In 2016 this race was held on October 23rd rather than in November. I ran the Chicago Marathon on October 9th and probably shouldn't have even signed up for the half, but this race starts less than 4 miles from my home. It's a must do for me just because of the location.

This year the race organizers did not include any swag in the base price of the race. If you wanted a race shirt, hoodie, jacket or hat, you had to pay more at the time you registered for this race. I worked Friday packet pickup and many people who did not order anything either forgot that or liked what they saw at the expo but there was no additional opportunity to buy the race swag. I like the idea of paying for the swag separately but this race is pretty expensive (even in the early months) to not include at least a rudimentary race shirt. I'm pretty sure that by the time I registered, and all the discounts were pretty much over, I paid $90 for the race and another $10 for the shirt. That is very expensive for a half marathon. I justified it by the fact that I didn't need to drive far or pay for parking. Parking in Naperville on Sunday is available at many locations including the streets.

This year's half marathon race course ran through the more central and northern neighborhoods of Naperville. It was a lovely suburban course through beautiful neighborhoods in fall color. The crowds are not like Chicago but still lots of families out cheering and people in their driveways drinking coffee and cheering on the runners. I also really liked that streets were properly closed and volunteers made everything safe. At no point in the race were we dodging traffic.

The medals for this race are very nice and if you run the Fox Valley Marathon or run this race multiple years there are bigger medals available -- but you must sign up for them when you register.

One big criticism of this race is the after party. For the past two years, instead of having beer available after the race, the drink ticket will get you a beer at a number of local establishments. After the race, the last thing I want to do is go someplace else in my stinky running clothing for a beer. I know local establishments must love this to bring people in to spend money and the race organizers must love it because they don't have to buy or deal with the beer but as a participant, it stinks!! Also, for the price of this race, I expect more from the food tent than what I get at any local 5K. Seriously, quarter bagels (with no spreads), NUUN/water is small cups, bananas, granola bars. If beer isn't available, at least some kind of soda or something would be nice. As far as I could tell, no one really hung out after the race because of this. The after party needs serious work.

In conclusion, I really only run this one because it is local. It's a nice course and the swag is nice if you pay for it.