The AT&T Giant Race Half Marathon and Plate to Plate 5k

Sold out this year with over 10k registered!
This year they offered a 10k (which I did) in addition to the 5k and half marathon and more goodies after the race!
Updates and pros:
— T-​Shirt/​goodies pickup on the upper concourse so that it wasn’t congested at finish line
— Fast 10 minute free massage station with National Holistic– soo nice after the race
— Giving us a safeway bag that we could fill with goodies such as free shirts, headbands, magazine, drinks, etc
— Picture station with instant picture with a cut out of Lou Seal
Consistent greatness:
— Lots of port a potties at starting line
— Free Fed-​ex sponsored sweats check
— An awesome medal for all levels of the race
— Finishing on the field!
Downgrades:
— Since they gave the highly coveted big Tim Lincecum Bobblehead the free t shirt you got was a thin cotton– which came for Men and Women but
I would have preferred a Tech Tee
— Did not offer a free Giants game ticket — probably due to them being World Champs
I am going to make it a priority to do this race again and again!

I thought the race was handled well — loved the gospel choir! I would like the race more if the race route didn’t have to overshoot the ballpark and then come back… it would be great if the course could go toward chrissy field and then back…

This race was awesome and I was able to nab a picture with Larry Baer!
It was exceptionally hot this year (rare for SF. 80 degrees at 8am!), but it was so great to be around so many runners, walkers and Giants fans.
A few cons about this race that I hope the organizers do a better job next year with:
–The half marathoners and 5kers start are the same time. Most races have the halfers starting earlier. I felt bad for the racers that we saw a few hours later who were still finishing up and looked confused as to the path. It seemed the helpers cleared the course and didn’t bother to stick around to guide the late runners to the correct path.
–Parking: We paid $ 40 for the race and an extra $ 10 to have the bib mailed home, and yet they still charged $ 15 for parking. The parking attendants were useless and it was very frustarting entering the lot as the guide just stood there.
— Water stations. Sadly, for the 5kers, there was only one station. at the beginning. It was SO hot, another station would have been quite useful.
–The finale: You have to be quick or have a friend snap a picture of you at home plate because there are hundreds of people walking across and one of the worker bees is yelling at everyone to move along.
–Getting the shirt: OMG. Everything above was mild compared to this disorganized tent. We were told to get our shirts back at runners tent. Mind you, the tent also consisted of vendors and other random stuff. We and a lot of others stood in a long line until someone told us the long line was for FREE YOGURT! Seriously? The yogurt truck was parked in front of the tent entrance provided mass confusion for a lot of people. Dear organizers: Next year, please pass out the shirts completely separate from the vendor and yogurt area. It was complete choas inside the tent.
HUGE PLUSES:
— An awesome gospel choir around the 1^st turn of the race. They sang their hearts out.
–An adult cheerleading squad (SF Cheer) stood at a few corners and cheered all the runners on.
–A group of drummers towards the end and outside of the ballpark perked up our spirits.
–EVERYONE gets a medal for finishing and cool bobblehead.
–Meeting Larry Baer!
–Entering with friends was beyond awesome.