Gordon McKenzie's Staging Area

Honest Race review from the guy who walked the Half in his support boot and was the last male finisher: (Half Fanatic #11634).

Pre-Race: Start was beautiful. Weather was great. I had won VIP status so parking was super close and the porta potty trailer was an awesome perk. I had some sparkling water in the VIP tent but no food. There were crackers, cookies, and rice krispy treats available. I know a number of the pacers so I was hanging with them and my wife who came to cheer me on. I hobbled down the levee to the start line in the river bottoms. I fully committed to walking the half in my boot in the time limit of 3 hours 30 minutes. I would normally run/walk and finish in 2 hours 45 minutes without the boot.

Course: The course layout was great. A good sampling of roads, trails, design district and river bottoms. Other than the start, there was very little in the way of gravel roads.

Pacers: Great group of volunteers from the Irving Running Club. I asked a couple why the pace signs were pinned to their clothes and was informed that the race did not provide sticks for the signs. The 1:40 pacer had a stick because he brought his own. A wooden dowel costs quarters at a hobby lobby or home depot. The race should have provided them.

Course Lighting: Knowing that I’d be on the course for the entire time limit, I knew going in I was going to be in the dark at some point. That still did not prepare me for how dark certain areas of the course actually were. Had I not been near another runner who had a head lamp there were parts where I could have easily slipped or gone down and no one would have known it.

Course Medical: Where? The only ambulance or emergency personnel I saw was at the top of the levee at the beginning. There were plenty of police officers along the route at intersections directing traffic, but not one single mule or gator with EMS support anywhere on course. Again, if I had fallen or anyone for that matter, there was no help. We were on our own.

Course Porta-Potties: 1. Just one. In the middle of the road along Riverfront. Mile ~3ish. I’m not even sure it was provided by the race. It was just there, and when I went by it was available so I used it.

Course Support: 5.5+ miles into a half marathon, and I finally see a water stop. Oh wait, they don’t actually have water. But here comes the neighboring convenience store that donated a case of water bottles. Really? For one, the distance is way too far. 3-4 miles between water stops is tops. Figure it out. Then the next unofficial water stop was the awesome volunteers who stopped at Fuel City along Riverfront to bring water across the road to runners. Still no Powerade (which was advertised). Finally a water stop once the half merged with the 10K. I’m lucky that I carry water bottles with me. 3 stops total, not a single one had cups by the time I made it through.

Course Markings: The little signs were difficult to see. Especially in the dark. The loop near the end that went around the lake was skipped by lots of people. If there was a volunteer standing there directing people, that would have been better. With mile markers, some miles were long, while others were short. That’s how it goes. I suggest little clip on LED lights to each one.
Finish line: I finished at 3:34:22. Almost at my goal to walk it all in a boot. The finish line was all lit up with LED’s under the Continental Street bridge. There was no announcer, and just one spectator waiting on friend to finish. The spectator informed us to keep going. There was a volunteer or race person or maybe a timing mat person sitting with a clip board, but she was busy doing whatever it was she was doing to look up.

Post Race: I was confused because I’m very used to finishing a race and having a volunteer or someone hand me a medal, grab a banana, some water, and away I go. Not this time. I finished, then have to walk roughly another 1/4 mile under the Continental bridge, through the original start line setup, then up the steep ramp of the levee, to find tables setup with remains of gallon water jugs. No volunteers in sight. Very little water left. Again no powerade, or bananas, or anything really. Still no medal. I asked another runner where he got his medal. He pointed to the Trinity River tent. I walk over and grabbed my medal (still wrapped in plastic) out of a plastic bin, unroll it, remove the plastic, and put in on my neck. No volunteer or anyone checking. I could have walked away with whatever I wanted. I checked the VIP tent. Nothing left in there. No post race snacks. No volunteers.

During the Race: The Start/Finish area at the top of the levee was where my wife hung out, waiting on me to finish. About 2 hours after I started, and roughly 15 minutes after the 10K and 5K started she went to use the porta potties. No toilet paper. Anywhere. She checked every potty. Luckily we keep a roll in our car.

Volunteers: When I saw volunteers, they were awesome. They went above and beyond and did everything they could to make a bad situation better as best they could. I wish there were more volunteers like them.

Overall: I put this race in the bottom 3 of all time. Out of 40+ races lifetime, that’s pretty bad. The other 2 worst of all time are Mellew Productions Races, so that’s the company this race falls with. This race might have improved from last year, but it still has a long way to go. I categorize this race as a one and done. There is nothing I saw that would compel me to do it again. I hope it improves, but after not improving that much from last year, I doubt it.

Most of the course is a smooth relatively flat course with great support. The Expo location is conveniently located with ample free parking. This years bib distribution was a whole lot faster than previously. Multiple tables were set up similar to Rock and Roll Marathon Series Expos. The race is well managed from a people herding perspective. Pre-Race porta-potties and actual porcelain restrooms were available in the Expo building. Porta-potty lines were short outside of each corral. Corrals are easily identifiable with banners and the volunteers manning the entrances were strict on making sure runners were placed in their assigned corrals. The race itself was good. Support in the form of water/powerade stations were easy to spot and happened every mile and a half. Running through some historical areas of western Fort Worth, past a couple famous cemeteries, through scenic Northside, and through the historic Stockyards all highlight the first 8 miles of the course. After leaving the stockyards runners run along Main Street back towards the Trinity River and downtown. The view as you approach 20th street changes as the length of Main Street appears and the historic Fort Worth Courthouse building appear in the distance. And the looming dreaded hill. The next full mile is spent staring at the impending incline. The hill itself is 65 feet of elevation change in the distance of approximately a 1/2 mile. Rough but not horrible. Make sure to look back once you reach the top to appreciate what you just accomplished. The course through downtown is flat with support and cheering along the way. Mile 11 is last real hill to battle. It starts with a long downhill section along Lancaster Blvd down to Henderson Street. Then the climb back up Lancaster to the top of the hill with the masonic temple band playing on and maybe some bagpipe music accompaniment. From the top of the hill, the Will Rogers Coliseum is in sight and just beyond it is the finish line. The finish line area is blocked off from spectators nicely. After finishing, the medal, photos and jacket distribution were painless. Finishing right under 3 hours there were quite a few runners from the half marathon and full packed in. The line for food started right around the photo area. I skipped the area and had a volunteer toss me a banana and I kept going into the finisher T-shirt area. I had lost the tab from my bib for the shirt, but it wasn’t a problem. They were more strict about corral placement pre-race than finisher shirts post race. I also ran the 10K on Saturday so I collected my challenge finisher racing cap and additional medal. Seating outside Cattle Barn 2 was plentiful and getting out of the area quickly was easy if you stick to side streets and not the main drags. Overall it was a great experience and I’ll be running it again in the future.