Kristen M. Watson's Staging Area

I’m sorry that my first ever race review is a negative one. 🙁
I have run in many great races over the years from 5k to marathons, and I’m sorry to say that this one just didn’t deliver. Events like this are about running and racing, but even more community for most runners and those who gather to support and celebrate them. This race lacked community feeling. It’s in the details and the traditions. Maybe it’s because it’s late in the season, but regardless of the time of year, it’s just obvious that this race was about making money and not serving runners and community.

Pros:
-the views on the race course were nice.
-the people at the the water stops and on the course were supportive.
-the field house was a great place to stay warm while waiting for the race to begin and afterwards.
-parking was easy and relatively close.
-the medal design is nice
-the catering could have been good, if it had been the one that was advertised.
-the race course signage was good

Cons:

-The course itself wasn’t great (three out and backs).
-There weren’t enough water stations and the cups had almost no water/sports drink in them. I had to take 3-4 cups (increasing waste) each time.
-Some of the water stations were not well placed. One was at the top of a hill when runners are likely very winded and cannot drink easily. (like I said, details matter).
– There were almost no people on the road sides to cheer on the runners. It was odd…maybe the time of year?
– There was no time clock at the finish line, which was inside the field house. It was a strange place to end a race. There was almost no one there and it was dark.
– There was no one to give you a medal at the finish line. You had to go to a table where you were handed a ziploc bag with your medal inside.
– The medal itself is one of the cheapest I’ve received. It’s really thin, and there’s no year on it like every other race medal I’ve got (presumably so they could be ordered in bulk and used year after year to save money).
– There was no awards ceremony…at all. If you won you got to pick up your bottle of wine or block of cheese at a table.
– The overall energy of the pre-race announcements was just bad. The person was barking about not bothering him for times, but instead checking the sheet or going online. It was just not good energy at all.
– No T-shirt was included. You had to buy one (this is the only race I’ve ever seen this).
– The after-race food options were seriously lacking. The sad part was that it was supposed to be catered by a great local restaurant with high-end food, which I was looking forward to, especially given the entry fee. It was changed at the last minute. It was obvious that it was all/mostly donated food (again, presumably to save money). Instead we got salad greens, cold pasta, water, granola bars, chips, dinner rolls, and a box of oranges that looked and felt old. Some even had mold on the outside! Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for the food, but I’m disappointed about the last minute swap-out to much lower quality offerings.
– You had to buy extra meal tickets for your guests at $15 each. I’m glad I didn’t. This is also unheard of unless it’s a sit down type of meal, and those usually happen the evening before a race.

And last and most frustrating, the entry fee was higher than other half marathons I’ve entered (I signed up in the summer and paid $60, it may be less if you sign up a year ahead). I don’t mind spending the money if it’s a well run race, but for my money I’ll look elsewhere in the future and recommend my friends do too.