This was a well organized event. It was your general out and back on the Lakefront Path, but it was the post-race party that really makes this race stick out. There were burgers from Billy Goat Tavern and Goose Island beer.

Things I liked about this race:
• Packet pickup was held on multiple days at Universal Sole (4 days + on site)
• Adult Gender Specific Tech T-Shirt
• Start and finish near Soldier Field
• Easy to get to using public transportation
• Billy Goat Tavern cheeseburgers! (vegan options were also available) + condiments (pickles, ketchup, mustard... maybe onions? I don't like them so didn't notice)
• Goose Island 312 (Urban Wheat Ale & Urban Pale Ale)
• Raffle at the end - lots of prizes given away
• Rainbow Cone Ice cream
• Lots of sponsor/vendor tents - Saucony, Nuun, Pretzel Crisps, etc.

Cons:
• I thought Nuun would be given out at the turnaround, but I only saw water - could have missed it (not that this is a big deal, I just love Nuun and was looking forward to it. I know for a 3 miler most people don't even need water.)
• It was on a Monday. Again, not a deal breaker, it was actually kind of fun, though I was tired the remainder of the work week. Just an FYI for those that don't like weekday races.

For more details, check out my recap: http://www.heatherrunsthirteenpointone.com/2014/09/burgers-and-beer-5k-recap.html

This was a fun race in the middle of May. This was my first year racing this one, and mainly registered because it was included in the 39.3 Challenge (complete this race, Michelob 13.1, and Chicago Half Marathon and receive a 39.9 Challenge medal) — I was already registered for the other two, so figured why not add this one as well.

This race had easy packet pickup at Fleet Feet Old Town, as usual. The weather was in the low 50s and cloudy around 7 and then was upper 60s and sunny at the finish (for me, anyway). Parking was available at the Millennium Park Garages, though it would have been nice to get a discount for it ($19, ouch!). People who live in the city could have easily taken Public Transit to get there.

The race set-up and finish line were in the Lakeshore East Park, which I knew to be near Universal Sole, so it wasn't a problem finding it. The start, however, was a couple minutes away near the Lakefront Path. The port-o-let situation was a little strange – some of the placements made it hard to form lines, so there was some issues with people cutting or deciding to form their own lines elsewhere, and the lines that formed were pretty long.

The race started at 7, with the final corral started around 7:35, and the 10K starting closely behind.

Also, towards the finish, the course was a bit odd (kept wondering how you got to the line that we saw in the morning), but I felt there was enough direction via either volunteers, other runners, or cones, so I didn't see that as a problem.

Things I liked about this race:
• Great shirt - liked the material, color (which was unusual and so nice to have something other than the usual!), and fit
• Easy packet pickup
• Plenty of aid stations on course (8 total) with water and Gatorade
• Great medal
• Pace groups
• Lakefront Path course, but started farther north than usual, which was a nice change of pace
• Post-race picnic with Goose Island catered buffet (hash browns, watermelon, sausage, egg whites, and pancakes)
• Plant your own flowers
• Great finish line enthusiasm by volunteers and race announcers (my mom and I were able to get our names called out together when we finished, that was fun)

Things I disliked:
• Long lines for port-o-lets
• Parking cost

Here's my blog recap, if you're interested in more details: http://heatherrunsthirteenpointone.blogspot.com/2014/06/chicago-spring-half-marathon-recap.html

This is a nice, fairly small race on the southside of Chicago – about 3,500 runners. The course takes your runs through the center of the beautiful, residential Ridge Historic District (with some really lovely old homes) and features the challenge of Chicago’s highest hill. There is plenty of parking on residential streets, you just have to walk a few blocks to the start, usually. The community support for this race is great – so many homeowners out cheering, spraying people with a hose, or having sprinklers set up to run through (Memorial Day weekend is generally VERY warm and humid). I always appreciate the kindness of these people, and their sprinklers! The race starts off a little downhill, then there's one steep hill around mile 1.75, then a nice downhill around mile 2.25, and then the last bit to the finish line is at a slight incline. I believe there were two water stations for the 5k – not sure what was available for the 10K.

Things I like about this race:
• Dry-tech shirt for 5k and 10k participants, new design every year
• Community support/cheering
• Friendly environment
• B-chip technology (I personally prefer the chip on the bib, versus the D-tag)
• Sponges soaked in ice cold water at the finish
• Wide course (but if you are slower, when the faster runners are coming back to the finish, you'll need to move over to the left to let them through... that's at about the first/last .25 of a mile or so)
• Nice views of historical homes
• Nice variety of post-race food/drinks
• Ice cream and hot dogs for sale

Dislikes:
• The shirt sizes ran large
• No wave start or pace line-up – it's not a huge race, but starting everyone at once always creates a bit of a jumble up until the first mile or so, plus, there's no way to really know where you should line up because there aren't any pace signs.

You can read my recap here: http://heatherrunsthirteenpointone.blogspot.com/2014/08/ridge-run-5k.html