I had never heard about this race but it came across my email feed and a few things stood out to me. The proceeds go to families of fallen either police or firefighters. It was family run with family and neighborhood support. This race is very family friendly, and walker friendly with a nice post meal brunch at the end. There are also prizes for top male and female runners (though I do not fall into this category). You can do this race as a virtual runner as well. The key to closing the deal was swag. Not only is the race very comparable in price to other 5k's with most of the money going to charity but it also has great bling. For my registration I not only got a 3/4 tech blend zip long sleeved shirt (with the Chicago stars on the arms) but our medal was a fire fighter badge; this year the medal was honoring Lt. Patrick Hannon.
For packet pick up there was an option to pick up at the local Running Excels store or same day packet pick up. We thought we were going to have to pick up the day of the race but my husband was able to get to the running store and had a super easy time with packet pick up and parking. On race day I was nervous about parking since there was not much information in regards to parking on the website. One of the event directors assured us that there would be ample street parking near the church which was the start and finish of the race and she was correct. We were able to park less than 1/4 block from the start/finish line. There was great music to start us off and very emotional tributes by the family benefiting from this year's proceeds.
This 5 k is great if you are looking for a PR since there are not many people running it, as of now. The younger male category was pretty stacked so you might be in for a challenge in that category. I was pacing a first time 5k runner who was 6 years old and my husband paced our son so no PR's for us. This route does have some hills and turns but beautiful historic homes with lots of old trees (think summer shade). I only saw one aid station with water only but this is a very small race so I was not anticipating the aid support of larger races.
The finish was great there was a stand to take your pictures at and post race free goodies to go along with the brunch. My son and his friend loved this race and our friends who came with us also said they will be doing this race again. We cannot wait to sign up for next year.