This was my second marathon ever. My family and I flew into O’Hare and took the EL to our hotel, which was next to the expo.

Traveling with a toddler in a stroller was difficult- especially when several of the EL stations did not have elevators. Definitely something I would look closely at if you plan on traveling with young ones.

The expo was nice, hotel was great, and they offered a free shuttle to Grant Park. The pace teams were fantastic- one of the reasons why I PR’d that day. They were energetic and made the journey seem like a fun party. I remember hitting the halfway mark and feeling like I was only jogging, even though I was much faster than my first marathon.

The post-race festivities were great- from the Goose Island after party in Grant Park, to the medal engraving at the Nike store, to visiting Goose Island to have my commemorative pint glass laser-etched with my finishing time (and a free beer since I was wearing my medal).

In the end, I would run this marathon again, but once I knew we did not need a stroller to navigate. Then, we would be more comfortable using a ride share service to get from the hotel to the airport to save time.

NYRR always does an incredible job of organizing races- the Popular Brooklyn Half Marathon is certainly included!

Cons: Parking/Transportation. This is a point to point race. We drove in and parked halfway between the start and finish, then took the subway. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find the parking garage so I missed my Wave 1 start. This was supposed to be my goal race.

NYRR made sure that the music was pumping and the energy was up- despite the high temperatures that day.

Course info: a few turns as you make your way into Propect Park. Once you exit (around mile 7) it’s a long straightaway until you head towards the boardwalk and the finish line. On that straightaway, there is no shade. That’s where I bonked. I was weaving in and out of people for the first several miles to hit my target pace, but by the time I hit mile 10 I was dizzy.

Pros: there is nothing like a race in New York- especially one by the New York Road Runners. The finishers medal was great and the after party in the Brooklyn Cyclones stadium was awesome too.

I cannot wait to get my revenge on this course!

I ran this race as my final prep race for the TCS New York City Marathon. After ascending a steep hill, the course was filled with rolling hills. Throughout the half marathon, the course was well protected and monitored. The course support was great. The after party was great too! I would highly recommend this race to anyone!

I ran this race in preparation for the 2018 NYC Marathon. Great course, lovely beach community, and very easily accessible. We stayed in eastern Connecticut and drove about 25 minutes to the start line.

The course was relatively flat, with a nice-sized hill around mile 10. Good course support and a really great looking medal!