Rock the Night 5k
This was my first race that I have ever done on a weeknight and overall I had an absolute blast! Highlights of this race include: the overall value, the post-race party and the management.

Pros:
+ This race was really well managed. The day that this event occurred happened to be the same day that the weather was having a hissy fit; there was some intense rain and storms that thankfully cleared up about 1 ½ hours right before the race. This made for a VERY humid race this year – but this weather situation made me particularly impressed with how responsive management was to ensure runners that the race was still taking place and to keep communication channels open while I’m sure they were busy dealing with setup and a million other things. I was running late out of work and I tweeted at @RamRacing, almost jokingly, “wait! I’m coming! Don’t close packet pickup!” in which they responded within 2 minutes to let me know that they had extended the packet pickup (and told me to take my time and travel safe – how kind!). Previous to 2014, I had not had many experiences with Ram Racing before. I have been nothing but impressed with how well managed their races have been.
+ This race has AWESOME value. The swag is great – it’s a really comfy technical quarter zip. It’s not really appropriate for August/early September running weather but I am sure I will wear it a lot during my runs this fall (and is much more valuable to me than a running shirt). After the race the beer you receive is Bells (your choice out of a few of their brews) – which is incredibly tasty after a humid night race! You ALSO get a pretty good assortment of food; you can choose between a hot dog, burger or veggie burger and you get sweet corn on the cob with it... served on a free frisbee! It doesn’t get much better than that. Did I mention there’s a concert as well? They had a great set up for the post-race concert (though unfortunately soggy) – plenty of well-spaced vendors and a huge stage for the headlining band. They also had a few shuttles running from the event back to the train station for runners coming from the suburbs which is an absolute excellent idea (not sure if that cost extra to use that service or not as I didn’t use it, but it is a great option to have either way). For the price you pay to run this race and for everything you get from tangible objects to the experiences, this is a really great value.
+ The route was an easy 1 1/2 miles out on the road and 1 1/2 back on the lakefront path. There isn’t much you can do in terms of route with a 5k, but I thought it was as good as it could be for the distance so no complaints there.
+ Fun “rock” theme – rock concert, beers, and some grilled food! I really enjoyed it and it was a great way to unwind after a stressful day at work.

Not so great:
- Knowing I had this race at 7pm on a week day gave me a little bit of anxiety because my job isn’t always a 9-5; I often am working late and am too early in the start of my career to have real control over my schedule. If you are like me, it’s tough to put down the money for a weeknight race that you have a 50% chance of being able to make it to. However, if you do have more control over your work schedule or work more predictable hours, this is an excellent way to unwind after work. I was skeptical of a night race at first but afterwards I realized that I was a huge fan. Having the race on a Friday night or perhaps a race start time of 7:30 might be able to draw a slightly bigger crowd.
- As previous racers mentioned, the beginning under McCormick place was a little scary - there is usually uneven ground there and it is not well lit (plus wet/slick after the rainfall)

Overall, if you are looking for a 5k race with a fun theme and are available to run on a weeknight, I highly recommend this race.