2024 Pittsburgh Half Marathon Race Experience
On Sunday, May 5th I had the opportunity to run in Pittsburgh during a girl’s trip to visit the city. While the highlight of the weekend was spending time with two of my closest friends, I am so grateful they gave me the space to be my runner self at the 2024 Pittsburgh Marathon. Read on for my experience running the half marathon.
Note: there are links in this post that I am sharing in support of the businesses I personally interacted with; I do not receive any commission or perks from those businesses.
Accommodations
I stayed at my friend’s house, so one of the best accommodations around.
Name wall at expo.
Expo
Expo took place at the convention center downtown. Parking was a bit of an issue (had to pay for parking) if driving into the city, but the expo itself was straightforward and a lot of fun. Bib and shirt pick-up are in the same area and there are a variety of vendors at the expo to meet most of a runner’s pre-race needs. I loved that they had a name board up with the participants’ names on it. My favorite vendor was Wigle Whiskey as I got to sample the special 2024 “Runner of Steel Bourbon.” One cool thing about expo was seeing how this race celebrates its history and legacy in the city of Pittsburgh with its display of previous years’ medals and race shirts.
2024 Runner of Steel Bourbon
Pre-Race
This race uses a corral system for a staggered start with elite runners starting at 7:00am. I was in corral C and start the race around 7:15am. I woke up around 4:30am to have my oatmeal breakfast, and left my friend’s home around 5:40am. I took a Lyft into the downtown area (Andy Warhol Museum) and walked across the bridge to get into the runner’s area. I had a funky stomach the morning of the race and bypassed my usual Vega Energizer drink in the hour before the race. I was worried this would impact me negatively, but I did just fine and my stomach settled once I started running. One thing that really impressed me with this race was the amount of bathrooms near the gear check area and in each of the corrals.
Post-Race
Start line and finish lines are in different areas, but still near enough that gear check feels like the central point. Immediately after finishing the race there are tables with water, chocolate milk, bagels, bananas, and the famous Eat’n Park cookie. I had brunch plans with my friends, so I didn’t check out the beer garden or any other post-race activities.
On the Course
This race was so well-supported, both with aid stations and with crowds. Aid stations with water and nuun were every two miles or so with GU gels being passed out around mile 8. There was live music and DJs throughout the course, but what truly made this a fun race were all the people out supporting and cheerings on the runners. This race had some of the best signs I’ve ever seen and I spent a good chunk of my running laughing because of the signs.
Sunday race day featured four events: marathon, marathon relay, half marathon, and the BACK half marathon. The first three events start at the same time, while the BACK half marathon had a 9:00am start time and covered the second 13.1-miles of the marathon course. The half marathon splits from the marathon at around 11 miles on the course, but because of the setup of the events, it seemed like the marathoners were well-supported by their fellow relay and BACK half runners.
Adding another gold star to this race were all the bathrooms on the course. Again, I have never seen so many bathrooms before and during a race; I was impressed!
The course itself was a challenge for me with all the hills, but the city with its bridges make up for all the hills. Don’t get me wrong, I cursed often as I felt I was constantly climbing another hill, but the view from the top was always great and the downhill running was sublime.
Sunrise with one of the bridges.
Race Experience
I had no expectations for this race and only realized there were hills the week of the race. I do such a great job of researching every single details for my athletes and neglect to do the same for myself. The race organizers did a great job with sending out email updates about weather conditions (+/- if you like daily weather reports) so I knew weather would either be overcast (best case scenario) or raining the whole time (worst case scenario). While it did rain at a few points, the weather was predominately overcast, which was ideal for me.
Race morning with my stomach did throw me for a loop, but I reminded myself that this race was all about having fun and getting to tour Pittsburgh on my feet (great tour!). I have been experimenting with the run-walk-run method for my long runs and was excited about trying it in a racing environment. Let me tell you, I am convinced this is what helped me get through the race and finish the race with a giant smile on my face. Anytime things started to feel mentally tough, I just had to hold out enough to get to my next walking break. The walks were long enough for me to reset my mind and feel refreshed for another round of running. Also, the intervals helped me time my nutrition beautifully and I feel like I figured out the structure works for me best right now.
There were moments that reminded me of Marine Corps Marathon with the views and hills; I spent some time marvelling at my ability and choice to continue to run long-distance races. Races like this remind me of how far I have come as a runner and get me really excited about the future of my running.
Sign in honor of my little one.
Overall Impression
This race was the cherry on top of a soul nourishing weekend with my friends. To see them get into the race by making signs and finding me at the finish line was so special. Running can feel kind of crazy sometimes and when non-runners support the craziness, it just feels good because I feel fully seen and celebrated beyond the distance and the time. I finished this race feeling in awe of myself and absolutely in love with the Pittsburgh running community. If you aren’t afraid of hills, I highly recommend running the race.
Come on, look at this setup!
Pros
Medium-sized (Around 15,000 runners) race with a community feel.
Looped course.
Start and finish are in the same area.
Plenty of course support with aid stations and crowds.
Pacers.
Course takes you through different Pittsburgh neighborhoods.
I love my “Runner of Steel” medal.
Long-sleeve technical race shirt.
In addition to the half marathon, the Sunday event features a marathon, marathon relay, and BACK half marathon, so something for everyone.
Post-race drinks and snacks.
Cons
Weather: we can’t control this, but it was a wet and overcast day.
Depending on course preferences, semi-looped course.
Depending on course preferences, hilly course.
While there are plenty of parking garages in the area, you do have to pay for parking for expo and race day.
No swag bag, but plenty of freebies at the expo and finish line.
Race photos aren’t free.
I signed up late, so race fee was pricey ($170). However, after experiencing the race, I would say the entry fee was worth it.
This was half #65 for me! Next big thing on the horizon is the Chicago Marathon in the fall.
