This is a mix of road, pavement trail and Ice Age trail.

Pros:
*Great communication from race directors. This was especially appreciated as the weather conditions weren't the greatest and it was uncertain whether it was safe to use the trails.
* Awesome volunteers -- this can mean so much. It was freezing out there. Snow and wind advisory but they always showed enthusiasm and cheered us on -- sometimes breaking out of a huddle to keep themselves warm.

CONS:
*Aid stations were minimal. Water, Gatorade (blue), orange slices and sometimes bananas.

Most of the course was on pavement - whether road or trail. Flat course for the most part. The ice age trail was a nice break but the elevation may be a challenge for some. I wasn't expecting to climb the stairs to the tower -- this may have been amazing if the winds weren't so volatile but for someone with fear of phobia, this was beyond frightening.

I loved how the director went around to speak with the runners afterwards and as a bonus, he even sang Happy Birthday to me. My time out on the course may have been miserable due to weather (and not a big fan of flat/pavement course) but with the positive energy of this race, I will be back for more next year!

This is a big event in Central WI. If you want in, you need to have the website up on your computer and refresh until it is open (I think it was around mid morning or noon). Within 10 min, over 1,000 had registered and with the cap at 2,000 you'd better hurry!

The race is so worth it. I'm not a huge fan of road races but I loved it. I'm also not a fan of out-and-back courses but with the turns on this course, it was surprisingly pleasant!
Here are some main points that a runner may ponder...

COURSE: Flat, fast. The only long stretch is on HWY 66 and that's about a 1 - 1.5 mile(s). The only elevation I noticed was towards the turnaround. It was minor (if you even noticed) and the little downhill was nice at the halfway point. The residents came out to cheer us on, joke around as they sat on their sofas they brought out to the yard while drinking beer ( it IS Wisconsin...)

***My biggest pet-peeve were all the walkers and clearly sub-15 pace runners that were in the front and middle. I didn't plan on racing so I placed myself around the 9min/mile runners and was reduced to walking and light jogging (lots of dodging, "excuse me"s along the way as I shimmied between them) for a good .25 miles. ***
WATER: 1 on course, shortly after you turnaround at the halfway point.

Packet Pick-up/Swag bag: Having the option to pick up the night before or the morning of made this convenient. There wasn't a swag , just a long sleeve shirt. I loved the design on it - simple - but it was a cheaper fabric. And white (oh why...?)
5tely, the parking lot in the nearby theater (about 2 blocks away) was open to us. Or at least, they were very lenient with the bock runners.

Bathroom: Plenty of port-a-potties! Still very long lines but had about a dozen available (split into 2 areas).

MISC: 3 beer tags. The heated tents were great except it was extremely crowded. I couldn't handle the constant bumping, moving aside, beer spilling and had to go out once in a while before calling it quits (2 beers in).
They do have a finish-time table so you can get a print out of your time and how you placed. BONUS!

Despite the cons, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The energy is awesome and you can't beat a small university town road race!

I know the ratings I gave weren't the greatest. Let me go through the pros to explain why I still would recommend to a friend.

PROs:
** Races are rare in the colder months in Wisconsin - especially in the double digits- so this was a great way to keep finish up the racing season.
** Great community in Stevens Point. You have your walkers to marathoners (ultrarunner, counting myself!)
** Volunteers were great despite the lack of fuel at aid stations - just water. Maybe Gatorade, I can't quite remember as I decided to stick with my handheld.
** Awards! Each division winner, along with the top finishers, receive a mug. Yes, most of us prefer medals but for a small race this was surprising.
**Communication was great from the race director/organizers.

CONS
**No bathrooms along the course.
**No water handed at finish line. You have to go through the YMCA, all the way to the all purpose room for refreshments and even then, I couldn't find the water. This is also inconvenient if you want to cheer on friends and/or other runners. I know weather isn't always ideal in December but the last few years haven't been too bad to have bottled water ready for finishers.
**No mile markers on the way back.
**Parking can be hectic so I would suggest getting there early.
**Scenery is ok. You do have a stretch where you're along the river but otherwise, it's an out and back of back roads.

GENERAL
It's a very flat course and for the first several miles, it's all road and sidewalks. I personally prefer trail running over road races and I thought I could just stick to the shoulders and gravel/grass but it took about 3 miles before I had the opportunity. I know other runners absolutely love the roads and flat courses so I guess this terrain is neither pro/con.

T-shirts/Swags: Nice technical long sleeve shirts with sample of Bio-Freeze. And of course, handful of local business handouts :)

It's a small but well-organized race.
Packet pick is the morning of the race along with same-day registration.
There is a tarp/tent area where you can keep your drop bag during the race - easily accessible each time you complete a loop.
They have one fully stocked aid-station and it's everything you could dream of -- and more. It included your usual pretzels, chips, sweets, potatoes, broth and towards the end, they brought out donuts and mac and cheese and more goodies. There is also another aid station about halfway through and though it was listed an unmanned, we were pleasantly surprised to see volunteers there with basics (water, Hammer gels and tabs).
Volunteers are awesome and during the 8 hours of standing, directing and helping us out, I never saw anyone show signs of tiredness (or cold!).

Another bonus was having Altra and Hoka tents with shoes you could test out during the race at no fee. I didn't realize this until the race ended - that could've been better communicated.

Overall, it was a beautiful and a bit challenging trail. 8 hours well spent out in nature and among good-natured runners.