Katherine Hui's Staging Area

Not sure why the other reviews were so harsh. Though I’m a first time runner, I could tell the whole event definitely improved since previous years.

Reading previous reviews, organization improved but could still be better. I didn’t have to wait any long lines except for the port-a-potties pre-race (though I guess long lines pre-race are very common in most half marathons). The course change before the actual race was a bit confusing (they emailed an update two days before the race). It turned out to be a more straightforward course than the previous one, but some people found it to be boring since runners just looped around the same 4.1 miles. Personally, I enjoyed it because the scenery was terrific: views of the bridge on one end, the city skyline on the other.

The staff and volunteers were very friendly, but they definitely could’ve had more volunteers at the water stations because they were quite slow with distributing cups. I was told also they apparently handed out cups with some kind of iced juice that got pretty sticky as runners grabbed it and spilled it all over as they ran, but I hadn’t personally received any. Their website also promised energy gels but the stations didn’t have any. There’s room for improvement if you’re going to place about 500 runners on the finish line on a hot, yet windy course.

I personally think splits at the end of the each loop (4.1 miles) were kind of pointless and wished they had mile splits.

For my first half marathon ever, however, I’d say the race overall wasn’t bad.