This was an AWESOME race.

I have never run a 5K before so I was not sure what to expect in terms of quality, participant size, speed, aid stations, but every one I talked to about this race could not stop raving about it and how awesome it was.

I will start with my single downside of the race, Packet Pick Up. they offered about 4 separate times to pick up your packet leading up to the race, only downside was that only one day was on the north side, all the other days were at the school down in Pilsen. So living on the North Side I didn't really have much of an option. However, they did offer packet pick up on race day, so that was certainly a key pro for those who would not make one of the days.

I drove down to Pilsen and got there about an hour or so before the race started. Parking was fairly easy to find, we parked about .5 miles away for the start/finish area. It was blistering cold and windy, so we hurled in the car for a bit before heading to warm up.

Gear Check was smooth and easy. It was located in the underpass right next to the celebration area and we were allowed to check our actual bags which is always a plus for me. It was super easy to get in and out of my bag as I was shedding layers as the start time got closer and closer.

There were plenty of bathroom available for the public but oddly none of them had toilet paper.

They had the start area corralled off. I was in A right at the front and there was a wonderful traditional dance that was preformed right at the start line before the gun went off. The race started about 5 min after the start time because the road ahead was not cleared of traffic yet, so that was a bit frustrating as it was about 35 out and windy and all most of us had on was a singlet and shorts.

The course was super fast and smooth! I was SHOCKED by how fast the race went! It was my first 5k and the course couldn't have been better for that, I ran a 16:10. Even though prior to the race it was super windy out there was barely any wind during the race.

There was 1 aid station about half way throughout, it was pretty tiny, but personally i didn't need any water or gatorade.

There were spot along the course that had a bunch of people and then there were some bare bones spots. There is one point in the corse about mile 2 that you run next to the begging of the race, so it was cool to see the heard of people hitting mile one as you were flying by mile two especially for such a short race.

The finish was packed with people and treats:cookies, chocolate milk, waters. We quickly hurried over to gear check to get our clothes back and had everything back on within 5 minutes, Super quick and easy.

One of the key draws to this race is the trophy hardware. Instead of medals they give out painted Day of the Dead skulls for top overall finisher and top 3 in each age group male and female. I won't lie, this was one of the major factors in signing up for the race. And it is only helping to make this race more and more popular. The skulls are painted by the students of the UNO school which the race benefits. With that the long sleeve shirts you get as a participant were beautifully designed on the front and the back.

They didn't waste any time handing out awards ( about an our after the start) there was tons of food available to buy, but you needed to get food tickets first. Not wanting to wait in line to get a ticket then airing in another line for hot chocolate, we went right next door one street over to Dunkin Donuts as i inhaled a hot chocolate.

Over all the race was A BLAST and i would highly recommend it to anyone. It fun and festive and tons of people were dressed up and had their faces painted, something i will certainly do for next years race!

Without question this has been my favorite race that I have done to date!

Everything was so well put on and organized, it did not once feel like a large chaotic road race. Everything from the new registration process, to the expo & packet pit up, to race morning and getting into the corrals, to the finishers area. It all just flowed so well.

Packet pick up was so easy! I went to the expo friday afternoon ( which I highly recommend for future first time runners ) its busy but manageable. You don't have to wait in lines and lines of people. You scanned your participant bar code and by the time you got to your correct location to get your bib the volunteer already had it ready for you. So Easy! I was a bit let down with the participant t shirts this year after seeing how awesome they were last year, they looked a bit last minute like they forgot to make a t shit an just threw something together last minute. The rest of the expo had tons and tons of great vendors and big name running super stars making appearances through out the weekend. I do wish there was a way to find out which big name runners were going to be there at different times ahead of time, was bummed I missed Nick Symmonds but STOKED i got to meet Dean Karnazes!! Crazy! Lots of freebies as well!

It was also SUPER easy to get to the expo. They offered tons of shuttle options from different parts of the city to rive you to McCormic Place. I took the shuttle ( school bus) from right behind Nike Town, it was a quick 10 minute ride and only a short wait to get a ride back to the store from the expo. So much easier than taking public transportation.

Race day was SUPER smooth as well. Because I run with Fleet Feet Sports I had signed up for their Race Day Resort with Chicago Endurance Sports. So we had a private gear check and indoor lodging so I can not speak to how the events gear check and pre race amenities.

I headed to My Corral at 7Am and was through all the lines and security in 10 minutes. There were tons of people so it looked a little daunting at first and we would make it in on time, but again it all flowed really well. I will say though because it is such a large race give yourself plenty of time to check your gear and get comfortable.

Running thought this is was absolutely amazing. I had to tell myself to take a minute to soak it all in. The crowds were absolutely amazing! The course was really well planned out. The first half absolutely flies by and the crowds 100% pull you through. My favorite part was how you looped back into the Loop a few times, the crowds down there absolutely gave you a huge boost. My fastest miles were the ones that looped back through downtown. It provided a much needed boost in moral. the last 40% of the course i had no idea where I was, if i was running north south east or west. It could have been the 20 miles that i had just completed or just pure confusion but it was a little bland in terms of scenery and crowd depth coma red to the earlier stages of the course. The last straight away towards the turn onto Roosevelt seems 100x longer than it actually is. One thing i would highly recommend is to check out the "hill" on Roosevelt that takes you up to the last little bit of road to the finish line. It is a BEAST if you don't know it is coming. So getting that visual in your mind ahead of time allows you to truly mentally prep for that monster after running 26 miles, but it makes for an awesome finish and it makes sure you are truly feeling 26 miles of burn.

This race had the best water station set up i have seen in a long time. There was gatorade and water almost every 1-1.5 miles so i never felt helpless or thirsty.

The volunteers were so friendly and encouraging. The post finish stretch was really well organized and spaced out. You also received a nice good bag of treats as well which was a nice surprise.

I went right back to our race day resort so again I can not attest to post race amenities but it looked like a real party from what I saw as i walked by.

Overall it was an amazing race. Extremely organized and well run. I now fully understand why so many people love it and love this city.

Home may be where the heart is but it is also where the marathon is :)