Running amidst the crowd at about mile 6.5 after exiting the Franklin Park Zoo.

The B.A.A. (Boston Athletic Association) is most famous for putting on the Boston Marathon every April. But they also organize a fairly competitive half marathon every fall. While they don’t limit the signups by qualifying times for the half, they do restrict the number of signups to 5000. This year, the race registration opened July 15, and by the next day, the race was completely filled.

The half took place yesterday on a fairly crisp but sunny morning. Although there was a large group of portajohns available at the race start (Roberto Clemente Field near Fenway Park), there were massive lines to use them before the gun went off at 8am. As the start time drew closer, many people abandoned the portajohn lines in favor of relieving themselves in the nearby woods.

But aside from that little snag, the rest of the race was pretty well organized. They corralled people into groups by pace at the start, although I think towards the back of the crowd the pace times were a bit mixed because there were too many people trying to squeeze in.

The race featured digital clocks at every mile and timing mats at the start, 10k , and finish. Race times were recorded via disposable D-Tags. They provided water every 2 or so miles, and they offered Gatorade at miles 6 and 10. At about halfway, they offered gels as well.

The course itself was fairly scenic, starting in the Back Bay Fens area going through Jamaica Plain along the Emerald Necklace and then into the Franklin Park Zoo and back. It was a mix of loop and out and back. Featuring a variety of hills to master, the constant incline or decline of the course made it challenging. Running through the zoo was interesting, though I didn’t see nearly as many animals as I would have thought. I only saw two camels along the way. Other people I talked to said they didn’t see any animals at all. But maybe a huge stream of runners would be stressful for the animals, so they largely restricted the course to parts of the zoo without animals on display.

The finish area featured an array of bagels, chips, bananas, sports drinks, and water. They also handed out vouchers for burritos and burgers.

Because there were several other major events happening in the area that day, including a playoff game at Fenway Park and Tom Cruise landing on a bridge in Boston via helicopter, the course had to be closed 2.5 hours after the start. The finish facilities were dismantled after 3 hours. So for people who can’t complete a half in under 2.5 hours, this race may not be as good an experience since you’d have to run on the sidewalks towards the end, and you’d be in danger of not getting a finishing time. But if that’s not a problem for you, then this is a nice race with a pretty good route that takes place at a particularly scenic time of the year when the leaves are changing.