First of all, I'm a little biased because I went to U of I and I absolutely love going back to campus to run this half with fellow alumni.

This was my fourth time running this half and definitely the worst weather I've experienced for it - rainy, wet and cold. Despite this, I think race management and volunteers did a great job in keeping up morale and being prepared for the conditions on race day.

I ran this race with a friend who has never ran a half (let alone a 5k) before (read: I wasn't going for a PR, though this is certainly a great course to go for it). Weather conditions aside, I think he was very impressed with the half and had a great experience.

Reasons why I love the Illinois Half:
+ Fast & flat course
+ Quick and painless expo
+ Affordable half
+ Easy parking and access
+ Awesome finish in the stadium
+ I get to eat SO much free pizza before 10 am.

Things that could improve:
- I always wonder why they route the end of the half the way they do - in the past few years there has been a really random and tight turnaround in the last 1/2 mile in order to add .10 mile in distance or so onto the race. I feel like this could be avoided or re-routed somehow instead of having to do this?