Kira Yoshinaga's Staging Area

This race was fantastic honestly. The crowd/spectator support was so lively and through a majority of the half marathon route. The first 3.5-4 miles is done around Queensway bridge and Queen Mary, which is neat but the only downside was having to go up and over the bridge twice in the first third of the race. The stretch along the beach strand was peaceful but this was where less spectators were so you needed to be in the zone here. Plenty of available water/electrolyte stations and bathrooms along the course. Mile 10 was super fun – you turn the corner to Ocean Ave and it’s essentially full of spectators and fun the final 5k. There were donut holes, pretzels, red vines, snacks galore and there was even some people handing out beer, wine and Jell-O shots. There is a minor hill at maybe mile 11ish that felt easy compared to the bridge in my opinion. You go up that small hill and it’s a fast finish from there. Tons of crowd support and the chute to finish is nice and downhill. I was able to sprint the last .2 miles downhill. I walked here and there so I definitely have goals to beat my time but this is absolutely a race I will do again in the future. Only complaint was limited swag and fun at the expo. Also the weather was PERFECT. See you next year!