• Chicago,
    Illinois,
    United States
  • July
  • 3 miles/5K, 6 miles/10K, 13.1 miles/Half Marathon
  • Road Race
  • Event Website

Aubrene (Bree) F

chicago, Illinois, United States
12 13
2017
"Rock N Roll Chicago"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
Aid Stations
Course Scenery
Expo Quality
Elevation Difficulty
Parking/Access
Race Management
Aubrene (Bree) F's thoughts:

This was my 3rd Rock N Roll 1/2 marathon in Chicago. Usually I do this as part of the Remix challenge but this year I let my husband experience the challenge and I sat back to enjoy one race day.

Registration is easy, register early to take advantage of the best pricing as prices increase fast. Rock N Roll Marathon Series is great with communication, each week, we received some important details or motivation in the emails or training tips. There were plenty of notices on the packet pickup process at the Health and Fitness Expo.
The Health and Fitness Expo is always great. It was held on the far side of McCormick place. It was well organized with plenty of volunteers to guide you through the process. First you picked up your bib(s) or registered then your shirts and then off to the main expo event. Besides the usual trademark gear from the Rock N Roll series, there were plenty of vendors my kids enjoyed Geico and the posters. We took advantage of many of the vendors including Brooks, Garmin, and Sport hooks.
I typically take public transit to the race and get there a bit early. The corrals started filling up early. There were lines for the port-a-potties but they went quickly. The announcer was cheerful and energetic with great music to start off the race.
The corrals were well labeled and though I was corral 11 my pacer was not in my group and was instead in corral 10. I was fine with it as I have learned to self pace.
The course itself is very similar to portions of the Shamrock Shuffle and many of the other Chicago races around Grant Park. The best part of experience was the addition of the the wear blue to remember mile. The photos of soldiers sacrifices and the tons of American Flags being held by volunteers was was very emotional and inspiring! The course and course entertainment gets sparse going south and could be beefed up in future races. It was great to have a cowbell corner of friends at 16th street. I also like the down and back around 31st where you may see some of your friends or at least high five someone. While I like the lights of McCormick Place tunnel it is very unsafe and dark. The surface is not flat with multiple pot holes that I saw people get injured on. I did not see on the course medical support except at aid stations which one would hope you could get to if you needed it.
The finish line had tons of crowd support which was a great way to end a half marathon. The post race goodies were plentiful like cold towels (RNR labeled), chocolate milk, Gatorade, bananas, were great. You can also take a picture right away if you do not want to head to the main stage. In the main stage area you can get beer and enjoy the entertainment. The medal was a great addition of the bean!
I am happy with this race but would love more entertainment south on the course. I think I may register for one of the other races in the series to see how it compares. Overall I would do this race again.

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