah River.  Since I ran the 10K I will only write about this portion of the course.  This was pretty much an out and back route.  The greenway is fairly flat with some inclines/declines here and there and it’s a pretty well-maintained asphalt trail.  The course was well marked with mileage boards and the turn-around point.  Volunteers were placed at certain points of the course to make sure people didn’t make any wrong turns.  The course had 3 water points, one was used twice because it was about the 2-mile mark and runners passed it coming back through after the turn-around (which put it around the 4-mile mark).  The other was around 5-mile mark.  The finish was on the ball field, runners entered the outfield (center field) and ran along the warning track to the finish.

Staffing – The race was well organized and well-staffed.  They had people at the right places along the course and plenty of people at the start/finish to help out if needed.  Plenty of law enforcement to help with traffic control as well as medical personnel in case anything happened.  It was ran like a well oiled machine and if there were any hiccups, I didn't notice them which is the way it should be. 

Overall – For an inaugural race, this was put together pretty well.  But when you have a group of people who have put together many races, I wouldn’t expect anything less.    Even though it was a chilly, wet Saturday after Thanksgiving, the turnout was still pretty good.  This is a race I hope will keep on coming back every year, and looks like they already have a date set for next year,  November 30, 2019.  I will definitely try and do this race again, but will do the Half-Marathon and I encourage others to check it out.  If you want to look into next year's race visit the 2019 Palmetto Peach Half Marathon, 10K, 5K site (https://runsignup.com/Race/SC/NorthAugusta/PalmettoPeachHalfMarathon)