One of my favorite races. The first time I ran this race I did the 15 mile distance as my first trail race; the second time I did the 5 mile. The volunteers are amazing; they acted like we had known each other for years. The race is run on a looped course; good or bad depending on your preference. The trail itself is a combo of single track and multi. If you're new to trail it's a decently technical trail with lots of uneven footing and some decently steep ascents/descents (at least for someone coming from Chicago). This is a cupless event so water bottles are encouraged. They have one water station on the back half to fill up though plus the main aid station at the start/finish.
The start/finish is always full of volunteers, race workers, and spectators so you're always cheered on or even helped with food/water. The aid station there is stocked with some amazing treats (pb&jelly, cookies, chips, candies,fruit, etc...) Some of the volunteers are so nice they bake goods as well (these were my favorite).
They do give out OA Awards plus age group. To this day these are probably my favorite awards. They are handmade by one of the volunteers family members. They are made of wood and each year they change what they look like.
I've never picked up my packet in advance but race day pickup is so easy and convenient with onsite parking. The parking can get congested if you get there late so carpooling is definitely encouraged.
Will go back and do again!!

Second time running a race put on by this group. It was sub zero temps at the start and fortunately they had the tent heated, althought it wasn't working when I arrived.
Pros- T-shirt was LS cotton t with a fun gnome logo, aid stations were as instructed (carry your on hydration with one unmanned station on course and one at start/finish), course winds through the Veterans Park forest preserve so very pretty, race started on time, timing results were immediate, two bag drop areas (not monitored), inside bathrooms
Cons- No pre-race packet pickup so line was semi-long even for arriving 40 min early, parking lot close to start fills quick so next parking lot is a bit further from packet pickup (caused lots of people to be late to start-I wasn't able to warm up), no post race fruit or water as was stated (I'm assuming it came out later for 50k participants but 10k got trail mix and fruit snacks), awards were not handed out in a controlled manner (first place female trophy was given to 3rd place because "they didn't check the timing results just gave it to the first female they saw" I was first place and crossed first yet 2.5 weeks later I still don't have my award,
Overall the race was fun for a freezing January day. The course was especially difficult due to the recent snow fall so lots of unpacked snow over ice and packed snow. Lots of hills and single track making the course quite technical (for those that live in Chicago and never see a hill). I really enjoy the difficulty of the race and scenery since I don't get much variation in the city. I've run one of their other races and didn't have the awards issue or the food issue. I would do this again and recommend to a friend but definitely suggest arriving at least an hour before the start to get packet and warm up.
Awards are cool handmade trophies for top 3 male/female and wooden medals for age groups.

Race gets better each year with this being the best so far. Course was clear of ice and snow and clearly marked. Would definitely run again. Plenty of packet pick up days and times. Definitely need to figure out something for gear check next year. The entrance created quite a disaster for those that picked up bags a little later. Similar situation with bathrooms, although functioning toilets trumps porto pots. Aid station volunteers were great but some were not prepared for runners with both water and Gatorade. The post race snacks were nice but I definitely would've preferred water and fruit over a granola bar. Also, wish the start and finish were reversed. Would much rather finish closer to gear check instead of being crowded at the start. Start corals were packed and couldn't get in until after race start. Miles were clearly marked although not sure about accuracy. Liked the hat and gloves SWAG instead of regular tshirt. Overall enjoyed this year and will more than likely continue to run.

Chose this course specifically trying to qualify for Boston, I did! There was only supposed to be roughly 500 ft of elevation change and coning from Chicago this was very important to me. I can't say for sure if this was correct but there definitely were not a ton of hills. The first half of the course seemed to have a set of rolling hills, some a little steeper than I had expected. Sometimes making me question who said it was flat and fast. After the first half though it seemed to level out pretty well. The scenery wasn't all that great mostly subdivisions and a few "busier" roads which were blocked off very nicely. There was a stretch through a "wooded trail path" (I really enjoyed that part though very calm and peaceful, black top surface not actual trail). Since the race is still on the newer side spectators were few and far between, but I didn't mind this. The aid stations were every 1.5-2 miles it seemed and always well stocked with water and gatorade. I also believe there was one porto-pot at every water station as well. The race shirt and medal in my opinion were just ok. The tshirt had a nice fit/feel but the design wasn't anything to rave about same goes for the medal. Parking was stellar, you basically parked right at the start/finish area which was very nice for storing stuff (never saw a bag check) and then not having to walk far post run. The expo wasn't anything but a table set up in a mall, this could probably be set up somewhere else since there was nothing extra on hand. I'd say overall the race was excellent. It started on time, had results posted on site promptly, post race food was great (not vegetarian friendly for protein though brats hotdogs). I would definitely suggest it to someone looking to BQ or even run a well organized race. Not much to do in the area and it was about a 5 hour drive N of Chicago.