I spent the weekend in Ft. Collins for the Equinox Half Marathon so, here we go!

Getting there: I flew into Denver on Friday and drove up to Ft. Collins. I stayed at a Candlewood Suites in Ft Collins and found a place for dinner. There is an airport outside of Ft Collins/Loveland, but Denver seemed cheaper for me

The Expo: The race was only about 800 people total, so the expo was held a Sierra Trading Post, one of the sponsors. Downside is that it was only from 2-7 pm on Saturday (9/17). I got there right before 2 and got my packet fairly quickly, but the line grew pretty quickly. There weren't any vendors or booths set up, but there were places you could go to that supported the race and that you could get discounts from.

Getting to the race/Pre Race: The race was point to point and started at the Mishawaka Amphitheater. We had to park at the High School and get bussed to the start of the race (about a 45 min drive). Buses left between 6 and 630 AM and no one could drive up there or be dropped off. Once at the start, there was bag drops, porta potties, water/coffee etc.

The Course: All down hill, which was nice since I had minimal training thanks to board certification exams that happened right before I left for the race. The race was on all highway essentially (one lane up, one lane down). Scenic race for sure, but it also meant no phone service. The first 3 miles, we got one lane shut down for us, but afterwards, we got something that felt like the width of a shoulder of the road. There were cars going either direction the entire race, though some areas had more activity than others. I wasn't a fan of that. My thoughts are, if you're going to do a race like this on a scenic course on highway, shut down the road for safety- I felt like there were blind curves where you couldn't tell if cars were coming or not. I did see police occasionally on motorcycles monitoring the race, but no medical personnel.

The Half Marathon started at 8 AM, while the 5 miler started at 8AM, only at the Gateway Natural Center, meaning we never really saw each other.

Water Stops: At miles 3.2, 5, 7.5, 9.2 and 11. A good race for sure to have your own water on you because it got hot real fast.

The Finish: at the base of the Canyon. After coming through the finisher chute, you were handed a medal and a glass. They had water available, food (donuts, bananas, popcorn and other treats). There was a separate line for beer and Pizza ($5 for everyone, but runners got a complimentary coupon for a free slice). I wish they would have had a separate pizza line for runners or done something so it was included in post race food instead of going to a separate line. The pizza line was so long, I bailed because I had to get back to the hotel and check out. They had the bag pick up if you checked a bag and some vendors and merchandise for sale. You could park there for $10 (more for families I think?).

Buses were running post race up until noon or so back to the high school to get runners back to their cars, which ended up being a 15 minute drive

Scenic race and small, but my one gripe is that if you're going to have a race on roads, I'd prefer that the roads be closed or that runners get more than something the width of the shoulder of the road to run on

I'm somewhere between a 3 and 4 star recommendation for Glass City. I've always heard of it being a flat course and how people love it every year, so I figured I'd run before moving across country. It's a 2 hr drive from Cleveland, so I left after work last night and checked into my hotel about 5 min from the start. I didn't go to the expo prior to the race, it's only held Saturday prior to the race from 9-5. Option to pick up your bib race morning at the Basketball Court on UT's campus. The biggest issue I had was orienting myself to where it was compared to where I parked. Signs around the start pointing you in the right direction would have been nice. I had enough time to make it back to my car to drop off my bag of stuff and put my bib on.

Parking: I parked I think behind the Alumni building and didn't have problems getting in or out. However, some people got trapped in their lots for whatever reason (not getting let out), which led things to be really congested

The start: kind of all over the place with announcements. Technically a 702 start time, but we started late. I'm not sure what we were waiting for. Seemed a little congested and could probably benefit from a wave start every 1-3 minutes to spread things out.

The Course: relatively flat, but some hills here and there. The first few miles are around U Toledo's campus. However, most of the course is residential, which I wasn't expecting. Some areas with crowd support, other areas, not so much. The water stops seemed like they were placed irregularly, but loved the volunteers helping. The first relay exchange was somewhere around mile 6. The large flag for the relay transition was after the chute for runners- would have been better off well in front of the transition point, just so people could actually see it. Around mile 9, the half and the full marathon split. There were cones on the ground with arrows pointing left for the half, right for the full. Not everyone's short like me and can look down. It would have been better to have something bigger and more visible. Didn't see the arches for the split until you were close to them and the volunteers with the signs were off to the sides. A quieter course for sure and the weather helped make it a good race. The finish really needs to be looked at. The last 1/3 was on sidewalks and side roads of campus leading up to the football stadium. At one point I was trying to get by spectators or finishers making their way back to their cars. After crossing the finish, easy to get medals, food, etc. Good amount of people enjoying things

Definitely some things for GCM to consider, but a fast race if you're looking for a PR or BQ

This was my first year year running the Lincoln Half, and what an experience! I ran for Bibrave, but I would come back for this race

Registration: Easy to do online. Never got to be more than $55-60, and if you forgot, you could still register at the expo for $60 (not bad for a half marathon!)

Expo: Coming from Cleveland, I didn't make it in time for the expo. Taking with other pros, it's on the small side. Takes place at the Double Tree downtown from 4-8 pm. If you come in late, there's also race day pick up in the Double Tree, which is a huge plus!

Race Day: Race is a 730 AM start time in front of the Old State Capitol. There's Lincoln impersonators who take pictures with runners before the race (and termed us Bibravers the Orange Brigade). Announcements started at 730 and then runners were sent off with a bang (literally, pretty sure a cannon sent us off). Plenty of parking around for people coming in from out of town

The course: Plenty of surfaces in general that you run on; pavement, cobblestone, gravel, through parks, so be prepared for that. You start off running through town, past Lincoln's house. You continue through town, to Washington Park, ultimately through the Cemetery and past Lincoln's Tomb. You also head through Lincoln Park and then make your way towards the finish. Split times are at the 10K and the finish. 6 water stops total. Plenty of volunteer and police support on course and car control. Fairly flat first half of the course, but some definite hills the second half of the course, especially through the cemetery. Bike medics on course as well.

The Finish: at the Old State House. No huge start/finish sign, so be on the look out for it. You're greeted with a Penny finish medal, water and gatorade. There's also a timing tent where you could get preliminary results printed out. Also finisher pictures with the Lincolns! Plenty of activities for people at the finish, a band and refreshments (bonus points for the chocolate milk!) and beer.

Definitely a race that I would go back for. It's a small race, but definitely a good one.