ING Georgia Half-Marathon - RunHalf Marathon

I wasn't able to start out at my pace, so I spent the entire race trying to catch up (my goal was to finish in under 2 hours). The first two miles were at a 10 minute plus pace because I couldn't find any open area to run. Then the miles weren't well marked, and I'd go for several miles without seeing a mileage marker. Splits were only provided at the first mile and somewhere close to the end (not helpful at all!). The temperature was unexpected too (warm for March), but didn't really factor in. It seems that no matter what I do, my HM time in Atlanta is 2:05. I just re-read this and it sounds like I'm whining -- I really am just resigned that I'm not going to be able to achieve my goal in Atlanta!

Sleep was an issue the night before. Not sure how I could change it, but more rest would have been helpful.

Warm down wasn't possible -- the race ended in downtown Atlanta, and it was wall-to-wall people! So I got on MARTA and went home.


The course was the biggest factor. There were 15,000 people at the start, so there wasn't any room to run.


I had to wait in line for 45 minutes on Saturday to get my race number. The Atlanta HM on Thanksgiving had half as many people, but there were only 2 in front of me in line to get my number -- the ING folks should take a lesson from the Atlanta Track Club on how to get the race numbers handed out.

There were also lots of other issues with the inaugural race -- too few porta-potties at the start, too crowded at the start, splits and mileage markers not provided on the course.

But the munchies at the end were good, and the heat sheets were nice (and probably would have been needed on a typical March day). The shirts are good quality, but the design is a little bland.

Unless some of the bad aspects of the race are worked out (race number line, crowding, no splits), I don't think I'll do it again.