Disclaimer: I received a race entry to the Platte River Half Marathon to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!
Hello all!
Sorry it’s been awhile, things were getting busy and push came to shove and something had to give, unfortunately it was blogging to all you that took the backseat. I’ll still be bringing you all race and gear reviews and the occassional blog but I’m also looking into some other formats. Stay tuned!
So with that it’s on with the show!
Bib Pickup
This was super straight forward. The bib pickup was at Runner’s Roost in Denver and you could pickup your bib Friday, Saturday or the morning of the race at the start area in Littleton, CO.
The Runner’s Roost store had a lower level, so you went inside went downstairs and grabbed your bib, shirt, and some Nuun to quench your thirst. You also got a 15% off coupon to use in the store that day so I picked up some nutrition and some discount winter gear. Score!
This race definitely felt like a smaller local but it wasn’t short on big race amenities, that’s a win-win in my book!
Race Day
So I was really excited to be racing again. I haven’t towed a start line since January and I was jazzed. I didn’t really taper into this race because I have a goal marathon coming up in May (more on that later) so this was going to be a supported, hard run. I was targetting 8ish min/miles and I wanted consistency over going out fast and dying.
I was also excited because I was going to meet to fellow BibRave Pros at the race. Bradley and Abbie were out there running too, Bradley was visiting from Canada and Abbie is from here in Colorado!
With a start time of 8am it gave me a little bit of wiggle and less wake up at the crack of dawn-ness, which is another BIG plus!
The start area was pretty small and a bit congested but once we were on the road it was smooth sailing. We first did a loop around Littleton and then it was on to the Platte River Trail, which is a paved multi-use path. The weather was cool and there was good cloud cover so the conditions were pretty ideal.
Running through downtown littleton
After looping around Littleton it was to the trail. The course wasn’t the most interesting but it was moderately scenic the whole way. We ran through some more industrial areas but with the river it still felt nice and relaxed since it followed the Platte River towards downtown Denver. Every 2 miles there was water and Nuun and great volunteers. While I was running the whole half marathon, there was also a relay with hand off points at 5 miles and 10 miles. These were well organized and it was fun to run through them since there were so many people cheering.
During the race I felt pretty good, my stomach started feeling a little queasy so I walked for a bit and relaxed after grabbing some water. That helped a lot and I push on and was able to run pretty even 8ish min miles. You never know what will happen out there!
Once we were nearing the finish line we got to what someone on Strava knicknamed the Platte River Half Overpass of Death which was fitting. It was steep and in the last quater mile of the race, not cool guys. Not cool.
I finished and grabbed my medal and swag bag with and AWESOME mason jar in it. This was SUCH a great thing to have especially since I was able to fill it with Nuun in the finish area.
They had a great finish area, lots of information on other races, massages, and other businesses had spaces. I love a good finish line party!
Now was time for the real fun, burgers and beer. They even had a band playing some tunes. It was a great finish line area!
Overall this was a great race. Personally I maintained a good pace, didn’t bonk and felt pretty strong all the way to the end. The course was pretty flat, the water stops were frequent and well stocked, the course was not crowded and pretty scenice. The finish line was pretty amazing too, this is definitely on the short list of local Denver races I’ll run again. This would be a great race for both a first time half marathoner or a seasoned racer!
The Platte River Half Marathon is definitely a race you should consider when looking for your next half marathon in Denver. It was a great way to kick off the racing season!
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