Hartford Half Marathon
Hartford, Connecticut
Saturday, October 11, 2014

On Saturday, October 11, 2014 I race walked the Hartford Half Marathon in Hartford, Connecticut. The temperature remained at 50 degrees and there was little wind. A light drizzle began about an hour before the 8 AM start and continued throughout the event which had approximately 20000 participants in the marathon, half marathon, and 5K. The course was on the city streets which were completely closed to traffic and contained no challenging changes of elevation. Every intersection was controlled by 1-4 police officers and volunteers. Water/Gatorade stations were located every 1.5 miles and had plenty of enthusiastic, efficient volunteers to take care of the needs of the participants. Despite the rain there were numerous spectators throughout the course cheering and encouraging along the roads or from their porches. There was supposed to be many places along the course featuring musical entertainment; however, only about 1/3 of the planned entertainment performed as a result of the weather. The 21st edition of this event was very well organized and this was the third time that I have done this event. For once the National Weather Service predicted the weather that actually occurred and I did not luck-out as I have in many recent events.