Christie B's Staging Area

Stayed at the host hotel, Margaritaville, where the expo was held. Small expo, but great race merchandise. I much prefer a smaller expo than too many vendors. Easy and quick packet pick-up. Margaritaville rooms were clean and comfortable with very reasonable pricing. The shuttle bus to the start picked us up at the hotel and was about a 20 minute ride- very convenient. The only issue is, there’s not a shuttle back from the finish. Although it’s about a 2 mile walk, not exactly ideal after a race or in the rain. Uber or taxi is available once they navigate through race traffic.
Overall, the course was great and scenic. A little windy and very rainy unexpectedly for a while and the last mile up a highway on ramp and back is a little frustrating since it’s so close to the end. However, the race swag is perfect – the medal is a great representation of the race and good quality, the tshirt is a regular shirt (I own plenty of race performance tshirts already) and the bag is one of the nicest race bags I’ve received. I definitely recommend this race!

My only recommendation would be to consider staying at Beau Rivage or Hard Rock because there’s a shuttle from Kessler Park (where you finish – across from both hotels) to the start so at the end, you’re already there. However, Margaritaville is fantastic and offers great steaks at Doe’s post race so the only logistic is getting back after you finish.