fun race.  however, not enough water stations on a hot day.

I wish they could have blocked off traffic a little better.  I think it's just because drivers are inconsiderate and trying to drive through the route.  I saw 2 cars cut through a group of runners.  Personally, I like the races where they can completely block off the street, but so is life in a big city.  Maybe I should move to Indiana.  Then I would just have to run around cow pies!

Great Race!  I thought everything about the event was great.  I love the course.  It is just challenging enough with the rolling hills in the beginning and then finishing up 6th into Balboa Park is great!  I think this course is a good way to see Downtown San Diego.

I like AFC because it's a nice point-to-point run, but it has quite a few failings compared to the other half marathons in San Diego.

1. The expo being on an island with one entry and exit point makes for A LOT of traffic. I've seen expos at Road Runner that were more efficient. I know the Sheraton is the official hotel, but it's completely impractical.

2. August tends to be the hottest of the San Diego halfs: Carlsbad, San Dieguito, La Jolla and Silver Strand are all at more reasonable times of the year. Though, I'm thankful for an event in that time period and the misters are a help. I'm just happy it wasn't as hot this year so I wasn't dying for a long stretch on Harbor without a water stop.

3. The start. I know this didn't happen in 07, but the necessity to bus everyone to the start and timing issues meant that NO ONE got into the areas broken up by finish time. Which meant the already extremely crowed first 2 miles were even worse as you were dodging slower runners.

4. In 2007, I could actually hear the announcer at the start. This time, I was one of the groups nearest the front, but it was impossible to make out what was being said. This added more to the confusion of the start.

Overall, it's a worthwhile race with some negative points such as higher temperatures and a necessary bus ride (which was ungodly hot and stuffy in our bus); however, this year in particular was a major let down because of the botched start and a 2-hour drive along Harbor to the expo. (Oh, but WAY better shirts than 2007!)