The Snow City Cafe 5k was my first race in Alaska. I was impressed by the organizations ability to keep the Marathon, Marathon Relay, Half Marathon, and 5k on time and they timed it to where there was no race congestion.

The technical shirts given were long sleeve, and perfect to wear for running on a cool day. The bright color was a fun addition to my collection.

The day started off rainy, but cleared up by the time the 5k was over, with perfect temps for a run (high 50s, low 60s).

The route starts and finishes in downtown Anchorage, so people are everywhere cheering, and local support is well seen. You're only in the streets for maybe 1/2 a mile, then you're running along the Coastal Trail. The Coastal Trail is one of Anchorage's many trail systems that follows the edge of the coast with beautiful views of wildlife, the waterfront, and Mt. Susitna in the background.

Along the trail were lots of random organizations helping to cheer along. My favorite were the bagpipers just after mile 1. They were spread out on the hill above the coastal trail so the music carried nicely. The trail is a out and back, which meant I got to hear bagpipers twice!

When you're approaching the finish line, it's a nice, flat straight-away so you can really sprint hard and leave it all on the course. One thing that makes you feel awesome is that they announce every runner and their hometown. Since I ran the race alone and didn't know anyone, it made me feel special to hear my name and town being announced to everyone as I crossed the finish line, and as everyone cheered.

You also receive a medal right away from the guys from the military high school. The chute leads you to the vendor area, where I got a grilled cheese sandwich, a whole loaf of Franz bread, and a beer from the Beer Garden!

At the race after party, racing greats Jeff Galloway and Bill Rodgers were there meeting runners and posing for pics with their medals from the day too!

I loved this race so much, I've decided to go bigger and do the half-marathon for 2014!