This was my first Rock & Roll Chicago 10k!!! I had a great time with the race overall despite the scorching hot day! The organization for the 10k I felt was well put together. They changed the start of the course last minute and the workers at the expo were great about making sure we knew it was changed and where we were supposed to start. This was my first ever expo and while I would have liked it to be a little bigger, I very much enjoyed the different booths and the free samples I was able to explore! At the beginning of the race, the announcer did a great job pepping everybody up. I also enjoyed that there were not specific corrals for the runners. Because there were not as many in the 10k, they told us to have generally faster people in the front, medium-fast people in the middle and not-as-fast people at the end. We all began the race at the same time and my last race I was so far back in a corral I spent half my time and energy dodging walkers. Immediately finishing the race, they had a wonderful assortment of drinks and snacks to refuel: gatorade, chocolate milk, water, bananas, granola, bagels, muffins, powerbars, etc. and I VERY much enjoyed the post-race beer!

There were several things I did not like about the race. Even though they did a great job notifying us the starting line was moved, it was nowhere near the finish line, so it was a very long walk back to our car. Before beginning the race, they played an instrumental version of the National Anthem on an ipod instead of a live person or even a recording of a singer. My two biggest issues with the race were the music and the water stations. Mile 1 started out great, there was an oriental drum band that really set the mood for the race. They were great! However, there was then no music until about mile 3 and it was a set of speakers blasting music. The next mile there were also speakers. It was not until the last 2 miles were there real bands playing. Finally, the water stations were a bit of a hot mess. The first one was alright around mile 1 but then it was another 1.5 - 2 miles before another one and some of the volunteers were standing behind the table to offer water. I went to grab one off the table myself and it was empty. With the heat and humidity, I was definitely frustrated. To top it off, the last misting station was completely broken which was even more frustrating.

Overall, I had a great time with the race, I would definitely do it again (and maybe prepare myself for the heat a little better). This is the farthest distance my fiance and I have run to date and we are stoked! I just hope next year has a little better organization with their water stations and some live bands.