The Start Line @ 7 am
Pros:
- Good snacks at the end. Luna bars, bagels, bananas, coconut water, frozen fruit (yum), Ghirardelli chocolates and water.
- The race shirts are made from recycled plastic bottles. (*however, they did not hand them out until after the race)
- All the money from this race goes to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I think I heard someone say that they had raised over a million dollars.
- The spectators and volunteers were awesome. They were very cheerful, cheered for everyone and were so encouraging and helpful.
- There were plenty of aid stations. I don't know how many, but there must have been one about every 2-3 miles. The fuel was Clif shot blocks, which were opened for you already.
- The firemen in tuxes handing out necklaces at the end. And the necklace is pretty cool as well.
- The weather. It was overcast / misty / foggy the entire time.
- The TNT coaches (pacers). They cheered for everyone, not just the Team in Training folks. Also they were very inspiring because they would run with any TNT person who was having trouble. I watched a few of them really get their partner going again when they were lagging.
- Free bras. I am not sure whether to put this as a pro or con because at mile 6 you could exchange your old bra for a free new nike sports bra. However, I wasn't clear as to HOW. Do I take off my bra I am wearing, in the middle of a run, and change if for a new one? Or am I supposed to carry an old ratty bra for 6 miles and then carry a new bra for the remaining 26? I don't get it.
Cons:
- You could sign up to have automatic posts to your FB wall, which is pretty cool. I did sign up; none of my posts got posted. I spoke with a friend who said she had the same problem.
- I had to pass a bunch of walkers who were in the way of the runners. I think they started the walkers earlier, which is fine. I just wish they would have reminded them to keep to the right and not to walk 3 (or 5. My dad said he saw one group walking 5!) abreast.
- There were no spectators on the hardest part. They used buses to get the spectators from place to place. They should have had a drop off at mile 20 or 21. Miles 19 - 24 were dead and hard and boring.
- The hills. They kicked my butt.
- The start line. It was a mess. I saw a lot of 10 minute mile people (we had bracelets) in my pace corral. Also, my corral was 7:30 - 9 minute miles. That seems a bit broad to me.
- The crowds. I have said it before and I will say it again: I prefer small races. The start and end and the expo were all extremely crowded. It really did not make me want to hang out AT ALL. I got my bib, shirt and food and got out of there each time. (I did try to find my results, which took me nearly a half an hour!)
- The half marathoners. This race has about 25,000 people. I am not entirely sure about this year, but last year only 4700 of them were marathoners. I really wish they had started the half marathoners later, and given them a separate finish section. At the end I was trying to dodge and weave around them to cross the finish line!
- Their website. They only have a FB page, no actual website. It's a pain. For a company so big and a race so big, I think they can afford to design a REAL webpage!
All in all it was pretty good. Luckily I got pretty close to the start line, since a lot of the reviews I read complained about having a hard time getting around people in the beginning. I still like the smaller races better, so I probably won't do this race again, but I did have a lot of fun doing it this time!
A few fun facts: * The Nike Women's Marathon is not just for women, despite the name. * Last year 10% of the runners were male.
Do you ever go and spectate a race just for fun? Would you rather run in rain or heat?