The race day was a cold/windy/bitter day just like most of the winter. I was advised not to run by some caring parents, but I trained all winter long outdoors so had an expectation for how it would feel and was pumped to race.

Packet pick up was fairly easy with several days and locations around the city to do so.

I arrived about 40 minutes before the start in anticipation of possible traffic getting into Montrose Harbor and to do gear check and get ready. Gear check was pretty easy and the start/finish area did have a nice vibe considering the elements. Ample port-a-potties were available. There were maybe two "warming tents" which were 3 sided event tents and not much of anything else. I felt like the penguins in Antarctica during winter on Planet Earth huddling and shifting to minimize the exposure to the elements. By the time I started I was pretty cold but warmed up after a mile or so. I trained all winter outdoors so I was used to the frigid temps, just not standing around waiting for a race to start for 30 minutes!

The start was pretty easy with two waves loosely organized. It was hard to hear announcements.

My biggest issue was that there were no mile markers which the race management cited the high wind conditions making it too dangerous to place them out and they could not move volunteers from other assignments to be at the markers. This was really frustrating since my GPS device stopped working during the race so I had very little clue as to where I was. I could only imagine how hard this could be for someone who is not used to running in the area. I hope that in the future the management plans to bring spray paint to mark the miles and/or have a plan to shift volunteers from water stations (because who wants water/gatorade when it's frozen into an ice cube anyways?) if the mile markers cannot be placed.

One of the benefits of this being a winter half during one of the coldest winters, the course was not congested despite not being a closed course. There was a steady stream of racer l. It snowed that morning, where snow was not removed or not removed well, it was icy and bumpy. I thankfully did wear a pair of yaktraks in anticipation of the ice and gave my stability muscles a good work out.

All things considered I did PR but missed my goal time by about a minute. . . now what would have happened if there were mile markers?

This is one of the few winter half marathons in area. I would consider running it again, but would come better prepared to stand around in the elements and not have mile markers depending on the conditions. I gave two starts to the race management because of the lack of mile markers and contingency plan that went beyond a "just deal with it" attitude. I do hesitate to do any other races they put together in less extreme elements. I would recommend this to a friend, but with a be prepared for ANYTHING attitude that comes with winter running.