Fall Half-Marathon: Brooklyn RnR or Hartford

I can't speak to anything about RnR Brooklyn, but I was in town for work and ran the Hartford Half as a training run (1:45ish, so MUCH slower than you're planning) a couple years ago and had a generally good experience. Thoughts:

-The weather was perfect

-The course was scenic in that small town New England way, although it was a bit congested at 8/min pace (especially before the marathon/half split)

-Speaking of the marathon/half split, it's well-signed and staffed with volunteers shouting directions, but is also somethig to be aware of as if you're spacing out you definitely could go the wrong way

-The crowd support was about what you would expect (thicker in some spots, a little lonely in others, and very strong at the start and in the last K or so before the park finish)

-The aid stations were plentiful, well-staffed, and relatively well organized (although I think the volunteers could have been a little clearer in saying what was sports drink and what was water).

With their regional elite program (I can't remember what they call it, but it might be worth looking into), I imagine you would have pretty good company in the 1:07-1:10 range.

Also, just as a funny aside, the local

pastor who have he benediction for the start talked for about 5 minutes--the sentiments were nice enough, but I think the race went off a couple minutes late because of how long he went on for.

Overall a good race. And I might be biased, but I believe in supporting your local roaster (Hartford) rather than Starbucks (RnR races) whenever possible.

Screw competitor group do hartford

bump...any insight on the courses?

Hartford was definitely rolling--it pretty much always felt like I was running uphill or downhill--but no individual hill was that steep or daunting. That elevation map makes it look worse than it is (check the scale on the vertical axis), and if you're a good hill runner (or even just not a bad one) it isn't hard to get into a rhythm. You're not likely to set your lifetime PR there, but you can run well.

Look into the New England's Finest team entry for Hartford. (I'm not sure if New York counts if you're from there.) If you have the credentials to support a 1:09 race you might get into that program and it will be a no-brainer. There are lots of guys running in that range each year, as opposed to taking a chance on a new race.

As for the race itself, I've run slowly in both the half and full but I like it. It's well organized, good size (medium), and there's good competition. I really don't think there were a ton of hills in either race, maybe i just don't remember. But the course profile is not the way I'd choose a race - you should be looking for competition and good logistics. Hitting an arbitrary time isn't the same as having a good competitive race.

I would think some of the better NYAC, CPTC, WSX runners …. would show up @ Brooklyn including some E Africans (Ethiopians). Should have plenty of company around your pace. As for that incline in Prospect Park, not sure, but I'd take a flat course with an uphill finish over a rolling hills course any day that I was looking to garner a fast time...

….and to get race ready, why not take the LIRR out to Long Island & run the Suffolk 1/2 in mid Sept as a hard workout???

I live a block from Prospect Park and I run that hill every day. It's certainly a hill, but I wouldn't be too concerned about it. According to my Strava, it's about a 50ft elevation gain over .4 miles, with a very slight (unnoticeable) uphill in the 1/2 mile leading up to the hill.

Just a note: the elevation profile on the race website is just plain wrong. It shows some sort of crazy valley starting at mile 10 and lasting until 12.5. That doesn't exist.

Great thanks for the replies everyone. Leaning toward Brooklyn at this point but still not totally decided.