At only 10 dollars to register and with all money going towards a great local charity, the SMILE 5 km/10 km run/walk is a worthwhile event. It brings out a couple of hundred runners and walkers, with most of them being Mount Allison students.

Unfortunately, the amount of race day registrations added to the fact that only one computer was used on race day meant a delay in the start of the race, with very little information being communicated to runners.

Being in mid-March, temperatures are generally cooler but this doesn't seem to affect attendance at all. This year a 1 km family walk was added which also seemed to bring out a few more people. Both the 5 km and 10 km courses are challenging as they are both quite hilly. Wind is also generally a factor as Sackville tends to be a windy place. This means that the chances of having a pretty strong wind in your face at least for part of the race is quite likely.

The 5 km has no aid table but there were several volunteers on course for helping direct you. Unfortunately for runners, the last turn for both the 5 km and 10 km courses has no volunteers at all, meaning that quite a few runners went off course and had to self adjust to get back to the start finish. There was not even a sign at the turn, which is pretty much race organizing 101. As well, the finish area was extremely icy and no salt or sand were put there which meant a pretty treacherous situation for those sprinting to the end.

There was no finishing medal or swag, which is fine as it means more money to the cause. They did have some great overall male and female prizes (chairs!!) and some great draw prizes for people who raised money for SMILE.

Hopefully organizers will address the logistical issues as both issues were easily avoidable and could have created more serious issues.