Where to begin? The good or the bad (the bad not being all that bad actually)? The good of course: I PR'd my marathon time with this race!!!

Now a brief interlude with the bad. It all falls on me for leaving later than intended and adding an extra hour and 15 minutes to my commute due to traffic. Which caused me to get to the expo with only a few minutes to spare. I was able to pick up my packet and bib, take a picture in front of the Illinois Marathon backdrop, but I wasn't able to really enjoy all that the expo had to offer since most vendors were packing up or had already left. I was disappointed because I had really wanted to take my time to enjoy the atmosphere. So, that was the bad. Not that bad at all, eh?
The good is everything else. I loved the ease of the packet pickup and race day parking. So simple, it was almost unbelievable. Drove right up with time to spare, get to bag check and get stretched out before getting into my corral. And then the race itself. I've only done one other marathon before and that was Chicago, so, yes, the energy level from the crowd wasn't the same but that isn't all that fair to compare. There were many people lining the various neighborhoods we ran through and along some of the campus and city streets. There were also quite a few musicians scattered along the way including: a DJ, a violinist, an rock band and a country band. And then the houses that were just blasting out music from speakers while cheering on the runners. Were there a on of people? No, but the support was still much appreciated. Throughout the course there were water and Gatorade stations that were marked clearly but also the volunteers yelled out what they had in their cups to prevent confusion. There were also two Gatorade gel stations for powering you up. The course itself was relatively flat which helped me with my great race result. A lot of my training ends up being on multiple levels of elevation so there minor inclines were nothing for me. There were moments of rises near the end which were a little tiresome on legs that were starting to feel the burn, but I managed them. And one of the best parts was finishing up in Memorial Stadium and crossing that finish line while being broadcast on the giant scoreboard. So awesome. The medal was super cool and the pullover shirt I received is nice and perfect for spring or fall. The post race food and beer was just as good. Pizza, chocolate milk, pasta with rolls, multiple options of chips, water, I felt full after eating that. And the beer was provided by a local brewery, Riggs Beer Company. Loved that!

The Illinois Marathon organizers did a great job with communication and updates for several months leading up to the race, providing both basic info but also pep talk material and training suggestions week by week. It was really neat the way it adjusted as race day got closer.

Bottom line, this is a race you should run. Marathon or the half or the 10K or even just the 5K the night before (that's right, a stretch your legs out run the night before) but you should take the opportunity to get your own PR on a nice course.