Would I do this race again? Probably, now that I know what it's all about. After hearing over and over again about how wonderful the Rock n Roll series is, I thought Chicago would be the perfect first time to have my RnR experience - the course would be fun, flat, fast, and have great scenery!

My weekend kicked off with a less than stellar experience at the Expo - being from Indiana, we arrived around 6:45, and the Expo closed at 7. We had to quickly pick up bibs and shirts for both days (a little confusing on where to go for the different shirts), and then while we were on the Expo floor, they announced only 5 minutes left and actually started shutting off the lights. While I understand wanting to close down and get everyone out on time, it was difficult for us to come in from out of state and have such an early shut down time. We didn't get to see any of the exhibitors, as they were either gone or packing up when we exited. All in all, it was okay; thankfully we had a friend who wasn't racing, so rather than pay $21 to park at the Expo, she just drove our car around in circles for us.

The Saturday 5k was a little hillier than I expected, but overall fine; the meet and greet with Shalene after was by far & away the highlight of the day! This was really well organized and everyone surrounding us in line was super appreciative.

The Sunday half marathon left something to be desired. I anticipated a lot more entertainment on the course (since it is a RnR race, afterall) so up until around mile 10, I was pretty disappointed in that aspect of the race. The aid stations were great, mixing both water and Gatorade so we had options at each stop. Volunteers were actually cheering on the runners, which was awesome! They also had a couple misting stations, hoses, and eventually cold sponges on the course which was much needed and ultra refreshing. Around mile 10 or so, things got VERY congested as the course path narrowed pretty dramatically. Runners were about three people wide and that was all the path could handle, which made passing difficult. The last few miles were VERY hilly, which was a little disappointing as I had been expecting something very flat being downtown. After the race, the snacks were great and the cold towels were even better. The Cold War Kids show was also great, it was nice to prop my legs up and just relax for a few minutes.

Overall, good not great but not the worst ever either. Hoping for a better experience with RnR races in the future since I've now been through this experience. I would still recommend it to a friend, but would definitely caution them about things like the Expo early shut down time as well as the potential wait to start, since we were in corral 22 and didn't cross until about 7am.