http://www.runningwithrolos.com

My wife and I find this cause extremely personal, and we would participate no matter how it was ran. I will note that I do not believe the local organizer was previously experienced. Please keep that knowledge in mind when reading this review. In addition the planning didn't start until March, so this was all done in 4 months. There were 360 finishers from what I saw, so the event was a bit on the smaller side.

Signup: The signup was done online, and was very simple. Handled by a popular third party site, we had no issues here. The registration was actually fairly cheap as well.

Parking: The race was held at Sedgwick County Park, which is a popular park beside the zoo. There is plenty of parking albeit spread out along the road. This didn't seem to be an issue.

Bathrooms: I do not recall seeing any portable/extra bathrooms available. I only saw the one park building by the start/finish line, so you could imagine there was a bit of a wait. I'm sure it was nicer than a port-a-potty though.

Course: The course swept through the park, and was 99.9% on paved paths. There was a short, maybe 50 foot shortcut through the grass. My GPS showed the course just a little bit longer than 5k, which is no big deal to me. The paths spent a lot of time in the shade, so we were fairly protected from the hot Kansas sun. My only real complaint is where the race started. Even though we only had a few hundred people, starting everyone on a 3-4 foot wide path creates a lot of congestion. I would suggest starting the race on the street so everyone can thin out a bit.

Course Support: There were volunteers handing out water along the course, though I only recall one spot. They handed out bottles of water, which aren't very convenient for running. If we wanted to carry a bottle we would've brought our own. I would suggest going the traditional route of cups, as I heard several people through away nearly full bottles of water.

Swag: We received a very nice tech tee for participating, and they had multiple other items available for purchase.

Entertainment: There was a DJ there playing music before and after, and also a community day afterwards. Mostly grilled food and some kids games.

Management: As I mentioned, I don't believe the local organizer was experienced. The opening ceremonies started about 20 minutes late, and the race itself about 15 minutes late. The start/finish line was a bit separated from the pre and post race festivities. Maybe they didn't have a choice, but I would think you could get those items closer together. From a national management standpoint, these series of races could use some help. It's a great cause, but given it's been around since 2011 there should be some improvements by now. The website needs major work, and the local races are maintained separately. This particular race was a simple Facebook event.

Photos: I'm not sure if photos will officially be available, but there is a YouTube video with all the pictures. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qnl7nJL1Z-I

Overall the race was fine. I'm not going to give the local race organizer a hard time given it was a first attempt. She'll learn. No matter what we'll join next year.

My part of the state doesn't provide many hills to practice on, so I figured it would be pretty challenging. Without a doubt this course was extremely challenging. Everything about this race was well put together from beginning to end. Between the 10k and Half Marathon, there were over 3,400 finishers. It was a hot and humid morning.

A full review will be added to our blog, www.runningwithrolos.com very soon.

SIGNUP - I was able to signup online, which is pretty common these days. That registration put me on the email list, which they would occasionally use to communicate race details.

EXPO - The expo was by far the biggest I've been too, but I haven't been to any other "good" ones. There were over 60 vendors at the expo, even some non-running vendors. I liked that the hospitalhillrun.com website gave a list of the expected vendors ahead of time. The bib and shirt pickup process at the expo was extremely easy. Parking was ample, and could be validated at the Crown Center expo booth. However, if you spent a longer time there (like we did), then you'll still pay a little for parking. The website was very clear on parking availability. For those not sure how to get there could follow some Hospital Hill footsteps throughout The Link walking bridge.

PARKING ON RACEDAY - Crown Center parking is free on the weekend, so you could get into he parking garages without cost. However, you had to get there very early in order to get in, as some of the streets were already closed up. The website showed all of the road closures, along with times, but I think some roads were closed early. No matter we were able to find a free parking lot without issue.

COURSE - The course starts off with a downhill stretch sure to give you a false sense of hope. After the Sprint Center comes into view, you start making the "turn" back towards the hill, which will take you by the Kansas City Star. The next several miles will take you by the Nelson-Atkins Art Museum, skirt by the Plaza, and behind another hospital. As you near the finish line in Crown Center you run directly towards the World War 1 Museum, which is a great view to finish with. Luckily the last stretch is all downhill, so you're able to finish on a fast note.

SUPPORT - The course support was great. There were a ton of Police officers keeping control of the closed intersections, and plenty of hydration stops. Each stop had two side for Gatorade or water, and wider sections had volunteers handing out water in the middle. The finish line included our medal, water, bananas, cracker sandwiches, and some Gatorade energy gels. Each bib included a ticket for beer and entry into the pancake breakfast. A free massage table was also available if you were willing to wait (though the beer line was longer).

SWAG - At packet pickup we received our Gatorade Endurance gels and race shirt. The half marathon shirt is a very nice long sleeve 1/4 zip shirt. At the finish line we received our quite large medal. Overall a very nice package.

I would without a doubt recommend this race to anyone. It was a very challenging course that is very well ran. I can't think of anything that could have been done better by the management staff.

I have a full race review on my blog at http://runningwithrolos.com/2016/05/01/race-review-prairie-fire-spring-half-marathon/

This was my 3rd half marathon and 1st Prairie Fire Half. I entered into the Back 2 Back challenge that gives out an extra medal and shirt for increasing your distance in the fall race. In my case, I ran the half in the spring, and will run the full marathon in the fall. There were just shy of 2,400 runners for the half and 5k races. So let's get to the review.

Registration: Prairie Fire Marathon Series allows for online registration which was pretty simple. One of the great parts of registration is the Back 2 Back challenge I mentioned above.

Packet Pickup/Expo: Picking up my packet was pretty simple. First, you stop at a station to find your bib number. It's a simple concept, but complicated by the fact that there were two separate 13.1 lists. One for a single race, and one for those taking part in the Back 2 Back challenge. I already knew my bib number thanks to the RaceJoy app. My next stop was letting them know what my bib number was, and they found my bib for me. One more station after that to pick up my shirt.

The expo itself was a letdown. Only a handful of vendors were there for the runners. The majority of the building was filled with the Kids Fest that was going on as well. The vendors in attendance were two local running stores (one with very few items), a self defense booth, a few headband booths, a few race related booths, and therapy booth. It took us only about 15 minutes to get through everything twice. I will note that the expo location does not provide ATM's, so we were unable to purchase some items we wanted. Luckily the running store in attendance with a good selection accepted debit cards.

Parking (Expo and Race): Parking on expo day was a little hectic. There are a few close parking lots that are paid, and a few small ones that are free. There is also a free parking garage a few blocks away. We ended up parking about 5 blocks away at a McDonalds. The excessive parking traffic was thanks to the kids fest going on. The kids fest cost, but runners got in free.

Parking on race day was much easier. We got there over an hour early, so there were plenty of spots. We accidentally got into the VIP parking, so we had a short walk. Lucky us.

The Race: The route included a few spots that included runners going in both directions. A very good portion of the race stayed along parks and the river, so the scenery wasn't too bad at all. Some of the paths included a little up and downs, but nothing too drastic. There were plenty of hydration stops, and a few of those with GU. The race was well supported with volunteers and pacers. I enjoyed the course.

Swag Bag: We received a very nice tech tee, and a heavy duty finisher's medal. I'm not a big fan of black shirts, but it is nice. I do like the medal.

Race Management: The race seemed to be managed very well for the most part. There were plenty of volunteers throughout the course, and an organized start. The announcer was very lively as folks crossed the finish line. I will say that the after race food was a bit underwhelming. Not bad by any means, but I didn't see much as I walked over. For sure the banana I grabbed didn't taste all that well. There were plenty of drinks, but a lot of the Gatorade appeared to have never been on ice.

Extra: This was the first race I've been in that was able to take advantage of RaceJoy, which allows you to track a runner's progress. You do have to pay for live tracking (runner and spectator both), but even without the major milestones/estimated finish times are provided. There was no need for me to find a results board, as the app provides all the results I wanted. This app allowed my wife to follow my progress, and always be in the right spot to cheer me on. A wonderful addition that I hope more races start taking advantage of.

Overall: I thought the Prairie Fire Half Marathon was a great race for this part of the state. Granted, there are very few half marathons to choose from in this area, so my standards may be a bit low. The race itself was great, and well worth running. The expo is pretty lackluster, so hopefully the fall series is better.