I did not run in high school. I did not run in college. I did start running until three… oh maybe it was four now… years ago. Which means the last time I ran just one mile was three, maybe fours years ago because at the time, I physically could not run one mile. This weekend, I ran the Humboldt Mile inaugural race (put on by Three Run Two) and the idea was to run your fastest mile.

This past weekend was the first time that I set out to run just one mile and to run it as fast as I could. Personal suggestions for running just one mile... if you want to figure out an actual pace for yourself, practice. Or do Nike's Find Your Fast program. Otherwise, a mile is an odd distance as it's not that long but it's also not that short. Throwing caution to the wind is totally fine for this race, just leaves you not knowing what pace to aim for.

All that being said, that has nothing to do with the actual race. I am never in Humboldt Park so it was exciting to be in a new area. The park itself is beautiful and the course just went right through the park. Start time was around 10am (THANK YOU) and there were three waves: race pace, run pace and walkers. If you wanted to go all out you could and if you wanted to go for a nice casual stroll with your kids and your dog you could without tangling each other up.

Post race party consisted of beer, Dark Matter coffee, water and Kind Bars. Which is about all you need to enjoy your post mile effort. Packet pick up was a breeze. It took me about an hour with running/bussing on a Friday in traffic to get there, and picking up my packet took less than a minute.

Swag was super cute shirts from Nike with the race logo. Though you had to sign up early to get one but with such a cheap ticket price ($25) why wouldn't you enter the race? Also in the bag, a ticket for a free slice at Dimos and a BOGO for Chipotle (the gift that just keeps giving).

Post race photos: I wish there were more of them. The pics were free and the photos are so great but there were none of me. Is this fine, of course. I am just jealous because they are so pretty!

Highly recommend this cheap and fun miler.

Soooooooo if someone asks you if you want to run in Disney World, besides the fact that this is going to cost you all of your money, you should absolutely say yes. The expo I would rate as a 3. I got in and out pretty quickly so I might have missed a few things, but there didn't seem to be many free goodies, which is always my personal favorite part of the race. The race itself.... starts at 5:30 which means you are up long before the sun. Getting to Epcot is fairly easy and quick and the security line moved at a decent clip. I was running a bit late so I got there just in time for Donald to wish my corral luck and the fireworks to explode to send us on our way. The majority of the race is along highway and the view is mostly boring though Disney does line the path with beloved characters to cheer you on. If you want to take a break from running you can hop in the long line to get a picture taken. At first I thought this race was just ok, but as soon as you turn into the Magic Kingdom everything just changes. Running through Tomorrowland and straight through the castle with Cinderella's blessing and onto Main Street just makes everything worth it before you head back onto the highway. You end the race running through Epcot where family, friends and employees cheer you on.

The medal itself is glorious. Decently large and featuring the character who sent you off on your journey. Overall, I would recommend the race because Disney is just magical and a one of a kind experience (though I was told that the later corrals were a bit over crowded so maybe run another half first to get into a higher corral).

Sooooo as a first time marathoner, that is how I am going to review this race.

The expo: was definitely awesome but I tried to get there early to snag an extra large swag bag only to find out everyone else did the same thing. They chose some people in the front of the line and did something, but quite frankly I had no idea what it was because you could not hear the MC on the mic.

First things first, it's so super easy to take the metro to the race start line. There is roughly a mile walk from the metro to the start but at 5am following a pack of people you don't even feel it. Here is the bad: We waited in security for roughly an hour with thousands of people until they finally gave up and let everyone through. Once we got through I raced for a port-o-potty, of which there were plenty, only to find out that of toilet paper, there was none. And what did all of this mean? By the time I got to the race starting line, it had started 20 minutes earlier which means you miss out on all the fun opening ceremony things which sounded awesome.

And now for everything else: The course is really quite beautiful. You run through woods, you run through the National Mall, you run through tiny surburbs and almost everywhere there are people cheering for you. There were marines every half mile or so ready to give high fives, vaseline and towards the end to push you up that last hill. What's that you just said? Yes, this race ends on a hill. The majority of the elevation is not bad and this is coming from someone who trains in the flatlands of Chicago, but ending a marathon on a hill is really just quite mean.

Keep your eye out for the blue mile. I believe it was mile 12 where they had pictures of fallen soldiers and then supporters holding American flags that you run through. As someone whose Marine parent recently passed away, this was definitely the part of the course which almost got me a little teary eyed.

This is really a great race for beginner marathoners. The crowd support is just amazing and abundant and overall it's really a great race.

The expo: This year's expo was conveniently located on the Mag Mile which was pretty awesome if you work downtown and it was outside which was so nice during the summer. There were so many great give-a-ways, however, because of the location anyone could jump in line for these give-a-ways which meant that you were waiting for something that you technically paid for with a bunch of people who had no clue what they were in line for.

The race: You run up Michigan ave, that's about where the 5K stops and then the half heads over to the lake and heads south where you hit a few slight inclines and get a gorgeous view of the city on your return. As a north sider I am very rarely on this side of the city to run and don't get to take in these views. It's really very pretty and distracts you from any soreness or tiredness you might be feeling.

Plenty of aid along the course though I wouldn't say there is a huge amount of crowd around to watch once you get through the 5K portion.