Latest reviews by Ali Jones

(2022)
"Great Event!"
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Really fun and well organized race. I did the VIP package and really appreciated having a private indoor area at the start, as well as private bag check. It made race morning a lot smoother and at the finish line they walked right up to me in the VIP tent with my bag!

The course is beautiful and almost all 26 miles have spectators. Race day can be hit or miss with weather but this year we lucked out and it was beautiful at the start. The only downside on the course is there's limited portapotties so depending on where you start there might be a line to use them. But overall a really great race!

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(2022)
"Fun out and back course"
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This was a really fun race that's well organized! Parking was easy on the side streets and the course was a hilly out and back. The starting line was a little crowded but the crowd thinned out by about mile 2.

Finish line brunch was a nice touch, but the lines were long depending on when you got there and they did run out of some of the food.

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(2014)
"Another Expensive Team Ortho Hot Mess"
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I wouldn't do this race again if you paid me.

EXPO: Non-existant. Packet pickup was held the day before the race (unless you paid $30 for them to mail the packet to you) at a Sports Authority in Roseville. They were smart as they set it up in the back of the store so you had to walk around the store. The packet included a bib, a tank top and they threw in a camo backpack from some adventure race they have. They also had a table set up where you could get your 21+ wristband and I'm so glad we did this during packet pickup instead of waiting.

SWAG: The tank top was cute but did not fit right at all - the women's small I ordered fit more like a kids medium.

PRE-RACE: There was a pre-race area near the start where there had porta-potties, 1 food truck, 1 beer truck, medical and bag drop off. Getting into the expo area was a complete mess - they put a table in the middle of the already small entry to sell tickets to the after party and on one side they had someone giving out 21+wristbands. After squeezing through I realized there really wasn't much to do at the pre-race area so we decided to head to the starting line.

STARTING LINE: They were giving out free lighted leis for the race at the entry of the starting line which quickly got overly crowded and chaotic. After getting one we quickly made our way towards the middle of the corral and waited. And waited. And waited. They had some staff walk around and hand out glow sticks but other than that there wasn't too much entertainment.

THE RACE: The race was advertised a "fast and flat" course but that wasn't true - the first 1/2 mile was completely uphill and there were a few more hills along the way. This race is supposed to be a fun run (the 5K wasn't timed - something they didn't announce until a few weeks after registration opened) but there was absolutely no course entertainment or even extra lighting. The course ran along the same route as the 10K and at the turn around point of the 5K we actually jumped in with the 10K - this entry was super clunky and runners kept getting bumped into. At the end of the race there was a "water station" where they handed out a small shot of water. Seriously?! If you wanted more water you had to wait until you got back at the Post-Race area, a good 5-10minute walk.

POST-RACE: What a mess. The post race was the same as the pre race and was completely chaotic to get in. Once inside there were lines that wrapped around for the 1 food truck (you got a free slice of pizza with your entry) and 1 beer truck (you got 1 free beer). The lines were ridiculous and were over an hour long - if you're going to be giving out food and drinks to every runner and family (they actually SOLD tickets to friends and family for this post-race party!) you should have more than 1 beer and food truck. It was a joke. Other than that there wasn't anything else to do at the post-race party.

OVERALL: This race was a complete disappointment and not worth the $40 registration price. There is so much you can do with a Hawaiian/Luau theme but Team Ortho chose to not do anything. I will definitely not be running this ever again.

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(2014)
"Fun race"
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Very impressive for a first race! This was the first year in Minneapolis and it went very smoothly. There was great communication before, during and after the race. The only confusing part was the race organizers really pushed pre-paying for parking at a specific garage but on race day the garage did not open on time - this ended up causing crazy backups around the race area as people waited for it to open. They did issue an apology and did give refunds so that was good. Overall this was a good course with lots of support - I'm excited to do it again next year!

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(2013)
"Good swag, boring course"
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I had heard great things about the Red, White and Boom! and decided to add it onto my race list. Packet pickup was held the day before the race at the Medtronic office, which was kind of a hassle to get to after work. Included with registration was a pint glass and Brooks tech race shirt - both were amazing and well designed! On race day it was a little tricky to find parking near the start and once we did find parking the lot only had 1 slow machine to pay with over 20 people waiting - so make sure to leave a few minutes early. The race itself was ok but the course was just boring. I'm hoping the race organizers will add something to it to make it more fun and entertaining in the future. Towards the last few miles more people were cheering and that did help, but overall it was a boring course.

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