Race Rating: 2009 Midsummer Night's Run 30km

I've had a few days to recover and think over the race on Saturday. Here's the third installment of my race rating series, the 2009 version of the Midsummer Night's Run 30km road race. As usual, the score is from 0-3 and my comments are in brackets.

1. Bathroom facilities - 3 (plenty of porta-potties and some great natural bathrooms!)
2. Race day organization - 3 (it has to be noted that the baggage check was the best organized of any race I've ever been in)
3. Course scenery - 3 (great scenery at all times)
4. Course creativity - 3 (great use of parkways in the lakefront area)
5. Value - 3 (got my money's worth)
6. Shirt or gift - 3 (very nice long sleeve, purple(!), New Balance tech shirt and a stainless steel water bottle at the finish line)
7. Parking availability - 0 (no parking on site - minimum $10 to park and take a shuttle)
8. Website quality - 2 (needed more details about history, previous results, confirmed entries, pictures)
9. Online registration - 3 (very straight forward)
10. Accessible for spectators -3 (with two out and backs centering around the same focal point, this race was very spectator friendly)
11. Convenience of race packet pickup - 0 (pickup was at a hotel several kilometers away at a major hotel in downtown Toronto with no free parking)
12. Pre-race expo - 0 (n/a)
13. Entertainment on course - 1 (there was no official entertainment, however the runners dressed as fairies were enough for 1 point!)
14. Post race food - 2 (standard)
15. Race day vendors/exhibitors - 0 (nothing, which is surprising considering there was a whole park that could have been utilized)
16. Volunteers / marshalls / police & emergency services support - 3 (awesome as usual. police were exceptionally helpful, friendly and supportive and as I mentioned earlier the baggage check was amazingly organized)

...For a grand total of 32. 1 point behind the Toronto Pearson Runway Run 5km and the Rattlesnake Point 12.7km trail run. This is a relatively new race and is still morphing into a great race. I will most likely return next year and I know that the rating will go up.