This race is organized to set up charity donations to the Vince Lombardi Cancer Foundation. The money raised goes to the Lombardi Cancer Clinic at Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center in Milwaukee, as well as the twelve satellite Vince Lombardi Cancer Clinics throughout eastern Wisconsin. Donations support leading-edge cancer research and compassionate care.

I ran this race with a group of friends last year and plan to make the trip to Milwaukee to run it every year that I can. My best friend's boyfriend set up a team last year in memory of his mom that passed away after a long battle with cancer.

Pros:
+ Great cause
+ The 5k race is ran in two loops through the Milwaukee County Zoo. It's pretty cool scenery!
+ There are two water/aid stations for the 3.1 mile race
+ Easy access/free parking
+ Well organized and managed
+ The race is very inexpensive with a lot of perks: usually around $30 (if you donate or get donations you can get a t-shirt if you get up to $50, which includes your original expense of $30 for the raise), there are plenty of post-race treats (and beers - no beer ticket here - you can get more than one if you're feeling like you need another!) and FREE admission to the zoo afterwards (which is normally $15)
+ Great race to run with a group of friends

Cons:
- As comes with the territory of running through a zoo, there are some intense smells you may experience during the 5k. But I don't mind, it's worth the occasional smell to run past some monkeys/kangaroos/lions/tigers/bears (oh my!)

This is definitely my favorite 5k I've ever ran and I am SO excited to run it again in 2014!