This is my second year doing Cary and after a pretty solid year last year and a lot of life stuff going on, I probably took the last few weeks a bit lax in training. That, my friends, is something you definitely do not want to do for this race. Cary has a rep as being one of the harder halves in the area and that rep is well earned. As another review mentioned, you will need to find out the day sign up is (typically Dec 31st if memory serves correct), have your credit card ready and scramble to get in as the field is small and this is a perfect pre-season test or hilly tune up for Boston bound folks.

There were a few snags with the sign up this year where a few folks (myself included) were in limbo for a while as after signing up a link to the credit card processor was showing an error, but after going out for a run, luckily I got my email notification.

The event itself has a hometown event kind of feel. Don't expect anything major or fanfare. The start is out of Cary Grove High School and if you get there early enough parking is not an issue. The gym and cafeteria are open to keep you out of the cold. At 835, the gun goes off, not too early, not too late. The weather is all over the map for this event and this year it was cold and windy. Yours truly bundled up a bit too much where the weight and heat probably didn't serve me well.

The race takes you through a about 10 hills, nothing majorly soul crushing, but some good climbs and the last 3 miles they kind of keep coming at ya. You are well served to do some hill work for this event or even better check out the course a few times. Water stations are 2.5 miles apart, borderline distance wise but for a heavy sweater like me, I am taking something along for the ride. Gels are passed out at about 7.5 in as well.

After you take on the challenge of the race, one of their signature touches is fresh soft pretzels. They also have bananas, cookies and water. Overall, nothing major on the frills o meter, but solidly supported and a great effort put on by the local Hillstriders group. Check it out if you are looking for a challenge and don't take training lightly or it will put a hurt on ya!!