This was my first time running this race, and I want to do it again. The course itself is very scenic and course support was plentiful (e.g., well-spaced and stocked water/aid stations). I am a back-of-pack runner, so I appreciate when the water stations are still enthusiastically manned later in the race. The Expo was fine – I hit it early evening on Friday – and it wasn’t too crowded. It was big enough for variety abut not so big that I couldn’t stroll through all the areas. Wish the parking could’ve been covered at the Fairgrounds for such a short visit, but I understand that they gotta make money! Race morning, I arrived with plenty of extra time before my assigned shuttle time, but I should’ve known better and arrived much earlier. I think everyone slept in who had early times and all came at the time I did. It was a 40+ minute wait for the shuttle. I think with all that space, they could’ve loaded more than one bus at a time since the buses were arriving so frequently – this was a disappointment, but not a total buzz-kill for me (but no one likes standing around that long) Arrived at the start a full 20 minutes after the gun. No lines for the potties there – so that was the upside of the downside. In hindsight, will get there VERY early for shuttle.
Overall, a great day, and will do again.