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Latest reviews by Dan Lenski
Dan Lenski recommends this race
(2016)
"Like a fine wine, this race gets better every year"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
Born of the widely-circulated ranting—er, complaints—of its eponymous founder, regarding the slipshod course measurements of numerous local half marathons, the Bill Aronson Track Half (To Insure Mileage Exactness) was first run in 2014.
For a race that basically just consists of "a bunch of people running around a local track on a Sunday morning with reliably bad weather," it's a totally awesome event.
Forget that. It's just a totally awesome event overall. Running 52.5 laps around a track is a great way to focus on pace and performance.
The camaraderie is excellent, the comedy is abundant, the competition is stiff, the cheering squad is reliably enthusiastic, and the friendly race photographers will send you your photos for free with no prompting. Such a deal! Heck, even the scenery is excellent, with a soaring view of the Terwilliger Hills on the back half of the track. And, naturally, the course is well-measured, coming in at precisely 25.14 m over the official IAAF half-marathon distance (http://www.google.com/search?q=13.125mi+-+21.0975km+in+m).
There is no expo, there are no bibs, and there is no swag—unless you were one of the Top 3 finishers lucky enough to win one of the AMAZING hand-crafted trophies in 2015-6. There are park bathrooms, cups of Gatorade set out on a table, and occasionally extra snacks—pretty much all you need!
On January 31, 2016, a date that will live in infamy, not only was the weather unexpectedly perfect for a fast half—just under 40°F and clear—but even more amazing is the fact that the race's (semi-)legendary founder and one other competitor ran a full 105 laps to make it a complete marathon race. I see big things in the future for the BATH.
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Dan Lenski recommends this race
(2015)
"A great course which brings out the best runners in Portland"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
I've lived in Portland just long enough to have run this race 5 times consecutively. Love it. One of my favorite things about this race is the high level of competition: a huge cross-section of Portland's running community comes out for the event, mainly the 15k.
The course is very challenging and goes through some of my favorite places to run in Portland: 2 flat miles from the waterfront through the Pearl, 2 steady uphill miles along Broadway to Terwilliger, 2 steep uphill miles with a big false summit to the Chart House, and 3.4 quad-burning downhill miles back down Capital Highway. Given the varied terrain, I feel like there are still more ways for me to improve my pacing and form on this course after having run it 5 times.
The post-race atmosphere is always jubilant and festive, despite the frequently cold and rainy weather (such as this year!), and the beer and cup of chowder are a nice touch although the lines are ridiculous. I like the bands along the course, especially the bagpipers at the highest-elevation point at the Chart House. Another good thing about the race is the $3 discount and bib pre-delivery for teams of over 15 or so people. I've heard the expo is a total cluster, but have never actually had to go to it to get my bib :-)
My main gripe, and it's a small one, is that the t-shirt designs often include weird-looking thick fabric stripes on the shoulders (Adidas is the main sponsor).
Dan Lenski recommends this race
(2014)
"A great marathon"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
I ran it in 2014 and PR'ed. It's a great marathon, and well-run. Not a huge field but a great level of competition, thanks to Oregon's strong running community. Street parking 1/2 mile from the start was easy to find.
The course is not the world's most scenic but very nice. There are a few hills through mile 15 and then it's flat afterwards except for a corkscrew climb up to a footbridge around mile 21. Props to the Eugene French-American School for their awesome cheering section on top of that bridge... as a French speaker, I really got a boost from the much needed "Allez-y! Bon courage" at exactly that moment in the race.
Pretty much the only non-ideal part of the course is the mixed-use path around mile 21-25, where I've heard of minor altercations with cyclists and dog-walkers who get upset with having to make way for exhausted marathoners barreling through. There were a decent number of spectators in the first half and tons in the last mile, though it's sparse between 15 and 24. The aid stations were well-spaced and well-run.
Finishing in Hayward Field on the U of O campus is awesome, and the post-race recovery area has quite an extensive selection of food and drinks.