I was in town for race weekend and ended up doing the Big 3 Challenge, which included the Beer Challenge, the 5K and the half or full. The 5K was on Saturday with an 8 AM start time.

Here's a run down!

Packet Pick Up: from 5-7 pm on Friday or before the race. On Friday, there was limited vendors available to buy from.

Temperatures: 60s-70s and a little breezy, but warmed up by 830/9 AM

Course: Started in front of the Wilma Theater and took you through downtown Missoula, the Clark Fork Natural Area, Higgins Ave and some neighborhoods. You finished in Caras Park, where the expo was and got your medal. Course was relatively flat and easy to navigate.

Aid Stations: None on course, though there was water at the finish. Felt like we could have used one half way through though.

Finish: Food trucks were around and there was also water available. Medals were given as soon as you crossed the finish line. You could also exchange shirts after the race, though I wish it was available during packet pick up so you didn't have to lug stuff around. You could also visit the full expo and there was a farmer's market next to the expo area to boot

Overall, perfect warm up for the half or full or a perfect way to get involved in race weekend!

Flew in from Washington State for the race this past weekend and stayed in downtown Vancouver.

Expo: at the west side of the Convention Center. I walked to it from my hotel since it was nice out, easy enough to also take public transportation to. Small in terms of expos that I've been to, but got the job done. You had your bib number emailed to you so it was easy to get, be sure to have ID and one person can only pick up an additional 3 bibs for people. Shirts were maybe a hair small, but no big deal. Had some shops where you could get gels, etc as well as Asics (sponsor) there as well

Race Day transportation: I wish I would have realized the shuttle from downtown to the start prior to the week before the race when it was already sold out. Ended up taking the Canada Line to King George and getting the 25 to the start at UBC. There were modified bus schedules to get to the start, but parking for those who drove seemed a little tight.

The course: Lots of scenic views. Some hills, though nothing to cry home about. Downhills were welcome for sure. The Burrard Street Bridge gave some end of race incline. The first part of the race was cool(ish) and shaded, but as the course wore on, the heat came out and the shade went away to a point.

Water/Aid Stations: most had medical, which I appreciate. All had water, most had gatorade.My only complaint is that aid stations were at minimum, every 3K (which is 1.8 miles ish) and towards the end, it felt like they were further apart. Given the heat, I feel like they needed to be closer together.

Post race: plenty of vendors, food options and things to do. You could also check times and hang out around the finish. If you parked at the start, there were shuttles available to take you back to UBC. No obvious shuttles to downtown, so I ended up walking a mile and a half back to my hotel.

Overall, a good race, just need to adjust the water situation and maybe get more options for getting to the start.

5th year for this race. The race supports a NF charity for research. A 630 PM night race on a Friday and a 10K to boot, so I couldn't resist and for $35?!

Packet Pick up was at Fleet Feet from 12-430 or just prior to the race at at Riverfront Park. I'm ok with quick and easy packet pick ups!

Race started with the kids fun run at 6 pm. The 10K started at 630 PM. The course itself was along the Centennial Trail in Spokane. Parts were along the River and other parts took you through Gonzaga, Mission Park and some other local areas. There were one or two parts that were a bit sketchy behind the train tracks that I wish weren't part of the course, but oh well. Fairly flat, but one or two areas with hills involved. Downside about being on a running path is that it was really only 3-4 people wide so strollers took up a good portion of the width and there were non race people on the course. Other downside about the course was there were a few areas where we were looping or passing the same part multiple times so it got confusing as to which way to go. Timing and/or mile markers would have been helpful, but the garmin did the job.

Good small race, and with it being a Friday night race, I'll take it!

If you're looking for a Utah Race, please come run this one! I flew into SLC and rented a car to make the 45 min drive to Provo, but you could easily fly into the Provo Airport if it was feasible.

Expo: Smaller side, but still a good amount of stuff. Since it was a Saturday race, the Expo was 10-9 on Friday. Some running stores and other races to sign up for. Bib Look up could be improved on, as you didn't have a way of looking it up before the expo, so people were crowding around the bib look up table. Flow was otherwise easy to do.

Race Day: Saturday, 6 AM start time for the half and the full

Transport to the Start: for the half, buses left from the Provo Town Center. For the full, there was a separate pick up point. Buses for the half ran from 315 AM to 430 AM for a 6 AM start and it took about 20 minutes to get to the half marathon start line. Be sure to have a blanket or sweats or something because it was dark and chilly!

At the start: It's the half way point for the full, so plenty of port a potties. Also, fire pits were set up to keep you warm, which was a plus. Bag drop was a truck that took bags to the start, but the guys could have not thrown (literally thrown) everything into the back of the truck. My only wish was that there were buses that ran later to the start (say 5 AM), because waiting for 90 minutes for the start was rough.

The Course: Maybe one minor hill for the entire half marathon course. Literally, was all downhill. My first mile was 10:50 only because I had to make a bathroom pit stop and over the course of the race, I was able to make up all the time. The course is very scenic and not a whole lot of spectator support, but I didn't mind surprisingly. Plenty of rock faces, scenery, etc to enjoy! Beware around mile 8 of the half marathon. The 10K joins up here after doing their first mile or so off the main course. We got stuck with some of the back packers and spent time/energy weaving around walkers spread 5 across.

Water Stops: Every 2 miles for the first 10 miles and then every mile to the end. Plenty of water and powerade. I just wish that they tables would have been more spread out and a few more at each station because some got crowded

Finish area: PR'ed at 1:55:42. Able to get my medal, water and food fairly easily. I also got to ring the PR bell coming out of the chute. Also was able to do results look up and get a print off of my time. Plenty of vendors, etc. Bag pick up was essentially bags laid out on open grass and you essentially had to find your own bag and hope that no one took it. There were also shuttles back to Provo Town Center, which was where I picked up the shuttle to the start.

Definitely a must do race!