Indianapolis Monumental Half Marathon Recap

On November 4, I ran half marathon #46 the Indianapolis Monumental Half Marathon.  This is my third time running this race so you can click here to see the medal from the 2012 race (but no recap because this race pre-dates my blog) or you can click here to read my review of the 2014 race.  I keep running races in Indianapolis because "Indy" is a nice Midwestern city that is clean, beautiful, feels safe, and has many things to see and do (and races to run) throughout the year.

I keep coming back for the Indianapolis Monumental Half Marathon because it offers:

• Great pre-race weekend instructions and reminders via email
• Convenient, downtown location for the expo
• Much of downtown Indianapolis is connected via skywalks, and our hotel was one of several that directly connected to the convention center
• Pre-race warm up in the convention center with giveaways
• Wave start (5 waves total)
• Finisher's hat

• On-site medal engraving
• Post-race food included chocolate milk, water, Gatorade, chips, bananas, cookies, Cliff bars, and a ticket for one slice of Papa John's pizza
• Food trucks and various vendors were also at the finish line celebration area
• Plenty of porta potties downtown
• Many hotels within a block or two of the start/finish line
• Expo had a wide-range of vendors including other half marathons, local races, running/athletic gear vendors, sports nutrition vendors, etc. but try to get there early
• Poster with participant names
• Gear check
• Runner tracking
• AMAZING crowd and volunteer support

• Plenty of places to carb load downtown the night before
• Plenty of places to celebrate post-race
• Downtown Indianapolis feels safe and is very clean

Registration for the 2018 race opens on January 1 so as you are making your New Year's resolutions, think about making a trip to Indy next fall.