When you wake up and your FB page is being blown up by notifications, you know you had a great night or participated in a favorite race of the local running community. At the all female 21+ Cosmo 7k, I couldn't go more than a few feet without bumping into someone I knew. If you are a running newbie, there are no shortage of friendly and supportive faces. Everyone seemed to be having a fab time.

With an evening race in August, a sweat fest is to be expected. Fortunately we had a break from the record temps we've experienced all summer and it was only around 70 degrees when the race started. Still, it was nice to cool down with the race namesake Cosmos which were served at the end.

Overall, I love the vibe of this race. Even though it is women only, several men who are active in the running community volunteer. A special shout out to James Ross (photo credit) who went above and beyond to take professional quality photos of so many racers and post them on Facebook (hence the 11 billion notifications in the morning).

The one complaint I do have has to do with registration being included in the 21+ area. While I am always open for "adults only" fun, I really hated that you couldn't pick up your race registration without showing ID. I didn't have a sitter until close to start time so I arrived 2 hours early for packet pick up with kids in tow. Fortunately a fellow runner volunteered to run in and grab my packet. I also saw several people who were clearly (like 50+) being turned away because they didn't have ID on them. I get that there needs to be a section where alcohol is being served, but there also needs to be somewhere for runners to enjoy the festivities in the unfortunate event they forgot their license. With the number of drink tickets I was handed by those who weren't using them, imbibing wasn't priority for most.

Registration logistics aside, I would still recommend this race and will totally run it next year.