The Medtronic 10-Miler is a great distance to run. Still a long race, but not quite as long as a 13.1, so you don' feel like you need to kill yourself in training to be able to complete this race. This is a raffle entry, so you are taking a chance every year in determining if you get in or not. This year I signed up as part of a group of 4 and made the cut!! The race is held on Sunday.

Expo:
The expo is held in St. Paul, MN. Since I live and work in Minneapolis I was able to get my brother to pick up my bib this year. From what he said the expo was very nice, but I only know that second hand. Along with my bib I also got a runners buff.

Transportation:
This race starts in downtown Minneapolis, MN and ends at the Capitol in St. Paul. As you can expect in the downtown of a major city that parking will be in short supply. I planned for this and parked at my brothers place who lived on the outskirts of downtown. Then we took the light rail from his place to the starting line so that we didn't have to deal with finding a parking spot or the post race traffic when everyone is leaving. Post race there were buses or the light rail ready to take people back to the starting line. I took the light rail back so that it could bring me all the way to my brothers place without having to get off. This made for a great experience to and from the race.

Race:
I think there were 4 corals set up at the starting line based on your expected finish time. Each coral started a few minutes apart allowing for runners to be spread out on the course. I always like when a race has corals. Then I know that even though I will still be doing some side to side running to get around people for the first few miles, it wont be as bad as it could have been if everyone started all at once. This race was just as I expected. I still had to run around a few people, but how can you expect anything else from a race with so many runners. After a few miles this was a non issue and I was just able to enjoy the run. There are spectators everywhere on this route. The weather was a bit on the brisk side, but once the race started it was great conditions. The highlight of this route for me is the last 0.5 miles running down Summit Ave. This is all downhill and you can't help but take in the spectators and the finish line that entire way.

Post Race:
After crossing the finish line you are provided with some post-race food (bagels, chicken broth, chips). I was also rewarded with a finishers long sleeve technical shirt. THIS SHIRT IS GREAT!! Black is a great color for a finishers shirt, and for me personally, I love running in a long sleeve shirts so was so excited when I saw what we got. This is the first race I have taken place in that has given a long sleeve shirt. It is almost always a short sleeve technical t-shirt. The other great plus to finishing the race, you are given a free Summit beer (Summit is a brewery located in St. Paul).

Final Thoughts:
I would recommend this race to others. This was the 3rd time I have run this race and will look to build upon that number. Its a great fall race and at the 10 mile distance you will still be able to celebrate afterwards!!