It's so fresh in my mind, but this just might be my favorite of the 5 half marathons I've run!

There are three things that stand out to me about this race - the hard work and dedication of the race organizers, the beauty of the course, and the completeness of the experience.

The race organizers were all over the place on Social Media leading up to the race. The race director, Eric, responded personally to every question and comment I posted on Twitter and Facebook. When a snafu came up regarding the tech shirts in the weeks before the race, he was upfront and honest with the registrants that the Nike tech shirts would not be in, and what he was going to provide instead. I personally LOVED the lightweight, vintage hoodies that they chose. I have enough tech shirts. I like having a shirt I can wear all the time.

The organizers also made for a very well-organized expo, a well-organized race, and a memorable experience. In fact, this race is all about the experiences. Runners could purchase tickets to special pre- and post- race events including course tours, dinners by local chefs, distillery tours, and tours of the local horse farms. I love that they made a whole weekend experience out of it!

The course itself was so unique to me. I am typically an urban runner, both in training and in racing. I loved the half marathon course that ran by horse farms each and every mile! The course is very hilly, and, while the hills are constant throughout the entire course, no one hill felt too long or too steep. What goes up must come down! There was almost no crowd support, which is different from most urban races, but the scenery more than made up for it.

The only less-than-stellar thing about this race was the race morning parking! I'm not super familiar with the area, but I think there was only one entrance to the parking lot race morning. I was "on pace" to get to the parking lot around 7:45 (they suggested to get there at 8 for a 9:00 race start) but I waited in a line of traffic for 45 minutes to get in! Once you got into the lot, there were plenty of spaces. I just wish the parking had been directed differently - maybe use multiple lots or multiple entrances?

Otherwise, a perfect race and race weekend. I also have more pictures and more of a review on my blog at http://runyinzerrun.blogspot.com/2015/04/run-bluegrass-half-marathon-race-recap.html

This is a fast, flat, fun race. Not the most professionally-organized race on the planet, but it's pretty much staffed by Thanksgiving Day volunteers. Lots of groups of friends and family in costumes, tutus, etc., and generally a ton of fun. The parking always seems a bit challenging to get out of, but, other than that, a fast, fun race to run by yourself or with your crew on Thanksgiving morning!

This was my second Pittsburgh Marathon. The course is a bit challenging with its hills, but makes up for this with such a cool course looping through bustling city streets, past statuesque museums and universities, and across 5 beautiful bridges. The crowd is dense throughout the duration of the course and the volunteers are plentiful. I loved the Expo and events leading up to the Marathon. The finisher medal is very cool - themed as "Runner of Steel" in honor of the city's legacy of steel mills. My only complaint is that the shirt felt about a size too small. When I went to the t-shirt exchange table, they only had smalls! It seems that everyone found theirs a bit small this year.