Covered this race more thoroughly in last year's review, so shorter comments here:

The Buffalo Grove Stampede races are solid and predictable--well-established, well-run, and in the past few years the warmer weather has made it challenging. The 10k and 5k starts are offset by 45 minutes, making a double feasible and popular for faster runners.

Full course video of the 5k here, with a GoPro: https://youtu.be/hDNGISEjbg0 . The first half is through residential neighborhoods, the last half mostly through parkland paths. Would be nice to have a more inspiring finish line than a parking lot, but that's a minor quibble.

They gave out finisher's medals for both races this year, in addition to attractive age group award medals. Long sleeve tech shirt, same design every year in different colors.

Always well done and always recommended.

Scoring this race high because I took down a 10-year 5k age-graded PR!

Seriously though, this is a nice addition to the RAMRacing race series, in an interesting setting we haven't all run 50 times. The course winds through the roadways of Humboldt Park, as in the actual park, and is flat and fast.

Seemed like everything was stacked against the race leading up to it: didn't show on the calendar until the early summer; packet pickup was canceled because of the fire near Fleet Feet Sports in Old Town; and there was plenty of rain race morning. The team at RAMRacing are pros though, and pulled everything off with professionalism and cheer. Always a pleasure to participate in one of their events.

Plenty of street parking around the park on race morning, and although a persistent rain kept things damp right up until start time, there were plenty of volunteers at packet pickup and gear check to keep it all moving. The expo suffered from the elements a bit and the tents didn't get much action, but people were trying to stay dry under the trees by the start line.

There was a staggered corral start which kept early-race congestion to a minimum, worked out very well as usual. Rain stopped just as people were moving into the corrals, everyone's mood improved, and everything started on time.

The course is flat flat flat and fast fast fast. Lots of long straightaways to build up steam, a few turns including two hairpins but the straights more than make up for that. If you can get into a good cadence rhythm you can burn up time here. The only minor annoyances are some uneven pavement patches, and the speed bumps in the roadway, you do need to pay attention to those so you don't end up on your face. I had some fun with some of the speed bumps that had water pooled around them from the rain, kind of made it like running a steeplechase. Maybe it was because I was wearing an Anthony Famiglietti Reckless Running singlet.

Here's a GoPro of the entire course. Apologies for the tilt and wobble, my headstrap was loose this time around: https://youtu.be/qiXcT0o_9dA

The one aid station (two passes) was well-staffed by very enthusiastic and helpful neighborhood kids. Didn't stop for water so don't know how good they really were, but they were loud and that's all I care about. Refreshments in the chute were fine: water, banana, pear, energy bar, Silk. More friendly volunteers, less loud than the kids.

Swag wasn't up to the high standards that RAMRacing usually sets for itself, but then, this was a first-time event added late in the season, they were working with new charities, and it's all sure to improve. Same with Age Group awards--they were clear at signup that there wouldn't be any because the race was too small, but there were about 500 finishers, and some age groups had 70+ people in them. Even my older group had 11. So hardware would have been nice, and it would be very cool if RAM ordered and sent out some medals after the fact.

There will be free photos available a few days after the finish, and there's also the Chronotrack real time scoring and video footage, both major pluses, and a boost to the SWAG rating.

All in all this is a most welcome addition to the Chicago running scene and I hope it's a permanent anchor on the race calendar. Will be fun to watch this one grow into something special.

Yeah, there are plenty of lakefront races in Chicago. Yeah, some of them follow pretty much this exact course. Yeah, we've run the route dozens of times. But you know what? A summer evening's race is always fun, and we would die for this opportunity come winter.

RAM Racing always runs solid events, and although the Rock the Night 5k doesn't yet have the personality of the Terrapin 5k that it replaced, there is promise. Race, rock, relax--not a bad proposition. Either they were gearing up for a larger field in this second year, or the lawn outside Soldier Field was off limits for some reason, but the south parking lot seemed to go on forever and swallow up the event. Fine before the race--not crowded, plenty of room for the start corrals, good access; but afterwards, we all probably would have preferred to sit on grass rather than asphalt.

The course is standard for this part of town: start just south of Soldier Field, go through the McCormick Place tunnel (any course that does that gets an automatic star off for scenery from now on), down the service road, then a turnaround onto the lakefront path. That scenery never gets old--the lake, the marina, the skyline, to the finish. Nothing particularly challenging, nothing particularly competitive--just a nice night with a wide variety of runners who are out to enjoy themselves and the summer. Forgot to bring the GoPro headstrap, so no video for this one.

The one water station was well managed, as was the finish chute. Food (burger and corn on the cob) and beer lines were more than manageable. Would have been nice to have more live music before start time, don't know how long the post-race party lasted, maybe it got better as it went on.

Somehow the swag, a long-sleeved shirt, seemed a little off for a RAM race this time. What did everyone else think? The free photos, as always, are awesome--thank you RAM. Every race should do this, even if it means a couple of dollars extra in the registration fee.

On a personal note, I ran this year mid-pack with my two undertrained children, and it was my daughter's first race. We had a wonderful time, a perfect race to run together surrounded by very nice people. I was so glad to have them there with me, and now they're hooked. Not a bad summer evening at all.

Took a while to get to the review of the 2015 edition of the Terrapin 5k because I am mourning its loss yet again. RAMracing originally ended the Terrapin after the 2013 race and replaced it with the Rock the Night 5k, but brought it back for one last time because of the Grateful Dead's final appearance. We have not yet had our fill of tie-dyed race swag, RAMracing! Please come back next year!

Thursday night 5k races on the Chicago Lakefront make great summer speed workouts without sacrificing long runs on the weekends. In June and July you can put together a nice little sequence: The Original 5k, Terrapin 5k, Bastille Day Run 5k, and Rock the Night 5k. There's always the potential for heat and humidity and thunderstorms in the area, but there's also usually a nice breeze off the lake and a starry night for a post race party.

This year's Terrapin was a change of venue to Arvey/Hutchinson Field in Grant Park, away from Soldier Field, which spared us the always dreadful McCormick Place tunnel and gave us much better views running along the water. Course is flat and fast from the Museum Campus north along Lake Shore Drive to the turnaround at Monroe Harbor, back along the shoreline to Columbus and almost a lap around Hutchinson Field. Here's a GoPro video from within the race, Corral A start: https://youtu.be/L7tDJMoe-a8

As always, RAMracing produced a solid event with good postrace refreshment and entertainment. For the race itself, qualified start corrals flowed well, the start and finish were appropriately played up with inflatables and banners, announcer was professional and impeccable, and the whole atmosphere was supportive and fun. Many runners had obviously participated before, wearing shirts from previous years with psychedelic pride. The Terrapin 5k has also always been a staple race of the Chicago Blade Runners, and it's always an honor and inspiration to run alongside those folks.

And oh yeah, free race photos! Can't beat that.

So please, RAMracing, keep the Terrapin 5k on the calendar for next year. Was a great kickoff to the 4th of July weekend!