This was my second Ragnar experience and I was a bit spoiled having run Chicago as my first. My expectations were high.

I'll start with the negative because I only have one. The major exchanges for Van 1 were not ideal for sleeping. If you've done Chicago Ragnar, you'll remember at each major exchange you either had a grassy field, church, school, or something similar where you could lay out a blanket or set up a tent (if you were so lucky). There was always a safe place to lay. For Van 1 in Austin we were not that fortunate. Our two major exchanges offered us a parking lot. For obvious safety reasons that left us trying to catch those precious naps in the van rather than laying out a blanket and being "comfortable". The areas for Van 2 seemed much better for this, with one being a large open field area and then another at a high school which from what I heard laid out their wrestling mats in the gym (jealous).

I ran as runner 1 & 2 and loved the course. There was no shortage of challenge with rolling hills in my leg 1 and some solid climbs (including the last ~100m of Runner 2 - Leg 2) in my leg 2. Our team was kicking asphalt and taking names, so I kicked off my last leg around 2:00am. We were the 5th or 6th team out and unfortunately one of the signs we encountered was misleading which turned my ~12mile run into 13.6. It's not a Ragnar if a runner doesn't get lost, so I chalk this up to the experience. There weren't too many hills in the last leg for Runner 1, but it was labeled as extremely hard. I have to assume that was for the distance. The last bit of my runs (Leg 3 - Runner 2) was a 3 mile shot and was a solid uphill climb. Our Runner 3 also took "the scenic route" on his last leg due to a misplaced sign. All things considered 2 detours out of 36 legs, not too bad.

Pre-relay check-in was quick and easy. They gave out the entire teams shirts at Exchange 6 where Van 2 checked in. There was gear for sale in case you forgot any of your safety equipment. At Exchange 6 they had several vendors out with gear, samples, and prizes. Great exchange area.

The finish line had tons of parking which was great since both vans from the teams would be pulling in. Each team got two pizzas and each runner got a free beer. They went with Miller and Coors, would have been cool to see something local. They had free massages and an area to exchange shirts. The weather wasn't great on Day 2, so we didn't party long, but it was a nice area to hang out had the weather cooperated.

I thought it was pretty neat that the medals for the team when put together (in groups of 6) spelled out a saying and Ragnar Relay. A different twist on the team concept.

For an inaugural year, I thought the race management pulled off a very solid race. I know they encountered some permitting issues, but they seemed to roll with them and kept runners updated on the changes as they happened.

Not the weather I was expecting at all when I agreed to be a pacer for this race! The ice, oh my! Obviously the race directors had no control over the weather so I certainly do not fault them for that.

I'll start with the positives:
* They identified early (month out), they'd be too big for the original location and moved the event north to Montrose. Communication on this was excellent and I thought the shuttles from the original location (for locals) was a great call.
*The swag this group provides is always top notch. I love they steer away from the traditional tee. They generally give out a quality quarter zip long sleeve or jacket. This year you could choose from black or purple. I thought both looked great.
*I skipped the post race party to go get warm and recover, but the free pizza and beer is a nice perk.
*Under normal (weather) circumstances the course would have been great. Slight variations from a straight out and back which changes up the scenery.
*Since I was doing early miles, I got there about 90 minutes before race start so parking was a breeze for me. I did notice the back-up on the exit when I was running back to the race start. I would have been an anxious mess [note for the not so locals, go up an exit to Wilson. You'll skip the backup and probably end up parking just as close if you sat in the traffic].

Deltas:
*Pre-race day packet pick-up times were awful. Friday, the packet pick-up ended at 6:00pm. I thought that was a bit crazy and wouldn't be encouraging to runners to get it ahead of time. (please note you can pay $10 and have it mailed or pick-up day of. I thought I'd be able to easily get somewhere in the city to get my packet, so I didn't opt for the mailing and need had some extra miles so day-of wasn't for me either).
*I get it, in April you don't expect the course to be covered in ice. But there did not appear to be any efforts to mitigate the risk of injury by either the city or the race management. Almost the entire course was covered in ice. Also, there was no pre-race announcement warning runners about the race conditions.
*With the course in the conditions they were, I was surprised they still sent out pacers. I was fortunate I was pacing about 1:00/mile slower than I normally race. But I felt that having pacers encouraged bad behavior (people may still try to PR). It also left us pacers short a hand and unstable. I witnessed about 5 runners wipe-out....myself included.
*The start line was very disorganized. It was not clear where the start line was and apparently they intended to have some sort of wave start which was not clearly marked or easy to follow.

This group does a great job with smaller races, I've run several. This is the first time I've really had any type of complaints. I don't know if it was the size or just the unfortunate weather that threw them off their game. I'd still recommend their races to other runners and hope to see them get better with the "bigger" races.

If you are a Chicago resident, live close, or are planning a visit around early April you have to do this race at least once. This was about the 4th or 5th time I've run this race. It is a great way to kick off the upcoming Chicago running season. The distance is perfect and provides a nice change to a typical 5k.

While not the same size as the marathon, the quality of the expo is certainly comparable. There are many vendors and tons of Nike race gear. The expo is at the McCormick center which is fairly easy to get to via public transport. They also advertised discounted parking ($10), but I was actually able to park for free (winning).

The race start is super Chicago organized. Do not plan to jump in a corral ahead of the one you are assigned. I think the corral guards may actually tackle you if you try ;-) I was in Corral D, the last in Wave 1. Wave 1 corrals closed 10 minutes before the start. I think I crossed the start with about 10 - 12 minutes on the gun time. Even with the spacing the first mile, like any other race, is a bit crowded. Don't expect to come out fast unless you are in one of the first two corrals.

The course runs through downtown. If you aren't in the loop everyday it is a fun way to run the streets. This year they also gave out medals (this was new from the last time I ran). It is a nice addition to my collection, I like the shamrock shape.

At the finish there was plenty of post-race fuel with cups of gatorade, bottles of water, snack bars, apple sauce packs, bananas, chips, and pretzels. Right outside the finish line area there were a couple other vendors (Thomas Bagels and Home Run Inn) giving out what appeared to be free food (lines were long).

The weather was chilly so I skipped the post-race party, but it did come with a free beer if you wanted it!