This race was held on Saturday April 14, 2018. There was supposed to be the option of running either the 5k or 15k, but due to the snow storm that decided to hit Minneapolis the night before the race, it was decided that all participants would run the 5k due to safety concerns. I had been signed up to run the 15k, but decided I would still participate in the race even though the distance had been changed (can't pass up chocolate at the finish)!

Expo:
The expo is held the Thursday and Friday prior to the race weekend (with the race being on Saturday morning). If you are an out of town traveler coming in for the race weekend, you should make sure to check the anticipated hours of the expo. They appeared to be more in line with business hours which would make it hard for someone traveling on the Friday before hand to get there before they close. If this is the case for you, you can opt in to having your bib and swag mailed to you prior to the race weekend (what a great option to have)!

I attended the expo and got my bib and my 1/4 zip long sleeve participant shirt (not a finisher shirt because I was given it prior to even participating in the race). Usually I like to get the shirt at the finish line so I know I earned it, but in this case I was happy to have it ahead of time as I needed to exchange it for a larger size and they had an exchange booth at the expo. The shirt quality and fit is great! I can definitely see myself getting wear out of it! I also sampled the hot chocolate and fondue while I was there!!

Pre Race:
Usually I try to get a warm up run in and get down to the starting line early enough to take it all in prior to the race starting. Due to the snow, wind, and all around tough conditions that morning, I opted for sitting in my warm car as long as possible and then jogging down to the starting line just in time for the national anthem to be sung and the race to begin.

Race:
Being that this was no longer a 15k and now was a 5k for me (and taking into account the snow covered roads, wind, and my watch being covered up by multiple layers and glove) I decided to run this race purely off of feel and didn't look at my watch one. The course itself is nice for a 5k although for the second half of the race I found my visibility limited due to snow build up on my sunglasses. There was one aid station on the 5k course which served Nuun for hydration (I am a huge fan of Nuun, so even though I didn't need hydration at this aid station, I made sure to grab a cup of nuun. They also were giving out marshmallows at this aid station, so I decided why not and took one of those as well!

Post Race:
I crossed the finish line and get my awesome medal in the shape of a chocolate bar, along with some samples of Nuun to bring home. From there I made the long walk to get to the fondue (I say long walk because it was cold out and there is a decent space between where the finish line is and where the post race food is located). Once there I was meeting by very energetic volunteers who handed me my fondue bowl and hot chocolate (by the way, hot chocolate after a cold race is amazing)!! Due to the cold conditions I did not opt to hang out long and headed back to my car to warm up and drive home.

Overall I am really happy I showed up and ran the 5k and tested my willpower to get out and run in not so ideal conditions. The volunteers are course and post race were so great for showing up and cheering everyone on!!