This 1 mile race kicks off the South Side Irish parade. As someone who grew up 2 blocks from the parade, I absolutely love starting the parade day off with a race. Running Excels puts on the race, and with all the logistics tied to the parade, I'm impressed they are able to pull this race off. Although, that doesn't mean it went entirely smooth.
Expo - availability to pick up your packet on Friday and Saturday. The shirt was a soft cotton tee with the race logo, great for putting on after the race to wear to the parade.
The Race - the race started about 5min late due to other parade/course road blocks (literally), but the race organizers entertained us with bagpipers and kept us notified on timing over the loud speaker. At around 11:07 (race scheduled to start at 11am), we were off to the south of bagpipes! The race ran straight down Western Ave. People already saving their spot for the parade were out, and it was awesome to have them cheer us all on.
Post Race - The racers were ushered to an area behind Running Excels where they gave out water, announced the winners, and everyone was able to watch the start of the parade. Within hours, they emailed us all the results.

Overall, this race was a ton of fun. it's cheap, $20, lots of kids and families participating, which was great to see, and the organizers did a great job keeping everything as smooth as possible given the parade would start 20min after the race.

I can't wait to go back, I'm probably more excited for this race than the parade itself.