Mike Mateja's Staging Area

Great event. Great production, scenery, volunteers, everything. I’ll be back next year for year #3. The full marathon starts 30 minutes earlier up the mountain. So, as a “back of the packer”, it’s always nice to finish with others and have the post-race area still hopping.

Overall a quality event. We traveled from Houston to participate.

Pros:
* Great route from lakeside to near downtown. Well marked.
* Plenty of parking . Not sure why everyone is advised to take public transportation.
* Solid communication from production company.
* We had no problem “sharing” the route with the general community.
* Volunteers were great!
* Plenty of hydration stations and restrooms.
* Great food once the reinforcements arrived.
Cons:
* No packet pick up option the day before.
* $17 to have one’s packet mailed is the highest $$ I’ve seen.
* Event is stated as a 3.5 hour finish time. There would have been no beer for anyone as it and the finish line photographer was “packed up” at 3 hours. My wife finished at 3 hours 10 minutes. She has no finish line photo.
* Hot dog provider ran out of food. We waited 30+ minutes. When it arrived, it was then “all you can eat” because most people left. Great food though.
* Most larger races are now providing a food (banana, orange, granola bar) around mile 8-10 these days. Just water and a very watered down electrolye were offered, and there was plenty.

Would we travel from Houston to participate again? Maybe. If you’re looking to PR, this is not the event for you…..too much congestion and turns. Overall, a solid event and happy we participated.

Most other reviewers have hit it right. Great event. Great course, support, and production. No parking issues as indicated in previous years. I would highly recommend wearing flex terrain running shoes (not an aggressive sole) and gaitors to keep the dirt and rocks out of the shoes. It would be helpful on the website map to indicate which portion is road and which portion is trail. Since I’m always in the 4th quarter of finishers, very nice to have the same support (aka FOOD) that the earlier finishers received. Great event.

This is a 1st class, small town run. Plenty of adjacent parking. Start and end in same general location, although this is not an “out and back” event. Excellent packet pick up option day before. SWAG is always 1st class. Route through BCS is always filled with cheering neighbors. Water and gatorade nearly every 2 miles. Run through campus is picturesque. Post race meal options are awesome.

Nice, well run event. Course begins in downtown and migrates out to a multi-use concrete trail, out and back. The volunteers and support stations were plentiful. I only saw 1 porta-potty stop on the course. The host hotel is conveniently located steps to the starting line. Pre-run gives full access to the convention center and numerous restrooms. No serious negatives. Like most races, only water and beer available which for non-drinkers is disappointing. Happy to do the event as a destination run but would probably go elsewhere in the future for a destination run.

Well organized run. Sufficient stops that are minimally supported. Just water. This could be an incredible first class event with additional resources. The route is incredible. The only downside is the extreme uphill for the last 300 yards.

Fine event in the Denver area. Well run production and communication. Pack PU at Mile high stadium was neat. The 1/2 marathon took you through the zoo for a mile (most animals were sleeping due to the heat), a fire station, downtown, and back to City Park. I thought the crowd support would be stronger, but maybe they petered out by the time I got there. The major issue for this event is the parking. Neither of the sponsor hotels offered transportation to the park. So, a 430 wake up was in order. Would I do this event again? Probably not due to the many other “beauty filled” half marathons in the area, especially the Colorado Marathon in Fort Collins just 2 weeks prior. However, I’m glad I participated.

Held in downtown Asheville this year. We signed up for the Biltmore location, but kept our registration. We flew in from Houston.
The Good: 1) Started on time 2) PPU well organized 3) Shuttles operated efficiently 4) Power gels widely available on course

The Bad: 1)Out of water at the 5-6 mile stop–major no no for any event–they resorted to serving cola 2) Limited traffic control for 1st 2 miles out of downtown–were running against moving cars 1/2 a mile into the race 3) 10 porta potties at start for 1,500 people 3) Brooks shirts were fitted–should have been noted at time of registration–did not have my size at finish line at end of race 4) Post race food consisted of water, granola, bars, and 1 beer (the line of which was 10 minutes long all afternoon). Unless held at the Biltmore I can’t imagine this run as a destination event again. 5) 72 degrees when we finished….but no one has control of that variable.

Well run, city supported event. Scenery is just the Houston streets. Largely attended event. Parking can be difficult. The expo is always amazing, and the
volunteers are 1nd to none. Swag is minimal, and the finisher’s shirts are always disappointing, varying by size year to year. With that being said, I’ll continue to participate seeing that it’s in my own backyard.

Great event. Well orchestrated. The starting area near the National Cemetary is breathtaking, watching the sun come up over San Diego. The hill going into the last few miles is no joke. Warmer with humidity than expected.