First, let me just start by saying I'm biased and I know it. This was my first half marathon, the weather was PERFECT for racing, and in a strange case of luck and/or fate, I met one of my now-best-friends during mile one and we bonded throughout the race.

Aside from my bias though, let me talk specifics. Signing up for this race (put on by Carmel Road Racing Group Events) was easy, and I had no issues with my confirmation. The Expo was well done, and included a ton of local vendors which was pretty fun! It was also conveniently located in the Carmel Community Center, which offered a ton of parking as well as a pretty large space for everything - I never felt crowded or rushed through the Expo.

On the actual day of race, everything was smooth. There's plenty of parking around the Carmel area, just make sure you give yourself a few extra minutes to park and walk over to the start line. In the corrals, pacers were easy to find and carried huge signs with their pace group time throughout the race. The race started on time, and there was only a 30 second or so delay from gun time to net time - meaning we didn't stand around in the corrals for long!

Out on the course, there was PLENTY to look at, as Carmel has huge homes and beautiful landscaping throughout the town. The course support was great, volunteers were happy to help and other racers were cheering each other on. It was also really cool that the half and full courses came back together towards the end of the half course; watching the marathoners run by was not only fun, but also super inspiring as a lot of people in our group were doing their first race that day! They were on mile 17 (or so) while we were around 8, so it was pretty incredible to watch the leaders speeding by us.

Of the day, my one and only complaint would be that our pacer - while wonderful at keeping up the conversation and keeping us all happy throughout the course of the race - didn't get us in on time. I know part of that always comes down to personal responsibility and checking yourself to ensure you're on track, but with it being my first race I was a little disappointed when I finally realized we were going to come in just over our set group time.

I'm already signed up for next year! Perfect weather, great course, great management behind the event - count me in!

For a more personal review: http://www.girlinaredsundress.com/2014/04/13-1/

This was my first road race, so at the time I didn't have much to compare it to. My thoughts - it was cold outside, at only 30 degrees, and we were running right on the water, making it that much colder! Not knowing what to prepare for, I definitely didn't dress appropriately.

Looking back, though, I can say that the event was managed well. They had a DJ there to keep everyone entertained before the race and have us jump around / keep moving, which really helped! They started the 8k group first, and then lined us up for the 5k. The only negative was that the first portion of the race was on a icy path, and I actually fell when someone stopped in front of me. No injuries, but definitely not the safest of situations and a lesson learned for me!

I would definitely do this race again; and next time, I would wear a costume!