Deciding to run the half last minute with my brother who could have used a little moral support after completing the Dopey Challenge in Orlando, FL the week prior, we had a nice leisurely run through the streets of Tempe, Scottsdale, and Phoenix. Well leisurely for me at least, props to my brother for logging that many miles and in the last 5K he did say his legs were feeling it. This is a great winter destination race as conditions are ideal and the race falls on a holiday weekend.
Registration for me and packet pick up at the convention center was pretty painless. Be prepared to pay for parking if you can't find any spots. And be prepared to pay heavy registration fees ($160) if you wait last minute to sign up. If driving to the start, come early and wait it out to park at the large deck on College and 7th which puts you less than a hundred yards from the start. When we drove in, we saw many people not waiting for the line to move and pulling into remote lots. After the race if you've driven, you'll have about a half mile walk back to the starting area parking.
The point to point half marathon course traversed through many of the main roads and was pretty flat except for about 3/4 mile climb up McDowell going west between miles 9 and 10. The reward when you get to the top of this climb is an excellent view of Phoenix and downtown. Then the rest of the run to the finish is pretty much all downhill.
We didn't have to to worry too much about runners being in the wrong corral because we started in corral 13. So the bobbing and weaving factor was minimal. Thanks goes out to the volunteers that sacrificed their time to be out there, but they had it rough as many of the stations were frantically filling their cups to keep up with the volume.
Overall, a well organized race on an easy course in great conditions. Our finish time wasn't record setting but it was nice to do an easy run and not having to worry about any recovery. Another bonus was that my brother and I each received a Double Down medal for running the RNR Vegas in November. I'll have this race in mind again when planning my schedule for 2017.