Kat Henry's Staging Area

Pros:
-Nature trail for 11/13 miles
-Cute Midwestern city, with plenty to see and do race weekend and friendly, liberal folks
-Option to send race packet
-Plenty of hydration stations
Cons:
-Combo of out and back course with 5k and 10k meant lotsa two way runner traffic throughout
-fall colors not quite there yet (hard to hit that right, can’t blame them!)
-spectator map was slightly off
-goes past stinky factory – half mile of yucky smells

This may have been my favorite half thus far! The course was really enjoyable with a lot of varied scenery – first downtown, then along a river, through a friendly neighborhood with adorable signs and locals playing music and giving out “power boost” high fives, and then several miles along a tranquil greenway where I turned off the AirPods and enjoyed the nature sounds. I was worried the hills would get me since I didn’t train for them whatsoever, but they were gentle with plenty of flat stretches throughout. There were tons of aid stations, all including Gatorade, and the post race food selection and love band were awesome! I only wish they allowed for a morning of packet pick up and that the shirt and medal were cuter.

This was a lovely race in the beautiful Northwoods. The route was mostly on trails with almost no hills, and I spent much of the race with loads of space to myself to enjoy the immersive forest scenery. Packet pick up was easy, and my husband was able to drop me off at the start line easily. Loved the wooden medal! Snacks and drinks at the end were simple (bananas, pb, water, chocolate milk, cookies) but perfectly tasty.

Admittedly, I did not train for hills at all (and come from the flatlands of Chicago), so I knew this would be tough, but I really didn’t realize just how much those hills would take a toll on me! It didn’t help that I forgot my gels, and the aid stations only had water. The scenery was beautiful, but until I can properly hill train, I don’t think I’ll be doing this one again anytime soon!