The Growing Green Challenge offers a Half-of-a-Half, Half Marathon, and 3, 6, and 12 hour challenges.

This is another very small, local race that was close to home for me. Treasured Haven Farm is about an hour north of the Twin Cities, and is a working, family-owned and run vegetable and crop farm. Parking was located on the grass along the gravel driveway, so runners are only a few steps away from the start/finish line. We were greeted by a very large turkey in a pen, who gobbled each time a car horn was honked.

Runners only received their race bib upon check in. There were two porta-potties available, which was sufficient for the small number of runners present. The start was an informal gathering of runners listening to announcements about the course, with a 1-2-3-Go!

Much of the course was on mowed grass that surrounded the perimeter of the fields, and it was very HOT and humid outside. I'm personally not a fan of running on grass, so this course felt difficult for me. There were a few sections that were more technical hard-pack in the woods, which I thoroughly enjoyed; these sections were also 10-15* cooler, just by being shaded. Unfortunately, those sections were short-lived and would head back out onto mowed grass.

Water stations were simply a water jug with plastic cups on a small cart, but that was adequate in my eyes. I was able to save cups by simply refilling my handheld bottle. Because of the heat and sun, this course felt like it was much longer than it actually was. At least there were only a few hills that were steep, but short. The course was also well-marked and I never felt lost or confused about where I was going.

Upon finishing, runners were offered granola bars, trail mix, water, and frozen fruit. The frozen fruit was amazing after a hot, sweaty run, so that was appreciated. We also received a piece of wood with the race name and date burned into it and a vegetable or herb plant of our choice. I chose a bell pepper plant, because I was told they're hard to kill, which is exactly the type of plant I need!

Honestly, I don't know that I would do this particular race again, because I really disliked that it was primarily run on mowed grass. It was well-organized, the people were very nice, and I loved the easy logistics. Perhaps I would consider it if the weather weren't so hot and humid; it's a race I'd likely wait to register for until last minute.