This past weekend, I traveled to Council Bluffs for “The Gambler Half Marathon”. I traveled with my cousins wife and a good friend of ours.  Overall, it was a good race. 

Negatives:

• Pre-race registration was in a location in downtown Council Bluffs.  It was a crowded area with limited parking!  (We were lucky and able to find a parking spot in a funeral home parking lot!)
• Post-race “party” had limited food.  By the time we finished the race and got to the refreshments we were left with a choice of an orange or apple.  I gotta level with ya….after I’ve run 13.1 miles and paid more than $50 to do so….I expect a cookie, a bagel, a muffin, granola bar, a banana…something more than an apple or an orange! 
• There was no bag check.  While parking was easily accessible, it would have been nice to have bag check so no one would have to run carrying a key or car remote. 
• The start was….odd.  They gathered the runners together and then “shuffled” us to the start, however, we didn’t really get there before they shot the gun, so it was more of an unorganized running start.  There was also no organization of the runners by pace or breaking up those running the half marathon and those running the 5K.  Very crowded!
• The timing chip was in our bib.  While its handy for the event because there is no chip or band to get back from the runners, it made the bibs kind of bulky and awkward for us runners. 
• The finish line was on an incline!

Positives:

• A great route.  While they described it as an out and back, it really wasn’t.  It was a combination of running on streets through an industrial part of town, streets through residential areas, trails along nature areas, and streets along a lake.  It had slight hills and was quite scenic. 
• The finish line was well “highlighted” and had a great crowd, announcers, people in costume handing out water bottles and the finishers medals.
• Water stops!  They were every mile and a half and included both gatorade and water with plenty of volunteers handing them out!
• Pre-race registration was easy and smooth and included a free pasta dinner for participants.
• Free Pasta Dinner – it was GOOD!  We were nervous considering the unknown, but they had plain spaghetti, marinara sauce, meatballs (which were amazing), bread sticks, salad, and ice cold water.  It was good food, well-staffed with volunteers cleaning tables and plates, and easily accessible at the same location as the pre-race registration
• Plenty of parking.  Harrah’s Hotel & Casino was the host of the race and thus, we had the whole casino parking lot for parking and prepping. 
• Post-race “party”.  While they didn’t have enough food for the runners, there were plenty of alcoholic beverages for the those of age, including samples (even though I didn’t partake!) and a great DJ. 
• Good shirts!!

Overall, it was a fun race with lots of support and fans, especially considering it was the first annual “edition” of this race.  If I had a desire to run a half marathon again, I would strongly consider running this one again and highly recommend to anyone else!