This race was part of my “50 Half Marathons in 50 States” experience. It also served as a trial run for the Popular Brooklyn Half that May.

We stayed in Stamford, CT which wasn’t too far from the race. The course started and ended at a park in Old Greenwich on the Long Island Sound.

The location was difficult to get to/from due to limited road access. There was only one way in and out. Parking was tough and the race was very crowded. There were no waves or corrals at the start line.

As I was waiting for the race to being, you could not hear any announcements or the starting gun. People were not lined up by pace so it was quite a free-for-all.

We crossed the start line and after about a 1/4 mile and we transitioned from paved path to rocks to sand. There was a very narrow (single-file) path to run for the first and last 1.5 miles which made things very difficult- especially if you needed to pass.

The final stretch was a steep uphill with a slippery wet grassy downhill to the finish. How anyone didn’t hurt themselves, I don’t know.

Post race, there was more chaos- from getting water to leaving the parking lot.