Pros

Distance – a 15k is totally attainable for a half marathoner like me. It makes you do a fair amount of training that pushes you to run some longer runs on the weekend without totally exhausting you. Plus, it’s easier to PR on a distance that you rarely run.

Swag – loving my pullover.

Chocolate – everywhere. Pre-race, during the race, post-race. And the fondue is really, really good. I’m not usually a sucker for a gimmick, but…wait a minute. Yes, I am.

Parking/Access - You can take the Metrolink, but there ended up being plenty of parking spots north of Forest Park for those who want to drive. Also, I got picked up by my husband only a few blocks north of the park in a very convenient spot for both of us. I got to eat my chocolate while waiting for my ride. Not a bad gig.

Course - It has the right mix of hills and flats for those of you that like some variety. I prefer a flat course, so this wasn't my favorite, but since I knew the lay of the land, I knew where to expect hills and prepared accordingly in physical and mental effort.

Cons

Weather – it’s always in December, so you don’t know what you’re going to get. We had weather in the 20s but at least it was sunny. If it was in the 40s and rainy, it would have sucked even worse. I don’t mind running in the winter. I actually prefer it. But I don’t like waiting around to start with temperatures in the teens. Nope. Brrrr!

Scenery - I mean, it's Forest Park. If you don't live in StL, it will be something different. But if you do, you've run around this park a million times. Nothing wrong with it, just not that exciting.

More casual atmosphere – if you’re a serious runner and only like to do serious races, this isn’t for you. You can tell by how high I placed that the crowd at this race is not in it to win it. I’m not ever going to place in my age division and I’m not out to qualify for Boston (good thing, since this is only a 15k), so I don’t mind it that much, especially since I could start ahead of the more casual runners/walkers in the corral.

Plug and play atmosphere – you get the sense that they take this race on the road, and just use the same stuff in every town where they have this race. Which is what they do.

Final Verdict:

I will run this race again. They’re advertising that the prices start to go up in January(!), so I registered early to save a good $20 this time. There are really not a lot of other races going on around here at that point in the year that are longer than 5k, and, the training doesn’t totally wipe me out, so why not? My mom and kids told me they want to do the 5k next year. They’re some of “those people.” In it for the swag and the chocolate. At least maybe we can carpool.