albert reid's Staging Area

The course is flat and fast, perfect for a PR day. Only two noticeable hills (one medium size hill at about the 3.5 mark- not a killer by an means- and then small rise a little before the 11.0 mark) on the course. The down town area in Owensboro is nice (several good places to eat lunch and hotels within a few blocks of the starting line) and the Green Belt section is a pleasant natural woods area. The rest of the course is composed of the usual business and residential areas normal in small cities. None of the areas on the course will make you feel uncomfortable. In 2021 the temperature was in the high 40’s-low 50’s and dry, all of which was perfectly normal for Western Kentucky in early November ( and yes this could be very different in any given year!!!!).
Furthermore the race is very well organized and the people managing the race are friendly and very helpful. The finishers medal had a local theme to it and were as nice as those I received in any of the other 4 half marathons I’ve run in (for example ever bit as nice as the 2019 Kentucky Derby Festival Mini Marathon medal). There is crowd support but it is limited (nothing like the Derby Festival Mini Marathon where people lined the streets of Louisville along the entire course and you could frequently come across a high school pep band or a group of street musicians playing music on some street corners). The race t-shirt was a nice short sleeve dri fit shirt, I frequently run in it. They also sold some other good looking race related shirts, caps, etc. at the expo. If you are a local resident the race team will come around and place a sharp looking yard sign in your yard which indicates that you are running in the race and supporting a very worthy local organization. You of course get to keep the sign.
Overall this is a great small city race in what is basically a really nice community. The main attraction is If you like a flat/fast course this is the race for you. All other factors for the most part match the quality of the other 4 half marathons I have run in places like St Augustine, FL, Daytona, FL, Louisville, KY (although this very large race had by far had the most entertaining race day crowd support), or Spokane, WA.