This race has one of the higher pricetags for a half marathon in the area, but the swag is pretty darn worth it and the race photos are free. The … MORE
This race has one of the higher pricetags for a half marathon in the area, but the swag is pretty darn worth it and the race photos are free. The race offered an expo the day before with a few vendors. I wasn’t able to go, but a friend went and got my bib for me. If you couldn’t make the expo, however, bib pickup was available race morning.
For registering, you got a half zip (came in men’s and women’s sizing) and a drawstring backpack printed with the race name, year, and a sponsor’s logo.
The race starts rather early (7 am) so for out of towner’s an early wake-up call is required, but Monclair is right off the Garden State so the drive was very easy coming from Westchester County, NY. Parking in Montclair can be a challenge, but if you get there early enough the train station lot is a short walk to the start/finish/packet pickup.
The course has a reputation as being hilly, but it really wasn’t that bad given the races I’d run earlier in the month and the second half of the race is net downhill, the worst of the hills being in the first 6 miles.
The race offers pacers up to a 2:45 finish, which is nice being in the back of the pack and has a time limit of 3:30 as well as a relay option.
For a smaller race, the course support was pretty good and most roads were either closed or runners had their own lane. With the race starting at 7am on a Sunday, though, there was very little traffic to begin with.
The medals were quite large and quite nice. The relay having a different color ribbon from those who ran the full distance. Every finisher also received a box with a golden donut inside.
I have only one complaint and that is that there was not enough food for those on the slower side. I still had 45 minutes worth of people behind me, but they were already low on water and had run out of bananas. The only fruit left when I finished was 2/3 of a box of apples. They also had coffee, donut holes, and croissants, but being vegan these I could not have, so you can imagine my disappointment when I saw there were zero bananas.
Nice hometown race
This race has one of the higher pricetags for a half marathon in the area, but the swag is pretty darn worth it and the race photos are free. The … MORE
This race has one of the higher pricetags for a half marathon in the area, but the swag is pretty darn worth it and the race photos are free. The race offered an expo the day before with a few vendors. I wasn’t able to go, but a friend went and got my bib for me. If you couldn’t make the expo, however, bib pickup was available race morning.
For registering, you got a half zip (came in men’s and women’s sizing) and a drawstring backpack printed with the race name, year, and a sponsor’s logo.
The race starts rather early (7 am) so for out of towner’s an early wake-up call is required, but Monclair is right off the Garden State so the drive was very easy coming from Westchester County, NY. Parking in Montclair can be a challenge, but if you get there early enough the train station lot is a short walk to the start/finish/packet pickup.
The course has a reputation as being hilly, but it really wasn’t that bad given the races I’d run earlier in the month and the second half of the race is net downhill, the worst of the hills being in the first 6 miles.
The race offers pacers up to a 2:45 finish, which is nice being in the back of the pack and has a time limit of 3:30 as well as a relay option.
For a smaller race, the course support was pretty good and most roads were either closed or runners had their own lane. With the race starting at 7am on a Sunday, though, there was very little traffic to begin with.
The medals were quite large and quite nice. The relay having a different color ribbon from those who ran the full distance. Every finisher also received a box with a golden donut inside.
I have only one complaint and that is that there was not enough food for those on the slower side. I still had 45 minutes worth of people behind me, but they were already low on water and had run out of bananas. The only fruit left when I finished was 2/3 of a box of apples. They also had coffee, donut holes, and croissants, but being vegan these I could not have, so you can imagine my disappointment when I saw there were zero bananas.