Camp Murphy's Staging Area

DNF but attended as a spectator to support my wife. She rank the half marathon distance and it looked very challenging.
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The organizer screwed up the 5k route. It was actually just over 4.5k (2.83 miles). That’s unacceptable for any ‘real’ race. Even worse, people who ran the half marathon reported that not all roads were properly shut down. Runners were forced to stop at traffic lights which destroyed their finish times.

The race organizer has since apologized for the short measurement in the 5k but I haven’t heard any explanation for the half marathon issues.

Despite that, I did win my division in the (almost) 5k.

The elevation profile suggests a pretty balanced course. Despite this, everyone warned me this is a hilly and tough course. I would argue that the first 9-10 miles is more downhill than up. The ups are gradual but long which doesn’t put me off in the slightest.

But right around mile 9-10 that all changes. First comes a short but incredibly steep hill followed by a step and long killer at mile 11-12. Not fun stuff.

Other things…
The complete lack of corrals is odd. It’s every man for him (her) self at start time.
The expo wasn’t all that great. It’s the second big race I’ve done in recent months (Dallas being the other) that had a crappy expo. Perhaps it’s COVID byproduct?
It’s superficial, but the race shirt is ugly. Somehow I missed getting my finisher’s shirt but, after seeing it, I’m not upset. Under Armor as the gear sponsor is odd simply because Under Armor A) isn’t relevant in running and B) almost isn’t relevant in fitness after bad operations and investments.

Atmosphere was excellent. Tons of participants and all very positive. It’s fun to be in a city where the run takes over the downtown area. I just wish the hotels/Uber/restaurants didn’t extract a premium from runners.

Recommended!
Very nice course for the most part. Tons more aid stations than I expected (even some with bananas and gels). The expo was a bit small but that may be more of a COVID side-effect.

Staffing and crowds were excellent. As were the freebies.

Only downside:
Some of the road surfaces were in really bad shape. This required careful attention to avoid an embarrassing (and potentially disastrous) fall. I also missed a lot of scenery because of the need to focus on footing.

Small crowd on a cold, cold morning. No pedestrians (walkers) made it quite nice as well. Big kudos to the volunteers for braving the cold with a smile!