Susan Bayne's Staging Area

The course was changed this year due to construction at the Pro-football Hall of Fame so we didn’t even pass by it or finish near it which was unfortunate. I hear that the course will be changed either next year or the year afterwards when construction is complete but check to make sure before registering if that is important to you. A few hills but nothing terrible. It was a very hot day and several aid stations ran out of Gatorade which was disastrous for me and many others in the second half of the pack…better planning needs to take place for something like this not to happen again! Lackluster food selection at the finish and no cold drinks at all!!! I had to ask for my medal and blanket as volunteers at the finish were sparse. Parking was very far away from the start/finish area and long wait times to get a bus back afterwards! Some people opted to walk the hour long walk back to their cars!! Lastly the notification system for texting phone numbers of my choice (family members) of my progress on the course did not send the texts out until 20 minutes after I passed by the tracking stations causing my family to miss me to cheer me on almost the whole race – this is unacceptable!! On the positive side, the expo was good, the course had some very pretty sections, the neighborhood and community fans were supportive (especially the Malone college boys doing the Macarena!), the finisher’s medal and blanket were nice, and I liked the unique idea of having stands for spectators at the finish. I would greatly recommend beer or cold beverages at the finish and some kind of sandwich other than a bad hotdog. Also, better planning for hot weather so that aid stations don’t run out of Gatorade. I would also suggest more frequent aid stations and 3-4 Gu stations instead of just 2 for the full marathon.