I've said for a long time that the Soldier Field 10 Miler is the best race in Chicago, and once again, they were an example of how races should be managed and executed. (I talked to one BibRave user at the start who drove down from Green Bay that morning to make it his 11th out of 11 SF 10 milers. If that's not an endorsement, I don't know what is!)

PARKING: Free parking at Soldier Field is incredible. Yeah, it's a bit crowded, but it's a race in the city and it moved along very well. I LOVE that they offer free parking.

SWAG: I loved the medal this year. New design that was a bit different from your standard medal and I thought it looked great and fell nicely when worn. They've always had really nice medals, so I'd have been nervous about the change, but it was definitely an improvement. T-shirt was WAY better than last year. Nike dri-fit and honest sizing. Big fan.

COURSE: This course is unique for a few reasons. Out on a closed Lake Shore Drive is super cool, and back to the stadium along the lake is just beautiful. As that our weather was like a 9 out of 10 and this years race was just beautiful.

AID STATIONS: FF always gets great volunteers, and aid stations were professionally manned and managed. I was also with the lead woman most of the way, so had the pleasure of having a bike Marshall close by the whole time. This was key when one of the runners in front of me fell and ran off without his glasses. The bike marshall (Dan Kittaka) circled back and gave him his glasses, allowing him to keep running without stopping.

Finishing on the 50 yard line is always a blast, and the after party was so much fun.

Simply put, this race is as good as it gets and anyone who travels for this race will NOT be disappointed.

Finish time - PR of 57:54, 21st place overall