There's always something special to a small town half marathon! The course was fun and hilly. I really appreciated the packet pickup option in Chesterfield as it was close to where I live. My only complaint would be that it was difficult to sign up for the race in person at the Chesterfield location due to technology difficulties.

I've enjoyed every M3s sport race that I've run so far. Their races are always very well organized, and this company makes all of their races really fun. This was a nice change from some of their usual races, as it was a trail race. They always have a nice tech shirt and medal for every race. Beautiful scenery in the Highlands Metro park, and a fun, challenging trail.

This was my first experience doing one of the Hot Chocolate races, and it is one I really hope to do again!

Packet pickup: The packet pickup location was convenient being in the convention center. There was lots of free samples and all the swag was Hot Chocolate related. The jackets were awesome and really worth the money. I also really liked being able to try on the jacket at the expo to make sure you got the correct size.

Race management: Everything was well organized from the expo to the bag drop to the post race food and hot chocolate.

Aid stations: There were adequate aid stations throughout the course with plenty of water and sweet treats that coordinated well with the Hot Chocolate theme.

Race course: The course went through several fun areas of Columbus, including the Short North with some elevation difficulty but was really fun to run.

Parking: My advice would be to NOT pay for parking beforehand. The pre-paid parking suggested was actually $1 more than what it was on race day, and you may end up parking elsewhere due to crowds coming to the race.

Overall, I really enjoyed this race and I hope to run more Hot Chocolate events in the future!

One of my favorite race experiences! It was so wonderful to see a crowd along the entire course. Nice flat, scenic course through a wonderful city. Getting good parking was difficult that morning with the large crowd of people, and the starting line area should be better explained prior to the event.

A really fun race around the OSU campus. Beautiful scenery and an easy and enjoyable course for all that run it. The medal was really cool and much larger than I thought it would be. There were corrals to help organize the start of the race, but many people didn't wait in their respected corrals.

Overall a great race that I would love to run again!