Who runs it: Event is organized and managed by Clarion University Cross Country/Track & Field Team & Timing with Champion Chip by Runner’s High

Race premium: Long-sleeve T-shirt (I didn't care for the design and probably won't wear this one...though I was happy to have it to change into for the ride home!)

Bathrooms: There's a cabin with restrooms near the registration and they had a row of Porta-potties in the farther parking lot (very good idea...my bladder was thankful!).

The crowd: There were 300 finishers in the half-marathon & 150 in the 5K event.

The half-marathon course: An out-and-back that runs along the Clarion River. Beautiful scenery, paved roads, mostly flat course. Road was closed, so the course was traffic-free.

A few notes on my experience:

* Most of the road we ran on was very cambered. This, of course, is deliberate so that water runs off the nearby mountains, across the road and into the river. For runners, it's like running with one leg shorter than the other. It barely noticeable in a shorter race, but half way through the half, I was feeling it in my hips.

* The day we ran was cold (40s), but sunny. I had a hard time deciding how to dress for the race and ended up wearing a long sleeve T-shirt, fleece pullover and gloves. A mile into the race I contemplated leaving the fleece and gloves by a mile marker to pick up on the way back. I'm glad I didn't. Every time we ran into the shade, the temperature dropped and I was glad I had my gloves and fleece pullover.

* There were two water stops -- staffed by the Army National Guard Reserve members -- you passed each stop twice for a total of 4 water stops. Less than I'm used to (ERC spoils us with a water stop at every mile), but...good for me, personally, because I refuse to run and drink ...so fewer water stops means less opportunity for me to have a really good reason to walk for a bit.

* Between the water stops, there were not really any race officials or volunteers. There were, of course, lots of other runners, but...as a race director myself, I thought...hmmmm....that's risky...I'd have put someone out here in a car with a cell phone in case someone gets hurt.

* The out-and-back course means that when the front-runners start coming back, you're dodging runners. I kept criss-crossing (wasting energy) from the left to the right side of the road for the mile before the turn-around. I wanted to shout..."people...everyone stay on their right and we'll all be good!"

* The race started on a downhill, proceeded down an even steeper hill before it leveled out about the 1-mile mark. Fine...except that you have to remember that it means you have to run back up those hills at the end. I thought I could handle it (I've been running more hills in my training runs), but I completely underestimated the effort it would take to get up those hills after running for 12 miles. I struggled, but I only walked a few yards (at the top of the steepest hill) and then pushed on up the gently inclining hill. I passed at least six or seven people, so...the hills were a positional advantage for me, but...I probably lost a good minute or more tackling those hills, so...they didn't help me reach my overall race time goal.

Post-race refreshments: A nice spread -- cookies, donuts, bagels (with peanut butter and cream cheese), three kinds of fruit, water, gatorade and...get this...HOT coffee (I was thrilled...rarely do you find hot coffee at a race...it's so nice to wrap your hands around a cup of hot java once you cool down and start shivering).

Results: I had a 1:48:38, my husband had a 1:44:37. He ran the pace I wanted to run, but...I just couldn't hang with him. Hopefully, I'll be able to at the Cleveland Marathon 1/2 where I'm going to try to run a 1:45 or less. Complete race results are here.

Would I recommend it to a friend? Yes. It's a nice race & worth the drive. It's well organized and is a beautiful course. Bonus: It's cheap -- just $20 to enter!