If you ever get the chance to do this the Mayor's Midnight Sun Marathon DO IT!

A group of friends and I flew into Anchorage on Thursday, and wen to the expo on Friday. The expo was small but still had many things to look at, and bib pick-up was super easy.

The race was on Saturday and started at a local high school a little outside of downtown Anchorage. They offered shuttles to the start, but we opted for a cab. They had plenty of portapotties, and even an aid station where you could apply bug spray. They sang the National Anthem and even the Alaskan State Anthem, then we all lined up at the start. The field was small enough that there were no corrals, you just lined up and went.

The course is definitely not for the faint of heart. It consisted of streets, multi-use trails (paved), gravel roads, and single track paths. You ran through neighborhoods, next to the highway, up a mountain, and even on the Airforce Base. Although the course itself was fairly difficult (if you are used to running that type of terrain), NOTHING compared to the scenery! It was definitely one of the most beautiful courses I have ever had the experience of running (we even saw a bear and a moose!).

Major aid stations were about every 6 miles (for the relay exchange) and others in between. All were well stocked and some had some pretty good food selections.

I would absolutely recommend this race to anyone!

The expo was a decent size. Easy to park and pick up your bib quickly if need be. LOVED that they gave out free Features! socks! They had several apparel shops, beer to sample and even free bags of popcorn. Really enjoyed my experience there.

Parking I knew would be an issue since I did not buy a parking pass so I had my husband drop me off. The drop off time was ridiculously early so I had to sit and wait a while before the race started (on this particular morning it was cold so come prepared with throw away clothes).

This out and back course is great for a PR. The first mile or so (and last) is a little hilly until you make your way to the trail. Once on the trail you will go down and come back, so be sure to stay to the right if you are running slower so others can get by. The scenery is a little lacking, but at least there are lots of people to watch.

I would recommend this to a friend and will probably do it again in the future.

Expo: In one word AMAZING! I have never seen an expo with so many vendors before. Bib pick up was all the way in the back so you got to walk past everything first then shop through. One thing I did realize though is you should go to the expo early if you want to get any of the official apparel from Nike. When we went they didn't have some of the sizes I was looking for. Another cool thing is you could get a customized Nike shirt with your name (or whatever you wanted) on it.

Course: Super flat and great to get a PR on. Great crowd support along the whole route as well. This really made the miles fly by.

Start: The start was a little chaotic. There seemed to be a limited number of portapotties with very very long lines. I typically got to the bathroom several times before a race, but was only able to go once before having to get in the corral.

Finish: OMG so much beer! It was an amazing way to finish a race. You did have to walk quite a ways before getting out of the finishers zone to meet your family though.

Everyone should do this race at least once!

November 2016 I experienced my first Ragnar Road Race, which happened to be an Ultra Team to boot, and it was amazing from start to finish.

They do wave starts so everyone doesn't show up to the start line with their vans all at once. We started at 7AM so we arrived around 6:30(ish), watched the safety video and waited til the 7AM group started. Once runner 1 was off, we headed to the next exchange to wait. When runner 1 showed up, runner 2 took the slap bracelet and started their leg. The team piled in the van and off to the next exchange to wait again. This is pretty much how the Ultra Team will operate with very little downtime.

All the exchanges were easy to navigate to and had ample parking. The larger exchanges had first aid stations as well.

I had legs 5 and 11. The worst part of the entire experience was doing my 9(ish) mile leg on a road with no shoulders and having to make sure I didn't get hit by a car. The rest of my legs either had sidewalks or the road volume was really low. Overall the course was definitely a challenge at times. Many hilly miles and you needed to either bring your own water with you, or your teammates would need to drop water off to you.

It was a great experience and will be doing another Ragnar in the near future.

Expo: Good experience, nothing crazy. Easy to get your bib and look around. Beware you will have to go through a metal detector, so if you are like my dad and carry a knife everywhere you will need to make sure you leave that at home.

The race shirts are great quality (both 2014 & 2015), however the neck holes are suuuuppppeeeerrrr tight! Many people end up taking them to a tailor to get a zipper added (and they end up looking really nice then). You also get a patch which is really neat as well.

Getting to the start by metro is really easy, however in 2015 they made you go through metal detectors and this held everything up (to the point many were late to the start). However, once you got into the start line village (family could accompany you), there were tons of portajohns! A runners dream!

The finish is an up hill finish, not fun but well worth having a Marine give you your medal. Very awesome experience. You get a pre-made goodie box with lots of food and a neat finishers cover-up.

The course is fairly easy, some bridges to go over. Spectators galore (except for a couple of miles).

Really great course and amazing finish with all the Marines.