Nike Women's Half - D.C. 2014

Instead of a long-winded post about the race, how about some great pictures instead?

After 9 hours driving overnight Friday, we arrived in D.C. for packet pick up about 10:30am on Saturday. The pick up area was really high energy and very Nike-branded.

There was gait analysis (so they could recommend the best Nike shoes), a Nike store selling the Fuel bands (at $140), a Nuun taste station, an area to print your own cheer sign (where I made a sign for Zoe - the girl I run for through the IR4 program), and a Paul Mitchell station where they were braiding hair for race day.

 

 After leaving the expo, we headed to the National Mall and walked the monuments we'd be running past the next day. In hindsight we walked WAY too much, but it was better than stopping to take pictures during the race.

 Race day was perfect! Music thumped as 15,000 runners got ready to run the streets of D.C. and pass all this national monuments. As I set off I felt like I was going faster than my last few races but the energy was so good, I keep that pace for the first six miles! I ended up walking a couple times in the 2nd half of the race as the humidity started to climb. Despite walking for short distances in the 2nd half of the race, I still managed to PR and claim my Tiffany & Co. necklace at the finish! 

All in all, it was a very memorable weekend and a lot of fun! I would definitely recommend entering the lottery for this race. The only disappointments I really faced were the over-endorsement of Nike (yes, I know it's because it's the NIKE Half) but this also meant that other goodies were lacking. We got Luna bars and sport bottles at the finish, but I missed the ordinary bananas I get at most races. I didn't even bother to stand in the long line for the finisher area, skipping the massage tent, Finisher gear store, and Paul Mitchell post-race hair studio. These are all great concepts, but the lines were ridiculous. That is one area that needs major improvement if Nike is going to host a race worthy of being a major draw. 
Would I do it again? Yeah - the course was great, volunteer support and energy was amazing (many marching bands, drum groups, a giant live feed screen of runners at mile 6, a screen with personalized encouragements showing your name at mile 10.5, etc) and how exciting is it to get a Tiffany & Co. necklace for your finisher medal?!? BUT - for the steep price of $150-175 it is a little bit of a let down. The hotels in the area are expensive and the tech shirt we got was bottom of the line. I gave mine to my daughter because it is way too short for me to consider running in. 
Final thoughts - this is a race you do for the course (or the necklace) and if you're willing to shell out the money it will be a great memory, but if you're looking for a sports brand to knock the logistics out of the park, keep looking. There's a lot of blitz and glam, but when it comes down to the fine details, Nike is still working on learning how to accommodate 15,000 runners.