Expo/Packet Pick up: There was no expo for this race. Packet pick up was at the Water Street Inn on Friday afternoon/Saturday morning. It was a very smooth process.

T-shirts/SWAG: They provided gender specific short sleeve technical shirts for all participants. (if you registered by a certain deadline, you could have your bib personalized) The medal was good sized! (also if you participate in their "Run Stillwater" Series, all 3 medals received connected via little magnets embedded on the sides)

Parking: Parking was easy as there is plenty of free parking in downtown Stillwater near packet pick up and the finish line.

Course/Elevation: All participants were bused to the start of the race, which took place on the Gateway Trail, a shared bike/running paved path. The path was tight at first, but spaced out pretty fast. Since the path was still open to bikers and other runners, be aware of your surroundings. There weren't too many bikers this year, but some of them seemed less than pleased that the path was filled with runners. (So again - be aware of your surroundings and make sure to share the trail!) . The course had a lot of tree cover, for the first 8 miles (which made my GPS act up a little - hitting mile markers about a tenth of a mile or so too soon) with rolling hills. The last few miles were run on the shoulder of Norell Ave (55) and then along side streets to the finish at Pioneer Park. If you've ever been to Stillwater, you know they are famous for their hills! The hills definitely made for a challenging course, especially towards the end. On the bright side, the last half-ish mile is downhill, which made for a nice finish!!
Stillwater Half also teamed up with MN Pacers this year - which was awesome! I'm pretty good at pacing myself usually, but this was a tough course and without the pacer there to keep my eye on my goal, I'm not sure I would have gotten a shiny new PR!!

Aid Stations - There were aid stations approximately every 2 miles on the course, which had plenty of volunteers helping out and cheering you on! They provided Gatorade and water at each.

Overall: I would run this race again. If you registered early, the race fee was $45 going to $65 on race day. It was managed well, and had some good SWAG. They offered all participants 21+ a free Coors Light afterwards, as well as discounted rates on the brunch and bloody bar served at The Water Street Inn. One more side note, with it being a smaller race there wasn't as much spectator support (although the spectators that were there were great!) Just another thing to consider if you're used to bigger races with tons of fans.

Link to this review