This race is held in Cincinnati, Ohio about 100 miles north of Louisville. We decided to stay at the Millineum, which was one of two hotel partners for this race. The location is across the street from the expo and 0.9 miles from the start line. The hotel is older and is about in line with the price for the weekend ($99 - $105/night). There is no shuttle service, but there is a trolley stop nearby. We could walk to everything downtown from this location easily. Several of us carpooled together and we shared a hotel room, making travel/lodging for this race very affordable!

The expo is AMAZING-one of the best that I've been to in terms of the swag and items geared towards women! Kroger is a main sponsor; they have an awesome booth with freebies and stylists that provide free hair-braiding for race participants. There were dozens of other vendors providing free t-shirts, discounted race merchandise, a runway show, free desserts, a scavenger hunt, and the most fun! 360 degree movie booth.

The swag in your race packet is premium-- a long sleeved asic tech tee, a duffel, headband and more all with the logo. We also received beautiful flowers and a first aid-kit along with other great snack bags at the finish line!

On race day, be prepared for the first 3 miles to be a climb, but after that, it's pretty smooth sailing. There are scream teams at every mile and a great mix of hydration and fuel (honey stinger gels at mile 8.5). There is also great crowd support at this race throughout the course as well. It's definitely a course that will challenge you but make you smile all at the same time.

The after party is great also! It is directly by the finish line, making easy access and you move down the finisher’s chute. The first thing we did was cash in our ticket for our FREE Gold Star Chili dog. And, of course, you can’t forget your complimentary Barefoot Bubbly mimosa! There were additional food vendors, beer trucks and massage stations as well. We danced to live music and in general had some great people watching before heading back to our rooms to rest and recover.