Best Damn Race Orlando

This is my 3^rd time doing a BDR race and 2^nd time doing the race in Orlando. Decided to up my running game and signed up for the 10K. As always, BDR did a fantastic job at organizing. They had packet pickup available for 2 consecutive days before the race and one of the locations was a few minutes from my work so that made for a quick and easy pickup at lunchtime.
I highly recommend arriving early the day of race mainly for parking reasons. Parking is all mainly off street parking. We parked off street in Thornton Park with no problems whatsoever. The race course for the 10K took us all around Downtown Orlando through some great neighborhoods. The roads were a mix of paved roads and cobblestone streets. There were plenty of cops working detail and directing traffic because of road closures so that made us runners feel safe. I also liked the signs that let us know how many miles we had left. The fan support along the way was great which was so cool and motivating when you feel like you’re gonna dieeeee…
There’s also a great afterparty with music, free beer and breakfast and everyone (yes even 5K’ers) get a medal!
If you’re looking into adding running to your fitness routine, I HIGHLY recommend these races. They’re well organized and just a general good time!

A fantastic race! Definitely a race organized for runners by a runner!
One of the best features is the tiered pricing structure. If you are one of the first people to register, you can get race registration for just $ 1! I was lucky enough to score a $ 1 registration for the BDR Half, which was pretty awesome. While the structure does get up to more «normal» race prices, I do consider this still a pretty wallet friendly race, especially in comparison to some of the more pricey options in town. Also– if you register within the first 24 hours of registration opening, you get digital copies of your race pics for free! Definitely a nice perk.
The race itself was well organized and it was easy to do packet pick up the same day. I have done a few other races in the same area (near Lake Eola). This crowd felt slightly smaller, which I think helped with the organization. The race course was nice, but as is typical in downtown Orlando, included some brick pathways which are not my personal fave.
After the race, you got a great medal (the medals look even cooler for 2015!) and got to enjoy the post-​race vendors and celebration! BDR also includes unlimited free beer in a designated area, which is a perk many runners enjoyed.
Definitely a fun experience and a great race vibe! I’m already registered for 2015 :)

I volunteered at the Best Damn Race and looked awesome from my standpoint. I was happy to be given a special Best Damn Race volunteer shirt and helped pass out finisher’s medals. The weather was excellent and people coming in kept smiling about shiny new PR’s. The medals we handed out were awesome! I hope to run it next year and get a medal myself. After my volunteer shift was over I hopped over to the beer tent and was able to enjoy the gorgeous day and share a beer with a few friends who ran the race. They loved the course.

I was supposed to run the ½ marathon but was unable to because of an injury. I heard WONDERFUL things about the ½ course and was super bummed that I missed out, but I am signed up for the ½ in 2015 :)
I ran/​walked the 5k with some friends and had a great time. I loved that the start line was right by Lake Eola park so you could enjoy the expo and spend time with friends in the park. There was plenty of room to move around and lots of places to meet up with people or just relax. One of my favorite things was sitting in the grass near the PR bell and watching people ring it. It is one of the best parts of Best Damn Race!
As with BDR in Safety Harbor everything ran smoothly! I volunteered at Packet Pickup on Friday afternoon/​evening. Packet pickup started on Friday at noon and ran until 7 pm. This gave folks a chance to pick up their packets on their lunch break or after work. We had more than enough volunteers to be able to help out folks in a timely fashion. With the race being downtown I think some people just opted to wait until race morning to pick up their packets. Thankfully there was gear check on race day so you didn’t have to run your stuff back to the car.

I participated in the 10K this year. It was a good course and time just seemed to fly by. I would recommend this race to anyone looking for a PR. The smaller group of participants and flat course helped a lot of people achieve personal bests.
My only issue was the lack of support I felt throughout the race. I’m so used to seeing spectators and volunteers cheering everyone on as they run by. With the exception of the water stops, there seemed to be a serious lack of interest from the volunteers.
Overall, it’s a nice alternative to the over-​crowded Disney half marathons. I just hope the race gets more support as it gets better established in the years to come.

Was it really the Best Damn Race? If not, it was very close! I ran their half marathon with less than 24 hrs notice when my coworker came down with pneumonia and handed off his bib (they don’t allow registration transfers — so don’t tell anyone, this is just between you and me, Unilocal ;)) and had a great time!
Lineup was a breeze, the course route was interesting (I wouldn’t ordinarily run around Lake Underhill on my own so I enjoy getting out of the downtown core) and the Autism Society of Greater Orlando volunteers were great with the water, Gatorade and general moral support. Oh, and Publix was waiting at the finish line with an entire spread of healthy snacks — plus their addictive brownies which were my choice to stuff my face with. Post-​race massages and beer were included, too. If I had to make one suggestion: it’s helpful to me to get timing information throughout the race so installing some clocks at key mile markers would kick butt. Overall though, will absolutely register for this one next year.

This really was one of the best races I’ve ever participated in.
Packet pick up was a breeze, race day was well coordinated, and I love that they had a place to drop off your gear before the race. I was so nervous and in a hurry to get to the start point on time that I forgot to leave my purse in the trunk of the car. Imagine how pretty i’d look running around with a purse on my shoulder; not an issue. Gear check in was easy and free, how cool is that?!
They also included some cool samples and coupons in the race pack, stuff for like free smoothies, 10% off gear etc.
Loved this race, will definitely do it again next year.