Springfield Half Marathon-4/1/17

     Jill and I ran in the Abe Lincoln Presidential Half on Saturday April 1. It was our first trip to Springfield, IL. Pack pickup took place the night before at the Abe Lincoln Double Tree Hotel. This was very convenient for us since it was also our hotel for the night. It was well organized with a few vendors in attendance.      On Saturday morning, the race started and finished 2 blocks from our hotel. Announcements began right at 7:30am and Abe Lincoln himself spoke a few words. The race started at 7:35am with the roar of Civil War era muskets. 
The course was flat a majority of the way with 3 nice sized hills. We didn't get to these until the last half of the course. The 3 best views on course was that of Abe Lincoln's house, his tomb, and the state capital building. Of all the races I have ran, the view of the capital building was the most beautiful sight to date. We ran a mile up the street leading to it and with the sun hitting it just right made it a breath taking view. The rest of the course ran through the neighborhoods outside the downtown area. There were ample water stops along the way and several had Gatorade. One had GU gel as well at mile 7. 
     The course measured 13.25 on our GPS watches. We believe the longer distance was due to a small detour on the course. 
After the race was over, we were immediately handed the coolest race medal we have to date. Gatorade and water was right next to the finish line. The snack tent had Krispy Kreme donuts, chocolate milk, granola bars and bananas. Beer was provided by a local brewery and a local band was playing. 
     Overall we really liked the race and recommend it to all. Driving distance from Evansville was 218 miles (3 hours 20 minutes).

Race Website