The race is logistically a bit difficult given the location in Hyde Park and the lack of parking in the area (I parked the at the Museum for $20...another year I winged it and found a spot for free, but I was lucky). That's a benefit for you if you like smaller races, because that's probably 60% of the reason this race has such a small field. The other 40% is because most of the race is up and down a closed Lake Shore Drive, which is a total non-starter from a race experience point of view.

The expo is too short (closes at 7pm Fri and 5pm Sat) and it doesn't have much vendor support.

The main reason to run this race is to support a charity. Team World Vision uses this as a signature fundraising race, as do many other organizations like By The Hand Club for Kids. A lot of the water station volunteers are high school and middle school aged kids, which is cool because it's good to see them spending their time volunteering, but you also have to remember the aid stations aren't run super tight (from a keeping people out of the road perspective). They were better than expected, though! All were stocked and had plenty of volunteers!

Overall, it's not my favorite. But I don't really like any of the Half Marathons in Chicago, so there's that. Maybe I'll start running the Women's Half down Michigan Ave...can they restrict my entry cuz I'm a dude? Maybe I'll find out in 2015.