We woke up at 5 a.m. to have our usual coffee and bagels. All was going well until we ordered our Lyft and had to wait a little longer than expected...and then ALL THE ROADS WERE BLOCKED. After a mini heart attack, we made it but I would recommend doing more research than I did for the best place to get dropped off.

We were a little late but all the trucks for gear check had already left!! There were a ton of people in our same boat so there were people that were willing to take our bags but in the future, it would be nice if they stayed until the race actually started.

By some miracle the race was postponed by 15 minutes, so we got in our corral no problem and started the race in waves which was amazing so everyone wasn't backed up and on top of each other.

The first half of the race was an out and back, which I really liked. It was all along the cable car route, so many runners including myself chose to run on the track which is dirt-packed. Way better on my feet and knees and I think it made a big difference!

After the 7-8 mile out and back there are a couple of miles that wind around the French Quarter and then it's a straight shot to end the race at City Park. The course is pretty much completely flat and there were lots of bands and spectators along the way. Personally, it went by so fast and the weather was perfect and I really really enjoyed it.

After crossing the finish line you got your medal (that was on beads which looked cool but might need a new lanyard because two of us had the medal fall off) you picked up water, Gatorade, snacks, and headed to pick up your bags and to the concert stage!

City Park was a perfect location to have a huge group of people. There as a massage tent and tents for both light beer and Truly hard seltzers, which was nice I thought for people who don't love beer. (Not me, obviously we love beer and we had both)

After some stretching and listening to some music we heading out of the park to get lunch at Parkway Bakery & Tavern, and then headed home for a quick, well-deserved nap.

We woke up and got ready to head to the French Quarter. After a delicious dinner at Pat O'Brien's, we headed to the piano bar, continued bar hopping, and ended our night on Frenchmen's Street listening to live music and just having the best post-race night!!

All three of us agreed that this was a very fun race in a very fun city. 10/10 would recommend!!

Things we loved:

10 am Start: Most races usually start around 7 am, which means waking up at 5 am at the very latest. Starting at 10 am we didn't have to feel rushed to fall asleep the night before, we could sleep in, and relax and take our time eating and digesting and getting everything ready for the morning.

Convenient Bag Drop: No line, very easy. They provided everyone with a nice drawstring backpack with the Bend Ale Run logo, and it was the only bag you were supposed to use. We did see others, however, so they were not very strict.

Good Aid Stations: There were aid stations every 2-3 miles, all with water and Gatorade. Many of them also had energy goos and gummy bears. This saved me because I was an airhead in the morning and completely forgot to put mine in my pocket before the race!

Scenic Race: Half of the race was on trails through the woods, and it was very beautiful.

Free Food Truck Lunch: Every runner received a coupon for a free entree after the race. This was cool because usually there are some snacks at the finish but not full meals.

Ending at the Bend Ale Fest: This was one of the best parts of this race. Every runner was given a pint glass, 4 tasting tokens (worth a quarter of a beer each) and a coupon for a free full pint at Deschutes Brewery. It wasn't just for runners either, so there were lots of other people there to enjoy the festival!

Cons:

10 am Start Time: I know, this one a very high pro, but it also makes the cons list. They didn't start on time, and it got pretty warm in the afternoon. 8:30 or 9 am probably would have been the best time to start.

Porta-Potties: It may have been better to have a few more by the start and finish lines. There were three areas, and one was a little far away and unknown. Those ran out of toilet paper and the other two locations always had long lines.

No T-Shirt: They did a beanie instead of a shirt. It's okay, but it was a tiny bit of a bummer not to have a shirt. We didn't love the color, mustard yellow, but otherwise, it's a cute hat.

No Snacks: The free lunch at a food truck was great, but that meant there was nothing else besides water at the finish line. With the heat and a beer festival going on it would have been nice to have bagel bites and bananas or something for runners right after the finish. The food trucks were open to the public as well, so we waited almost an hour in line for food after already waiting about 45 minutes after the race to get food.

Hills: I actually like having some hills during a race to switch it up a little bit but these were MONSTER HILLS. There were some big downhills too, but sometimes it felt like you were just constantly going uphill. 

Things We Loved:

Price: Let’s face it, these races can add up. Most are around $100, and most of them can be more. This is basically the same course as the Grand Teton Half and half the price at only $70!

Transportation: The buses in the morning were very easy. They picked you up near the finish line area and bussed us all the way up to the start at Teton Village. Since it was really cold out they let us stay on. the bus up to just minutes before the start of the race!

The Course: It was a net downhill course, and we loved that it wasn’t such an extreme downhill. A couple of little hills mixed (some at the very end which was tough) and lots of flat ground made for an enjoyable race. Not to mention your view of the Tetons the entire way!

Race Size: small

Post Race: For such a small race the post-race was impressive! The finish line was at the bottom of Snow King Mountain, absolutely gorgeous, and they have bananas, bagels, pizza, and beer!

Things We Didn’t Love:

I’m not sure if I have ever said this before, but I can not think of any cons for how this race was put together.

Don’t get me wrong, there were a few cons for the day, but they were not something that had anything to do with the race itself. This mostly had to do with the weather, which was snowing in the beginning and just a cold day. If it was a day later the weather would have been absolutely perfect.

Neither my sister or I could think of any cons for this race. All of the race information was well communicated in the weeks leading up to the big day. Packet picket was simple, and although they didn't have a large expo there were still a couple of booths and I could pick up the energy goos I forgot at home. Race morning was great, and post-race was fun. We would recommend this race to anyone 10/10!!!

Things we loved:

Bathroom Situation: There were so many bathrooms both inside and outside. The fact that the bathrooms in Miller Park were open was great and that meant that the porta-potties were always available. 

Inside before the race: It was cold in the morning! Being able to hang out in the stadium up to the start of the race was such a treat. 

Convenient Bag Drop: No line, very easy. They didn't provide a bag for you but you could use any bag because they were on hangers and you came back and picked it up from the same spot. 

SO MANY aid stations. They had aid stations with water and Gatorade every couple of miles.

Great Pacers: The pacers all had bright green on and kept a good pace. We say them before the start of the race and they were all so happy and pumped up! 

Hilly Run: I prefer the hills to a completely flat course. What goes up must come down! The hills can be tough, but after every hill, you got to go downhill!

Ending at Miller Park: Ending at the baseball field so nice for so many reasons. First of all, it was a little cold, so it was nice to be able to be inside. Having thousands of chairs everywhere was so convenient to be able to set your things down and relax after the race. The last part of the race when through the stadium as well so you could see other runners and they had to big screen and music so it was a cool way to be there and help cheer on the others. 

Chick Fil A: They gave out chicken sandwiches to every runner...need I say more?

Free Beer!: Of course it was Miller Lite because, well we were at Miller Park, and every runner got two drink tickets.

Brewers Tickets: Every runner received a ticket to a future Brewers game! We thought that was a really cool perk. We obviously don't live in Milwaukee so we gave ours to the guys that hosted us through Air BnB and they were so happy! 

Things We Loved

Things to Borrow/Keep: There was a bin full of stuff that other people had gotten rid of. It was freezing and we weren’t that prepared so the gloves/hats that were available were lifesavers. We didn’t keep them, we gave them back to pay it forward for the others in a future race.

The Course: Some great downhills, the perfect amount of uphills, and some flat as well. I loved that this course went through so many different areas of the city. You got to see a lot of the campus, down by the river, and even a dirt path for a lot of the race.

Post Race Food: Are you kidding me?! We have never seen this many different items offered to runners post-race. You name it, it was there. Pancakes, egg tortilla wraps, bananas, cookie, Twizzlers, ice cream sandwiches, etc. I’m not kidding. It was amazing.

26.2 Brew: How cool is it that there was a special runner themed beer that was offered after the race. Not to mention it was pretty delicious.

Thermal Blanket: We have never been given one of these and it saved us. We would have never been able to stay as long as we did without these blankets!

Things We Didn’t Love:

4 Hour Expo: WHAT? This was way too short. If you are going to do an expo just for one day then in absolutely needs to be for longer than four hours. This causes some long lines early in the morning and I’m sure some people to miss the gun time.

Pre-Race Organization: It wasn’t the worst but there was room for improvement. There was quite a bit of confusion on where the line for registration, bag drop, and the bathrooms all started.

The emails: These were a little bit excessive. There were a few sent out every week and it just was a little bit too much in our opinion.