The unique thing about this race is that it's located underground. The nice thing about that is that the weather is consistent, and since the race is in January, a nice change from winter weather running. The downside is that it's actually just an underground office park - so while it's cool to run in a cave, the scenery is basically the same as any other office park, and not that exciting.

I picked up my packet the Friday before the race (which was on Sunday). You could pick up your packet Friday, Saturday, or race day - so there were plenty of opportunities. You get a t-shirt (not a tech shirt) and a finisher's medal. The 10k finisher's medal is a good size.

The 10k starts at 10:00am, and I enjoyed the late start time. Parking is across the street at the casino, and you're bused over to the underground entrance. We didn't have to wait for the bus at all, either on the way to race or back to the parking lot afterward.

The race itself is well organized with a wave start based on approximate finish time. I was in the middle wave. This helped a great deal with congestion on the course. It gets warm and muggy in the cave, particularly farther back when the airflow is more restricted. I felt a little overheated, actually, and I was wearing capris and a tank. The 10k course is two loops of the 5-k course. Luckily, the two races do not start at the same time. There were a good number of aid stations, with just water at each station as well as porta-potties (something I don't usually see at the 5k and 10k races).

This race does have a gear check, although I did not use it so I can't speak to how well that part of the race was organized.

The post race food was pretty standard: chocolate milk, bananas, bagels. Again, the medal was good size for the 10k.

The only negatives that I have is that I think the swag could be a bit better, and that I wish the airflow was better in the caves (nothing they can do there!) but this is a large race and a charity race, so I'd rather the money go toward the charity than better swag. This is a fun and unique race. I'll be back next year!