I decided to run this race because I have a friend who lives in the area and I was just looking to run sometime in February. This race exceeded any expectations I had.

There really wasn't any expo. I arrived the evening before the race and they had a packet pick up at the race location because they had a 1/6th marathon Friday night. You could also pick up your bib the morning of the race. The staff was very friendly and the registration included a nice hoodie.

The race takes place on a path that is about 4.4 mile loop. The Friday night race in one lap. Saturday the half and full marathons started at 8:00. The half consisted of three loops and the full was six laps. This was part of the theme of feeling like you are doing something over and over just like the movie.

Everyone waited in a heated tent until they were called to the start about 10 minutes before the start. They had medical services and a bag check inside the tent. You could also get your post-race beverages and some chicken noodle soup (all free) in the tent after you finished. However when I finished the tent was like a sauna and it didn't smell the best so I skipped it and got on the shuttle back to the parking area. They were very upfront about things in registration. The course may or may not be cleared of ice and snow. They would do their best to make it as nice as they could but this was a race in February in Michigan. There was some ice at the very start and after a few hundred feet it was just a snow-covered path, The path was cleared (due to warm temperatures the previous week) at about the .75 mile mark until about mile 2.25 where it returned to snow-covered. It wasn't slippery much but it was very much like running on the beach.

They had the first aid station at mile 1. They had water and Gatorade. Then at about mile 3 the had a second aid station. There they had water, Gatorade, Coke, Mountain Dew, cookies, and pretzels. They had another water and Gatorade station at the start/finish line.

The medal was nice. This was the fifth year of the race so it featured the number 5.

All of the staff and volunteers were great. There wasn't much parking at the location but there was a park about 3 miles away with 2 shuttles that kept getting runners to and from the race. You never had to wait outside and each shuttle left about every 10 minutes. There were a few small hills on the course but the biggest challenge was the snow. It was obvious I was using muscles I normally wasn't using.

This was a great course and I had a great time.