I had heard about this half marathon for a few years, and had never had the opportunity to run it due to either not being a runner or not having time. I wish I would've made time in the past. It was such a fun event. I had to work the Friday before the race so couldn't make it to the pasta feed/expo they had, where Dick Beardsley spoke and took photos and generally hung out. He lives fairly close to where the race is held I believe. So unfortunately, I can say nothing good or bad about the expo. I'm sure it was fine though.

Race day though, I can do better on. Having never really been to the town of Detroit Lakes, I had some concerns about where to go and park. Luckily, I know some people who've run it before and they clued me in. There is a high school about two blocks away from where packet pickup and the start line is, TONS of parking available. The only issue I could foresee is if you run the 10K and then there might be some traffic congestion with the marathon as they run past. Wasn't an issue for me with the half marathon. And really, if you can't get out, you get to cheer on some runners! Or run back to the finish and grab some more ice cream.
The race itself loops around Detroit Lake, which is about 12 miles around. This year was the first time they reversed the course and even though I haven't run the other way, I thought it was a perfect course. Good hills that happen in the first half, but mostly flat in the second, and a great half mile downhill towards the finish. The crowd support is phenomenal for a smaller town race. Even with a lot of people out for the marathon, which started earlier, there was tons of fans out cheering us on. The aid stations were top notch, with lots of available cups of water and powerade.
The hills are a lot of fun, nothing too strenuous except for one that happened at about mile 7. But coming from such a flat place, I found them really enjoyable because as soon as you get up to the top, you get to bomb down the other side! I will definitely be back to this race and cannot recommend it highly enough. The same people that put on the Fargo Marathon put on this race as well, so there's some nice continuity between those races and you can know what to expect if you've done one. Great time.