Overall, I loved this race! The best part was 1) the quarter-zip long-sleeved fleece and 2) the hot chocolate - tasted amazing!

SWAG - I've done a lot of 5K's in my day, and the fleece is the best clothing item I've ever received for a 5K. At the end, you receive a finisher "mug" with chocolate dip, banana, pretzels, marshmallows, chocolate stick-wafer things, and hot chocolate. The hot chocolate tasted amazing!

AID - I wish I had paid more attention to these but I was pushing a fast pace so I had to stay focused. However, I do clearly remember the volunteers cheering loudly at the aid stations, which is awesome when you are pushing hard!

COURSE - I'm from Columbus, so I love running downtown! The course does not start and end in the same place, which was a new experience for me. They were only one street away. The gear check is at the start line, so at the finish, I had to remember how to get back to the start line to get my gear. It wasn't a big deal once I got pointed in the right direction! I loved the finish, and turning the corner on the last bit was a great experience.

EXPO - I've been to expos with more vendors, but I've never been to an expo with FREE hot chocolate samples, dark chocolate squares galore, chocolate dipped marshmallows, and chocolate-filled stick-wafer things! It got you excited for your treats the next day. Also, the volunteers were again, awesome. You were greeted at the door with happy volunteers and lots of dark chocolate. Bonus - I picked out my Christmas gifts at the Expo!

ELEVATION - For some reason, the hills were tough for me on this race. I think it might be because where I live currently, there are no hills to train on. In the scheme of hills though, I think these were fairly easy.

PARKING - Piece of cake. We parked in the Neil Ave parking garage and arrived early as recommended. No issues and it was really close to the start line.

RACE MANAGEMENT - This race has one of the most organized and informational websites. The pre-race email was helpful and I appreciated that results were live. Also, the turn-around time on getting your race photos was the fastest I've ever experienced. They emailed you within hours of the race notifying you that pictures were added to your bib number.