Impressions of the Brooklyn Half

One person’s impression of the Brooklyn Half (all ratings on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the highest). Let me stress, these are done with limited input, so others’ race reactions might have been much different.

T-shirt: Like the design. Hate the color (orange). Also, nothing special about the T, which means it’s a candidate for a nightshirt for my almost 5-year-old daughter. Here’s a suggestion to NYRR: Spend a little extra for a high-quality race shirt that’s available for participants in any one of the 5 half-marathons, and allow for discounts for people who don’t want the shirt (you want five technical shirts, you pay for them). Racing fees are already too high.
Rating: 3

Organization: Setting up a race outside Manhattan involves special tasks and responsibilities. One point lost for having to change the race date. That said, barring comments and feedback from other runners, enough water, mile markers that seemed accurate (a novelty for NYRR sometimes) …
Rating: 3.5.

Crowds: They don't come close to the NYC Marathon. But they make up for it in enthusiasm and support.
Rating: 4

Baggage check: Given problems with other NYRR races, I’m amazed that getting 6,000 bags from Coney Island to Brooklyn works as seamlessly as it does. My third year of doing this, never had a problem.
Rating: 4 (one point deducted for the official yelling at the runners in the bathroom line at 8:20 a.m. that the baggage check buses were leaving in four minutes … of course, if I hadn’t already used the PortoPottie, I might be giving it a 5)).

Course: 8.5 miles of flatness, 4.6 miles of undulating hills. Love it.
Rating: 5 (and I say this after completely bonking once we entered the park.). I would hate it if NYRR flips the direction of the course - the challenge is the final part of the race. I do realize that others will disagree with this.

Weather: Perfect racing conditions. High 40s/low 50s. I realize it’s a little cold for some, but I was running in a singlet and short and dripping the second half of the race. The early fog/mist from this early AM was gone during the race.
Rating: 5

Favorite in-race conversation (at mile 5):
Him: ``We’re going to do well today.’’ (This, from a guy who was wearing an Ipod and making random comments, probably (I hope) in reaction to the music.)
Me (battling with a calf cramp and numbness in my left foot, because I inexplicably left my primary running shoes at work): ``Yep.’’
I hit my goal race time with 15 seconds to spare. No idea how he did, given he blew past me at mile … 5.

Favorite in-race conversation II (at mile 4):
I was running near a guy who had a distinct soccer (football) garb on at the time, wondering why he was doing so well while other people were wearing … well, running clothes. Guy from Dublin comes up from behind me, engages him in conversation because he recognizes the colors. Reminds me that the race isn’t about the people who run, but the runners who are people. (I think soccer guy also beat me.)

Favorite stopping spot on the course: Mile 6. Two years ago, it was for a much-needed bathroom break. This year, it was to stretch out the aforementioned calf.
Rating: 1 (frankly, I’d rather there wasn’t a place on the course I was stopping).

The first two miles: Umm … What’s the deal? Sand? Wooden slats on the boardwalk that stick up, making things tricky? Barrels that suddenly appear? Not NYRR’s fault, but it’s an ongoing problem. I didn’t wipe out, but I spent much of the first part of the race staring at the ground instead of the wonderful aspects of Coney Island.
Rating: 2

Participation: More than 5,800 finishers. Wow. Bronx had 3,285. Manhattan had almost 5,000. Grete’s Gallop in Central Park last year had 3,730. Queens had 3,591. And Staten Island had 3,262 (and I love the Staten Island race, despite the numerous issue it’s had in properly measuring the course and getting the mile markers right). The Brooklyn Half garners the largest participation in the five-borough series (and trails the massively promoted Nike Half (9,920 finishers in 2007). Maybe NYRR should think about scheduling this race on a consistent date. Maybe NYRR should consider promoting this race as a *major* half marathon.
Rating: 5

Corral system. Why didn’t NYRR do this before? (probably because of the massive pre-race prep work) Started in the second corral, only had to slow down a couple of times because of the condition of the start. I’ve also heard from folk that the Adidas Race in April also went off well.
Rating: 5

My own race: My mileage, because of work and family issues, was low heading into the race (only 20 miles a week for the past two months, with only one long run above 10 miles). Obviously, not the ideal training conditions. Figured short tempo runs would help me through it, and they did, at least for the first part of the race. I finished under my goal time (with help from my running club teammates), even though I bonked in the park.
Rating: 4

Folk, feel free to add your own feedback to the comments. As various NYC running bloggers make their own reax to the race, I’ll post links. Congrats to everyone who ran today. A lot of fun, and a way to celebrate Brooklyn, whether this is your only race of the year or one of many.