Hartford Half Marathon

Hartford, Connecticut

Saturday, October 8, 2016

On Saturday, October 8, 2016 I race walked the Hartford Half Marathon in Hartford, Connecticut.  It was a nice day for the event which had a marathon, marathon relay, half marathon, and 5K.  The temperature ranged from 48 to 56 degrees with overcast skies and little wind.  The course utilized 12 miles of city roads and 1 mile of paved bike paths.  It had quite a bit of up and down with no challenging hills.  Police, firemen, and other volunteers controlled the intersections and signs marked where turns were located.  Except for the first mile where the marathon and half marathon were together, the different distances had their own course; however, the starts were at the same intersection by the Connecticut State Capitol Building and the finish was in the same place for each event.  There was much music, both recorded and live, played throughout the courses.  Because of the nice weather and Hartford being a large city, there were spectators everywhere cheering enthusiastically for all the participants.  Water/Gatorade stations were located from 1 to 2 miles apart and had plenty of enthusiastic, efficient volunteers taking care of the needs of the participants.  There were about 3000 marathoners and 5500 half marathoners.  The marathon relay was filled to capacity before race day.  I do not know how many relays or 5k people participated.  This was the 23^rd year for this event and I have done the marathon once and the half marathon thrice.  The event has always been well organized and fun.

 Photos Related to the Race