Charles Street 12

I completed this race a s part of the B3 series…5k, 10k, 12 miler. I never enjoy bib pick up from Charm City Run.I have tried 4 different locations and though the process is easy, I end up with someone saying something weird to me or giving me a strange attitude even when I am purchasing something. The race itself went off pretty well. I was concerned about having to park and get shuttled to the start, but they had plenty of buses that left on time and there were no problems. Plenty of parking, though I did get there early, at Under Armor and plenty of porta potties at the start. The race had a few major hills, but nothing that can’t be handled. It was weird running down Charles Street when it is normally so bust with cars. Shout out to the police and other traffic controllers because people were not on their best behavior and I saw one person run over a traffic cone that had an arrow pointing toward our turn, another person almost hit a police officer when turning her car around, and another turned up Charles St. and I had to yell and wave at him to tell him he is not supposed to drive up that way. There were many other issues with impatience and so I suggest always double checking cars and not relying on them Stopping or following police instructions. There were spectators, not a lot, but enough to keep it interesting. One little boy had a sign that said “Charles is not in charge” which was original and the cutest thing ever. It might help to add one or two more water stations, but what was there worked and the volunteers did a great job! Why people insist on throwing their cups down right next to the bag is beyond me, but I always make it a point to thank those picking up. I know that the route is probably challenging to have porta’s, but there did need to be a couple more of those. One poor woman ran beside me for a short while and really needed one but I told her it was about 2.5 more miles, I had made a crib sheet with the info on it. The finish party wasn’t bad, but the lines were long. So on one hand it was nice as a slower runner to see the party still had food and people still around enjoying everything, but on the other, the lines for food were really long and there was no demarcation of where the line should be. There was bbq from Mission Barbeque. There were sodas and a truck with popsicles…I think that’s what they were. I don’t know if they were for purchase or free. The bad part for me was after I waited in line, I couldn’t eat…lol! I think the best part of finishing was the wet washcloth…love those things! There was a band that was pretty good at the finisher party as well.All in all, a pretty good set up. Easy walk back to my car.