Let me first say how disappointed I was in the expo. Not only was it held right in downtown Minneapolis, which means expensive parking during the work week, but the hours were less than ideal. I appreciated having validated parking, but it was still $7 for me to park for less than an hour. Additionally, for how big this race is, I was very underwhelmed upon walking into the expo. Two of the big sponsors, besides Allstate, are Nuun and Honey Stinger. Being an ambassador for both, I was excited to see how they branded and advertised themselves at the expo. They didn't. I found Honey Stinger to be completely absent from the expo, and the only Nuun was a seven-flavor small spot at the checkout. No table, no opportunity to advertise and spread the word about their new Endurance or Rest lines. It made me very sad, as I would have been more than happy to volunteer at a table for the expo for either company.

Given that the previous weekend provided 60 degree temps and sunshine, I was looking forward to running in a beautifully warm race, given that my last 9 races were cold, cold, cold! And then, like true Minnesota spring weather, we got a snowstorm 3 days before the race. Race morning was barely 30 degrees and windy.

I understand that with this race being in Minneapolis, parking can be a pain, given that you have to park at least a quarter mile away. I would have appreciated the race recommending where to park, rather than just linking the Minneapolis parking website to the race website.

This is a beautiful, but hilly out and back course along the Mississippi. I ran with friends, and we started at a decent pace. I warmed up quickly, but then at the turnaround, we started heading into the wind. This race is deceiving, feeling like you are doing a lot of uphill running on the way out, so you get into a mindset that on the way back will be mostly downhill, but it is (again) a lot of uphill running.

At a few of the water stops, where Nuun was provided, it was clear the volunteers were not trained on how to mix the Nuun, with an improper Nuun to water ratio, making the Nuun overly sweet, which I know turned many could-be Nuun drinkers away.

The finish was well set up and filed runners through to the water/nuun at the end. However, I was unimpressed by the fact I then had to walk almost another quarter mile just to get back to where I checked my gear, given how cold it was. And my fondue chocolate for dipping my amazing post-race goodies (which did include a HS waffle, the only place I saw HS visible throughout) hardened before I could finish it :(

Given how cold it was, I would have appreciated more warming areas than what they had for how many racers that were participating in this race.

Additionally, while this race is always fun to run, I would appreciate it if the race were a bit cheaper.