• Mankato,
    Minnesota,
    United States
  • April
  • 13.1 miles/Half Marathon
  • Road Race
  • Event Website

Gina Hanzel

Minnesota, United States
54 24
2017
"Great race! Short Course. "
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
Gina Hanzel's thoughts:

This was the inaugural race. I'll get the elephant in the room out of the way right now. The course was .5 mile short. Somewhere between mile 4 and 5 I believe the turnaround had everyone off course. The race was a certified course but organizers definitely missed the mark on this one. I discussed with about 15 different runners at the finish and we did all concur that the race was short.

Unfortunately, this was a HUGE mistake for the race. But, I am confident that this will not happen again so I will most likely run this event again. A friend of mine emailed the race directors and the response was we will strive to improve the race next year.

The SWAG for the race was great and the cost was moderate. I paid $71 after fees. The medal is truly beautiful. Parking access was perfect and free. The parking lot was the starting line so it can't get easier than that!

Scheels was the event sponsor, so the race started in the Scheels parking lot. I loved this because that meant flush toilets, in addition to porta-potties and a little shopping before the start. Race organizers were friendly and packet pickup was great! There are several options for the timing of packet pick-up. Because I lived out of town, I really appreciated that I could pick up my packet the morning of. I also had to exchange my race shirt and that was absolutely no problem.

The course was quite hilly. Don't let the website fool you. There was a gorgeous paved trail with a combination of flat and downhill for about 3 miles, but the hill at mile 9 was brutal. This course doesn't protect you from the environment either, so be prepared for that! Race day was very windy and we were exposed. It tested mental toughness for sure!

Post-race fare was your typical banana and granola bars, but they were plentiful.

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