I ran the 2017 Area 13.1 Alien half marathon for the first time. It is held annually at Riverside Park in Roswell, GA at night! It was 90 degrees at 7pm (start time) and dropped to upper 70s by the end of the race. If you know it will take you over 2 hours to complete the half marathon, you're required to wear a head lamp!

Packet pickup is a breeze if you made your way to one of the Road Runners retail stores. Otherwise it was made available the day of. They provided a lot of vendors at the venue to keep families and friends entertained while the runners were on the course.

PACERS: This was my first race that offered pacers so I was intimidated by them but it was an awesome experience. They checked in with us and were so encouraging. The offered pace teams in 15 minute increments: 1:30, 1:45, 2:00, 2:15, 2:30, 2:45, and 3:00.

PARKING: Free but not exactly plentiful considering there were over 600 racers for the half marathon and 5K. However, the race provided a free shuttle service before and after the race. I chose to arrive early so I could have a parking spot (we had a stroller & didn't want to risk breaking the car seat law in the shuttle).

RACE DETAILS: It started and finished at Riverside Park but there was a portion in the beginning of the race that is on a trail. The path is narrow so there were a lot of half marathoners and 5K runners trying to fit on the pathway but we made it work (speedy 5K racers yelled out when passing us so we'd know which way to move out of their way). There are hills about midway through the race. Mile 7 is a SERIOUS hill but the great news is after the climb, it loops around so we ran back down the same hill (great chance to make up time). There were some nice views during the race but after the sun went down, I had to focus on watching my step.

AID STATIONS: Plenty of water stations but I only noticed one stop that offered Clif Hydration (and it was early in the race). I may have missed the later stations but when I specifically asked for Clif Hydration at a couple of later stations, they said they didn't have any. The race was great about offering Clif gels (with and without caffeine) on the course! Remember that hill I talked about? They offered ice pops at the aid station!

I'd consider doing this race again! I liked the medal, glow in the dark Alien t-shirt and the free goodies were delicious. If this is a race you'd like to try, be sure to train at night in the heat to acclimate yourself to race day conditions.