This was my 3rd half marathon and 1st Prairie Fire Half. I entered into the Back 2 Back challenge that gives out an extra medal and shirt for increasing your distance in the fall race. In my case, I ran the half in the spring, and will run the full marathon in the fall. There were just shy of 2,400 runners for the half and 5k races. So let's get to the review.

Registration: Prairie Fire Marathon Series allows for online registration which was pretty simple. One of the great parts of registration is the Back 2 Back challenge I mentioned above.

Packet Pickup/Expo: Picking up my packet was pretty simple. First, you stop at a station to find your bib number. It's a simple concept, but complicated by the fact that there were two separate 13.1 lists. One for a single race, and one for those taking part in the Back 2 Back challenge. I already knew my bib number thanks to the RaceJoy app. My next stop was letting them know what my bib number was, and they found my bib for me. One more station after that to pick up my shirt.

The expo itself was a letdown. Only a handful of vendors were there for the runners. The majority of the building was filled with the Kids Fest that was going on as well. The vendors in attendance were two local running stores (one with very few items), a self defense booth, a few headband booths, a few race related booths, and therapy booth. It took us only about 15 minutes to get through everything twice. I will note that the expo location does not provide ATM's, so we were unable to purchase some items we wanted. Luckily the running store in attendance with a good selection accepted debit cards.

Parking (Expo and Race): Parking on expo day was a little hectic. There are a few close parking lots that are paid, and a few small ones that are free. There is also a free parking garage a few blocks away. We ended up parking about 5 blocks away at a McDonalds. The excessive parking traffic was thanks to the kids fest going on. The kids fest cost, but runners got in free.

Parking on race day was much easier. We got there over an hour early, so there were plenty of spots. We accidentally got into the VIP parking, so we had a short walk. Lucky us.

The Race: The route included a few spots that included runners going in both directions. A very good portion of the race stayed along parks and the river, so the scenery wasn't too bad at all. Some of the paths included a little up and downs, but nothing too drastic. There were plenty of hydration stops, and a few of those with GU. The race was well supported with volunteers and pacers. I enjoyed the course.

Swag Bag: We received a very nice tech tee, and a heavy duty finisher's medal. I'm not a big fan of black shirts, but it is nice. I do like the medal.

Race Management: The race seemed to be managed very well for the most part. There were plenty of volunteers throughout the course, and an organized start. The announcer was very lively as folks crossed the finish line. I will say that the after race food was a bit underwhelming. Not bad by any means, but I didn't see much as I walked over. For sure the banana I grabbed didn't taste all that well. There were plenty of drinks, but a lot of the Gatorade appeared to have never been on ice.

Extra: This was the first race I've been in that was able to take advantage of RaceJoy, which allows you to track a runner's progress. You do have to pay for live tracking (runner and spectator both), but even without the major milestones/estimated finish times are provided. There was no need for me to find a results board, as the app provides all the results I wanted. This app allowed my wife to follow my progress, and always be in the right spot to cheer me on. A wonderful addition that I hope more races start taking advantage of.

Overall: I thought the Prairie Fire Half Marathon was a great race for this part of the state. Granted, there are very few half marathons to choose from in this area, so my standards may be a bit low. The race itself was great, and well worth running. The expo is pretty lackluster, so hopefully the fall series is better.

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