Overall this race is something that as long as it is happening, should be a goal for you to run. Zurich looks like the city from "Frozen" so much so that you feel like you'll see Olaf wave to you as you warm up. The communication prior to the run was pretty good, a lot of it was on the website and a week prior to the race, an email warning about the weather and possible equipment needs and safety concerns were announced.

T-Shirts/SWAG: This is an interesting one. If you don't want a t-shirt or medal, you don't have to buy one. You don't have to pay for anything except race entry when you sign up, which means if you want to run on a total budget, you can skip the SWAG and keep the experience. That said, I opted for the deluxe package. The T-Shirt from Mizuno is dri-fit and comfortable. The Champagne is awesome and my wife and I celebrated the new year walking to the train with it. The medal is a small little wonderful piece of hardware. There are set up photo stations and they are easy to access should you want them.

Aid Stations: Few and far between. For a 10K I thought the stations were hard to find and scant, I can't fully imagine what it was like for the half marathon or marathon runners. An aid station would be welcome during the return route if only to show someone a friendly face during their run.

Course Scenery: If you can see it, it's beautiful. The trails are gorgeous, you're running along water and have the beauty of Zurich in the backdrop. The church bells and fireworks make for a beautiful sight and sound. There is a part of the run where you run by the biofuel building and the smell of manure is hard to get out of your nose, luckily the fires that the course officials are standing by help singe it out.

This race was pretty fun and I'm glad I did it. Start planning your Zurich winter vacation and jump on the website and register. Check out my race recap here: http://www.gowithjordan.com/?p=743