Latest reviews by Kristen

(2014)
"Run fast for America!"
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I signed up for this race last minute with some friends--I didn't have to work until the afternoon on the 4th and it seemed like a good way to spend the morning. Even a few days before the race, the signup fee was still pretty low.

Great course--fast, wide streets, and you run on tree-shaded, pretty neighborhood streets for most of it. It may be a quick race, but that July heat would have been a lot more brutal without the shade. Saw a lot of familiar faces from the Chicago running community at the race too, which made it all the more fun.

And there's cookies at the end. You know I love cookies.

Great race, if I'm not working I'll definitely be out there again this year! Perfect way to spend the morning, so you feel more justified in all of the beer and BBQ that comes later in the day.

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(2013)
"Perfect first Ultra!"
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Fresh off of my first marathon in 2013 (the Chicago Marathon), I was curious to see if I could run further. I signed up for the Fall Lakefront 50/50, which is 3 weeks after the Chicago Marathon, making the marathon perfectly timed as a last long training run.

The energy at this race was totally different than any other race I had been at. As much as the crowd support at the Chicago Marathon helps push you through it, it can also get a little bit stressful. The Lakefront 50/50 was just...calm. I loved it. It was just a bunch of normal folks getting together on a cloudy Saturday afternoon in November to run 31.2 miles on the Lakefront Path. The nice thing about this course is even though it is on the Lakefront Path, it's on the southern end. I don't make it that far south very often on my runs, so this course offered me some new views of the city. Even though the course is almost completely flat, don't write it off as easy. 31.2 miles on pavement, running the same 10.5 mile loop three times, can be brutal, mentally and physically.

Now let's talk about the aid stations--ohhhh the aid stations. I was used to your standard water and Gatorade aid stations. When I got to the first aid station I think my eyeballs might have popped out of my head. They had everything--chips, cookies, trail mix, coke...it was an entire picnic! The first loop I didn't take anything because I was a little overwhelmed by all the choices. By the time I started the 2nd loop, I said to my running partner "I think I want a cookie", and he said "you know, you should probably have two." And then there's the post-race rice & beans...the best rice & beans you will ever eat...the rice & beans that make running 31.2 miles on pavement worth it. Don't forget to grab a bowl when you finish.

The packet pickup for this (and the spring) lakefront 50/50 is always at REI, where I now happen to work. I always get very excited on packet pickup days, and love talking to all the runners about the race and what to expect.

Fantastic experience for a first ultra--and I credit this race with being the one that got me hooked on ultramarathons...and eating cookies during a race.

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