I had looked at running F3 the past couple of years, but now I that I made the move to Chicago, running it in 2018 became a no brainer. I wasn't overly enticed with the idea of running a Half this early in the year, so I opted for the 5k. Plus, not having run a legitimate 5k in quite some time, I wanted to see what would happen.

Registration was easy and straightforward, so we won't get into that too much.

I really like the idea of being able to pick up the race packet at multiple locations through the week leading up to the race. Most (all?) of the locations were at Fleet Feet stores in the Chicago area. My only complaint here, and this is so minor, is that there really wasn't an easy location for those of us in the Southwest Burbs. To avoid driving into downtown on the weekend, I opted for pick-up at the Deerfield store.

Packet pickup wasn't too busy when I got to the store, and the process was easy. Show your ID, and you get your packet. Plus, I'm always a big fan of wandering around running stores and all of the Chicago Fleet Feet locations are great.

Let's talk about the swag. I LOVE getting a light hoodie as the race shirt. I do a lot of my winter running (when temps allow) in these hoodies. So yeah, I was thrilled for that. It's also comfortable and looks good, which is always a plus.

The bag that all of the swag came in was nice as well. A few races give drawstring bags for packet pickup, and really, you can never have enough of those. The rest of the packet was mostly advertising and some discounts. Even though I rarely use any of it, I miss the days of races putting all kinds of stuff in our bag, so this was refreshing.

Leading into the race, the organizers were excellent about communication. There were a couple events also happening in downtown on race morning, and F3 Events did a great job of communicating those, and the road closures, to racers. Granted, this didn't affect those of us coming from the South too much.

Parking. The race offers parking in the North Garage at Soldier Field, which is super convenient. Never having to go outside before running a January race is clutch. The price of the garage is a little steep ($20), but for the convenience, I'll take it. Maybe I'm a little jaded after running my last two races on the Lower East Side in Milwaukee, where parking was a free for all, and a nightmare. If you're not all about paying $20 to park, you can always park in the city and walk to Soldier Field.

The gear check feature was nice, and basically allows runners to be able to leave their things in a safe place in Soldier Field while running. I've definitely just left gear sitting in a bag by a tree during a race before, so this is much nicer.

Racing itself was pretty straightforward. An out and back on the Lakefront path is easy to follow. There was one turn by Soldier Field that I honestly might have taken (we went straight) had I not been following those in front of me. Otherwise, I didn't notice much of the scenery since I was dialed in to racing.

Post race was solid as well. Bananas, water, bagels, and Kind bars were all available at the finish. Fortunately, the weather was nice enough that we were able to mill around the finish for a bit before heading back inside.

The post race party was at Kroll's, just a few blocks from the stadium. Unless you get turned around leaving the parking ramp, and about triple your walking distance. Whoops. I didn't mind moseying around downtown Chicago too much, but had it been colder, I would have. But this is the epitome of a personal problem. Overall, Kroll's was super accommodating to the bunches of racers coming to the bar/restaurant after the race. Plus, free beer is always nice.

Overall, this is an excellent event! It's definitely more geared toward the Half than the 5k. And that makes sense, how many Half Marathons do you find in the Midwest in winter? 10/10 would recommend.

Oh! And there are free race photos!!