Latest reviews by Nicole

(2015)
"Lovely city, lovely race!"
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I was attracted to this race because I'd never been to Madison before and it looked like the course was a cool one, going through lots of downtown and other scenic areas to give visitors a real taste of the city. It was absolutely great for a visitor; you can see a lot of Madison in 13.1 miles!

The course started out in the heart of UW campus--and on the upward slope of the hill leading to the state capitol. For a visitor from Chicago, this course is HILLY! It would probably be described as "gentle rolling hills" by an average person, and for the most part was pretty doable, even for someone who trains only on super flat terrain.

The course continued through Madison's historic downtown (cute!), around Camp Randall, through some nice residential areas, near the Henry Vilas Zoo (first bit of waterfront, here, at Lake Wingra--very pleasant), through the UW Arboretum (so beautiful I came back twice later in the weekend to hike around), back through some residential and commercial areas heading north to UW campus again, and finally along Lake Mendota for a bit before finishing close to the start line. There were a couple of seriously punishing hills right at the end, and I was very happy to reach the final downhill stretch heading toward the finish.

There was great aid station support throughout, which I find really helps the distance pass. Even though it was pretty cool (around 70 or so), I really appreciated the misting stations set up along the second half of the course. The cheer sections at aid stations were a nice boost, too. There was good crowd support near the start and finish, and a good number of families had set up in their front yards to cheer on runners, but most of the course was pretty quiet and isolated (but in a good way, not demoralizing).

I can't think of any negatives except for the hills, and overall this was a great experience. I was toward the back of the pack here, so I can't really speak to potential crowding issues. Tshirt was nice but nothing amazing, and the race medal was pretty cool!

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(2015)
" Better than last year, still has some issues"
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This is my second year running the 5k option at Run for the Zoo (there is no 8k as described above; this year had 5k, 10k, and kids' run). Last year was kind of a nightmare due to my getting stuck (repeatedly) behind people on a somewhat narrow path for much of the course. Also, last year only the very end of the 5k was actually in the zoo, and you didn't see much of the zoo.

This year, there were definitely improvements to the 5k course. You got a great run through the length of the zoo at the beginning of the race, and then some more at the end -- about 5x more zoo than last year, I'd estimate -- and that was very cool. I love the zoo! But the crowding was still a big issue, and, even worse, the beginning portion of the course going through the zoo wasn't blocked off at all and people were just sort of wandering around the race course! So rude. I would really like to see the race organizers take the corrals more seriously. I started in the 10min/mi group and was running past walkers, including walkers with double-strollers, within a quarter mile. Come on, walkers -- you are more than welcome at events, but don't line up at the 8min/mi marker! Either that or the organizers should consider making this event a fun run rather than a race. I actually came close to a PR despite the crowding issues today, but it was still frustrating. There are also a ton of kids in this race; a lot of them have no problem keeping up but I definitely saw a few parents kind of dragging little ones along with them.

It started to rain pretty hard when I was in the second mile of the race, and lightning wasn't far behind, so unfortunately the 10k this year was cancelled due to weather. I was happy to finish, even in pouring rain, because the zoo is still awesome! I have a feeling I will run this event every year despite my frustrations with it, because it does have an undeniably fun aspect to it and I love supporting the Lincoln Park Zoo.

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(2015)
"Lovely suburban half marathon by the lake!"
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All-around excellent race experience! This was my second half marathon and could hardly have gone better. First, RAMracing offers the super convenient option to have your packet mailed to you for a small fee, so I didn't have to deal with packet picket up at all. I'm from Chicago, and had never been to Highland Park before race day. I was bit nervous the location would be hard to find--it was super easy. I was worried I'd have trouble parking--tons of free spaces available. With perfect HM weather on top of it (45 and cloudy), everything leading up to the race was going great.

I'd taken note the night before that there were copious aid stations--so many I was worried the reality might be disappointing. But they were all there, seven aid stations, all stocked with tons of water and powerade, and one with snacks. (And all had port-a-potties.) This really helped me, especially because of how much it broke up the race.

The course was challenging for me. The distance is still a challenge, but also there are some decently rolling hills in Highland Park. I happen to live near a sledding hill, but Chicago is FLAT and hill training isn't very feasible except in the most limited ways. Anyway, this course wasn't tough by any means, but ti was tough enough for me. The route wound through mostly residential sections of Highland Park, which I found enjoyable. It really reminded me of the suburbs near where I grew up, in Fairfield County, CT. Several families even came outside and hung out in their front lawn or driveway to cheer the runners on--and I think they were pretty dedicated, because I was definitely toward the back of the pack.

The last section of the course, through a bland development and around Fort Sheridan, was a bit harder. The scenery just wasn't keeping me as interested, and let's face it, I was tired. But I was almost home, and getting out of that area right at the 12 mile mark put a spring in my step for the end of the race.

The course marshals were great, and there were tons of them. There were also lots of police officers, as all the roads were open to local traffic, and some were open to through traffic in one lane. It was the first time I had run a race without fully closed roads (or a path), and while I thought it would be off-putting, this suburb is quiet and sleepy enough on a Sunday morning that it was all extremely calm and cautious, cars would wait for a large break in runners with police supervising in busier areas. This may have been more difficult if you were ahead of me with a higher concentration of runners, I suppose.

As I mentioned, I was toward the back of the pack, and I was happy with the density of the runners. Even with a number of curves in the course, I was never out of view of at least a handful of other runners, and many times I was even in a light crowd.

I missed most of the post-race excitement, but there were still people cheering us on at the finish line when I came across. Very happy with the singlet and medal, and the food at the finish line. For a suburban girl who lives in the city, this run just felt like home, and everything about the experience was great. Highly recommended!

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(2015)
"Great race, not great communication"
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It's no surprise that I would like the Lakefront 10 Miler -- the course coincides about 75% with where I do my training runs, and the Chicago lakefront is beautiful every time I run along it. I also thought the organizers did a great job alternating between the main Lakefront Trail and smaller paths to avoid crowding, and a long stretch in the park just west of Lakeshore Drive made a nice change of scenery. They even managed to include a sizeable hill! So I have only good things to say about the course.

But I have only bad things to say about pre-race communications and relations. There were very few email updates in the weeks and days leading up to the race, and what emails there were, were not clear about packet pickup and other information. I noticed in one of the final emails that somehow the organizers included opening and closing time for gear check, but not the start time of the race itself! Come on, guys. Obviously, I figured it out, but it was stressful, annoying, and unprofessional. Plus, there was no map anywhere on the website, so I had no idea what the course actually was until I ran it (which meant I didn't know about that hill! ugh). And, finally, when my boyfriend went to pick up my packet, he said they were rude to him!

I feel bad being so negative, because I would still recommend this race as the race itself is so good (and the race day experience was good). But I sincerely hope the organizers do a better job next year.

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(2015)
"Wow...awesome winter event!"
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This was my first half marathon--maybe a little bit crazy of me to run my first ever half in Chicago in January, but I did, and the experience couldn't have been better. Admittedly, this year it was pretty warm, but the organization was still phenomenal. Being able to hang out in the United Center until just a few minutes before gun time made a huge difference. Even if this wasn't a cold-weather race, it would have been great just for the comfort (real bathrooms!).

I don't enjoy running on the southern portion of the Lakefront Trail as much as on the North Side (North Sider here), but it's still a great place to run.

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