This is a 2 race combo (yielding 3 medals). 5 k on Friday night and then the distance of your choice on Saturday morning (5k, 10k, 1/2, full). I don't run normally on consecutive days so I went conservative and did the 5/5 version.

Pre Race
Lots of informative emails prior to race. Including maps of where to park and potential weather conditions. A lot of pre-race swag giveaways leading up to the weekend. I didn't need an elevation map for my mostly flat course but If I'd been doing the 1/2 or the full I would have liked one.

Registration
Early birds not only get better prices, they got to choose their race swag. I went with the short sleeve race shirt, running gloves, & race buff. Other choices included socks, hats, long sleeve and tank shirt options. This race is capped at 2500 and sells out early. They do have a wait list and a method for transferring bibs.

Expo
Best organized race expo I've ever been to. Pick up was in 4 stages (short lines) and lots of good signage directing you. Small number of vendors though but they were good ones. I bought stuff at 2/5. There were also charities there raising funds using raffles for things like lifetime registration for the race. The volunteers were plentiful, knew what they were doing, easy to identify and seemed happy to be there. There was a swag swap station (step 4) where you could exchange sizes or types of swag. I changed the size of running gloves. They also had some extras so if you saw see something someone else had you could buy it.

Swag
Wins hands down! Three cool medal designs. Options for shirt style and options for additional swag (if you registered early). This also the only race where the shirts actually seemed to fit the size they were advertised for! Sizing charts were available at the time of registration. The only thing I would change was the assumption that shirt size and glove size are highly correlated. I don't carry weight in my hands like I do in other places. But the exchange at the expo was super easy.

Parking/traffic
There are limited routes in and out of Eastern Passage so traffic especially Friday night was a crawl (we were warned in advance). There was parking within walking distance and really close parking if you: 1. Got there early enough and 2. Didn't want to move your car until after the races. Car pooling is an excellent idea. Professional traffic control plus the RCMP were on hand and of course, this is Canada, most drivers were pretty polite to each other. Road volunteers were still in position to direct runners even after the roads had been reopened. As a back of packer this is greatly appreciated!

Course
5k is mostly flat and along water. Probably would have been pretty without the fog. But then again the cool cloudy conditions were perfect for running. Only 1 water/ porta potty stop on the 5k (not surprising) but manned by enthusiastic charity volunteers. They also were still out there waiting for the last people (also greatly appreciated).

My mom did the half and she described it as hilly with a mix of water and neighborhood views. She also commented that water station volunteers ran out to great her (about a quarter mile) to see what they could bring her. I'm sure there was nutrition on the longer courses but I didn't pay attention to that.

They did run out of Clementines towards the end at the finish line, but still had bananas, bagels and chocolate milk.

There were plenty of pacers on Saturday with the White Rabbit Pacing group, who also doubled as cheerleaders it seemed during that last 1k. Also a lot of bike support on the course.

Intangibles
There's also a costume contest - dress like a pirate. So quite a number of folk running in costumes. Pretty surprising how well running apparel can be made to look like a pirate. I went with the low key Pittsburgh Pirates cap. And Pirates will greet you at the finish to give you your medal.

What the race organizers can't control is of course is the rest of the town. But here it seemed like the town was into the race. Lots of lawn spectators (who stayed for even the last racers), lots of fun pirate themed motivational messages on area business signs and pirate scarecrows out on lawns.

Summary
Getting there isn't the easiest, but it's worth the trip.

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