If you want a race where you get a nice little sweatshirt and melted chocolate at the end then this race is for you. If you are looking for something with a more conveniently located expo and less than a hot mess at the starting corral's then you might want to look elsewhere. It's almost impossible to not enjoy running in Chicago as everywhere you look is really just pretty, but when it's cold and you are lining up with 1,000's of people you just feel like a speck in a sea of nothingness.

That all said, this was my first race (the 5K) a few years ago and all of those people make you feel a little less alone and a little less worried about how slow you may or may not be as there are runners of all abilities.