This is a good race put on by the Marines. If you run it, you're given entry to the Marine Corps Marathon and don't have to enter the lottery. This race sells out very quickly though.

The tshirts were a puke green and not very pretty, but the race medals were in the shape of an arrowhead -- very cool! The race is mainly on trails throughout the military base, and it gets easily jammed at the beginning, but thins out. The Marines do a really good job making everything go smoothly, including parking and shuttles to and from the race/parking. The race is quite hilly, especially between miles 4 and 5. Because it's in the military base, there are very few spectators.

Overall a good race -- I'd recommend it!

This is a fun race done by Universal Sole. It starts in Montrose Harbor and is an up and back race. The race runs along the lakefront trail heading north, but when you head back south, it takes you through the middle of a field and up a huge hill. The race is advertised as flat, and it is except for the hill - and it's a big one.

If you register early enough, it's only 20$, which is a great deal, but the prices only go up to 30$. Nice well-done race by USole. It drizzled the whole time and was in the high 40s/low 50s, but it could probably go either way. Tshirt is cotton and not dry fit, which I actually prefer.

This is such a crazy race. San Francisco really goes all out for this 12k. Over 50,000 runners this year. we were in corral D, and didn't make it across the start line until 30-35 minutes after the start. This is a pretty rowdy race, but some people do take it seriously. Tons of people dress up and wear crazy costumes -- many, many run fully naked. Great crowd support, and an all around party.

The course isn't difficult except for Hayes Hill, which is extremely tough. Tshirts weren't dry fit, but they're a nice cotton Under Armour vneck (for females).

If you plan on really taking this seriously, go in one of the earliest corrals. There are lots and lots of walkers and it can get jammed early on. Overall, a really fun race, and definitely one to put on your racing bucket list!

The Wisconsin Marathon is a really well-done race. It's in Kenosha, but they have packet pickups in Chicago, which is really nice for people not coming in until late Friday or the day of. Plenty of water stops. Weather made it up to the mid-60s this year, but it was very manageable. Part of the race was on gravel, which I didn't really like, but the rest was on roads or the paved, lakefront path.

Biggest con: No pace groups. We lined up in order of our general paces, but it would've been much better to have actual pace groups.

Would definitely do this race again!

I ran the marathon in 2014 and LOVED the race! Coming from Chicago, I thought it was little hilly, but it's not bad at all. The crowd support was really great, as we ran through the University of Illinois and some residential areas. This race has been going on for a while so it was really well-done. The management was great.

The ONLY downside was the tshirt. Pretty boring.