David Snow's Staging Area

The race was excellent overall, only slightly dampened by the cold rain that fell for the entire course. Starting and finishing at the Von Braun Center was a great bonus, as it provided an excellent shelter from the elements pre-start and at the finish. Pre-race packet pick-up was uneventful and well organized. The local running companies did a good job supporting the small expo.
The start was not corralled, but runners did not do a bad job stratifying and I did not end up behind a lot of traffic at the start. The pace groups did a great job locating in areas that made sense.
The course was exceptionally well marked and there were volunteers all over. There were a few areas where the course was open, but traffic was respectful and not a factor. The only problem I encountered was the rain ponding on the roads, in construction areas, and in potholes. Nothing the race could do about that.
Aid stations were well run. Paper cups! For some reason, the last two races I did had plastic cups and I was so happy to see paper… Gatorade and water was plentiful as were the volunteers. They also had GU available at many of the stations as well.
The finish area was in the hockey rink at the Von Braun Center, and spectators were able to view the end. It was a great location. The finish area was well run, but the corralling through the post race food and water was a bit of a disappointment. Liquid was at the front (cold chocolate milk was great!) and food at the end down a long hallway. The selection was fine, but once you past the bottled water area at the start, there was no additional water. The only was to get to it would have been to wade back through the crowded hallway. Not a really big problem, but an observation.
Overall, a very well run race all around.

Having the race hotel at the start line was amazing. The start line was a bit outside the arena, but enough prior runners were around to direct newcomers. The start just sort of happened. I expected some announcement but off we went. The course was well lit at the beginning (good for a 5 am start). It was definitely hilly on the course, with a lot of turns. The aid stations were great. After reading the reviews, I expected them to be much further apart. They were well stocked and the volunteers were excellent. Once the half marathon finished there was a lot more separation and most of the second half of the race I spent alone. The white arrows on the pavement marking the course were lifesavers.
The second half started getting hot quickly. Once the sun came up, it was much more demanding on the course. Definitely the price to pay for a beautiful morning!
The finish was well done, except as you entered the arena a buzzer would sound. It felt like the end, but was simply telling the finish line what number was entering. Several runners stopped, but were still a hundred yards from the finish. Medals and times were efficiently handled. The food and drinks were plentiful.
The race staff is first rate. I would highly recommend this race to my friends.

The race expo was larger than I expected. Good variety of vendors and picking up the packet was very smooth. Only surprise was that the packet numbers were not in alphabetical order on the wall, and it took a minute to find them and then get the packet. The race trucker hat was unusual. Parking the morning of the race was harder to find. I ended up paying to park in a garage rather than search out something further out from the start. The course was great as usual. I started with a pace group and the leader was spot on. The hills in the park were not too bad, and they were in the shade for the most part which helped. The aid stations were well organized and stocked. The finish area was a bit disorganized, and the volunteer ended up giving me a RELAY medal by mistake, which I did not notice until I left. However, the race team quickly send a replacement medal when I called and asked. Very responsive.

The marathon has gotten better every year. The production team is excellent yet still personable.

The course is a double loop, and the start is a giant hill all the way to the top of the WKU campus. The roads cross back and forth up and down those hills several times before running out into Bowling Green. Definitely want to be trained for hills for this race.

Course support is great – I always love to see the Pirates who hand out watermelon near the 6 mile point. argh.

Race swag is always over the top, with extra t-shirts and items every year.