Regardless of your fitness level, there are a few Chicago signature races you have to do every year--Shamrock Shuffle, Soldier Field 10-- and the Bucktown 5k is solidly on the list as a keystone neighborhood race. Ravenswood in the spring, Bucktown in the fall--you can't go wrong.

This year's edition was run on a perfect early fall day: 60 at start time and plenty of sunshine. The start line is right next to the easternmost entrance to the 606, which makes for a nice pre-race warm up. Deep corral system, plenty of port-a-potties, well-trained volunteers, a welcoming neighborhood that doesn't mind getting up early...cheerleaders, children, and plenty of dogs...great atmosphere.

The course itself is flat and fast. Can be congested in a few places, including the start despite the corrals, and in places where it turns into two way race traffic. Some of the streets have been freshly paved but others had plenty of potholes and other rough pavement, so there's some dancing around in paces. The run-up to the start is a long straightaway to a right hand turn to the finish that comes up quickly. As fast as you're going on the straightaway, you hit that turn to cheering crowds and it's hard not to find another gear for the last hundred yards to the finish.

Here's a full course GoPro video, starting with Corral A: https://youtu.be/Sa6R3WcmAgk

There are runners of all abilities as usual, but the top of the age group fields are usually pretty competitive, so if you really want to race you'll find some healthy company. Everyone seems to enjoy themselves though.

Parking isn't bad if you get there early enough. I usually find a spot on North Avenue half a mile from the expo area, and it's free until 10:00am when the pay schedule kicks in. Run fast and you won't need to feed the machine.

Third consecutive year I've run the race, and the swag has been among RAMracing's best--a great sweatshirt in 2013, warmup sweatpants in 2014, and this year, a half-tech/half-sweat zip up that may be the nicest race gear I've ever received. Bravo.

Run it once, and the Bucktown 5k will be a regular date on your race calendar.