The pros:
- For $50, this is one of the cheapest races I've…read morerun. Plus, you get a nice medal to boot.
- The two loops around the promenade isn't as boring as you'd think it would be. You're running along the Bay the whole time, and it's beautiful to gaze out.
- Bananas, cookies, energy bars, cottage cheese, and water at the finish.
- Efficient bag check at the start.
- Day-of packet pick up for those who live in Manhattan. But Thursday packet pick-up for those who live closer.
The cons:
- This race is far from Manhattan. For those of you who are not familiar with Brooklyn or is new to the NY-area, the start of this race is about an hour to an hour and half from Manhattan, on the N or R train. While the morning commute wasn't too bad, the 2 hours trek home was pretty terrible, especially with the post-run chill.
- A December race is NO JOKE. Bundle up! I seriously considered going home because the cold was biting - 35 degrees at 9:30, but the wind chill made it 24 degrees. I would have gone home, except I was running with two other friends and we took turns boosting each other's energy. For reference as to how cold it was, I wore a beanie, gloves, long-sleeve shirt, a windbreaker, a fleece jacket, long running tights, and ankle warmers. TIP: there is a cafe a block away. it has no sign outside to indicate that it is a cafe, but go wait there! Cash-only, however.
- The sound system was broken, so the race started about 10 minutes late and we didn't get any music. I personally love the feeling of starting out each race with the star spangled banner at the start, but there was none of that here.
This is a very small race, but there were mile markers and 3 water/gatorade stations along the course as well as a smattering of spectators (thank you! I can't believe you guys were out there to cheer us on in the freezing cold). Aside from the cold, which is something that the race coordinators could not control, I thought it was a good race for its size and price.