The Illinois Marathon is the quintessential spring race, and sometimes I've seen it ranked higher than the Chicago Marathon for best in Illinois. And after running it, I can totally see why.

The expo is at the Rec Center on the campus of the University of Illinois, and is right next to where the race starts and finishes. Because of it's placement by the football and basketball stadium, there is plenty of parking. Just follow the signs and it's super easy. Volunteers inside direct you to the expo, where you grab your bib, drawstring bag, and shirt (more on that later). The expo itself is fairly small, but I'm not a big expo person so that was fine by me.

The race does have a pasta feed the night before. But living close enough, I packed my own dinner (plus I thought the price for the pasta dinner was a little excessive).

Easy was also the name of the game on race morning. After doing a pair of world majors in the Fall, I forgot how easy a small town race can be. Parking is right by the start line, and the race even had bagels and coffee available for runners in the start area. I don't know how many porta-johns the race had, but it was enough since the lines weren't too bad.

The first half of the marathon (and the duration of the Half) runs through downtown, some parks, and campus. The second half runs almost entirely through residential neighborhoods. If turns are your thing, this race is for you. It's also super flat, with the only thing passing for a hill coming at 24, and it's not bad at all.

Aid Stations were very clearly marked with Water and Gatorade. And a surprising amount (I thought) had Gu as well if you needed a gel boost. There was also an unofficial beer station, jello shot station, and pickle juice station.

The finish of the race is on the 50 in the football stadium. I don't love stadium finishes, but I get why they're a thing. Walking out of the stadium (aka up about 30 stairs) is also not something I enjoy, but that's minor.

Now for the swag. I didn't love the medal as I thought it was a little too busy. On the other hand, I LOVE the shirt. Easily the best marathon shirt I've gotten in some time, maybe ever. Finishers also get a finisher blanket (which I am 100% laying under while writing this) which is awesome!

Once you trudge up the stairs, food awaits. It's pretty much all stadium food, but if you're hungry after a marathon, then you'll be in heaven. It was pretty chilly by the time I got done, so I didn't stay for the post-race festivities, but they looked like fun when I walked past.

All in all, I would HIGHLY recommend the Illinois Marathon. Great course, amazing volunteers, and unparalleled organization

I signed up for the St Paddy's Day Half literally less than 20 hours before the start of the event. I've run events from All Community Events before, which helped when trying to find last minute information.

Obviously, since I signed up right before, I went for day of packet pick-up, and didn't go ahead of time. The race emails out bib numbers before the race, so picking up your bib and shirt shouldn't be too much of a hassle. If you didn't bring your phone/that email there is bib look-up as well. Your packet, such that it is, is your bib and the race shirt. This year, we got a sweatshirt, with the race name and sponsor (AMITA must pay a ton of money since their name is almost as big as the race logo). If you've done any ACE race, you probably have at least one of these sweatshirts, so you know they aren't life changing, but not bad either.

Parking was super easy, although I arrived about 90 minutes before race start. When I arrived, there was tons of parking. Once the main lot fills, I'm not sure where you would park. The only reason I gave parking 4 of 5 stars is because the parking lot is on the Half course. Which means the road is closed. Which means leaving is a bit of a hassle; one I would imagine is significantly worse if you run the 5k.

The course was different than what was advertised even the night before. Apparently the race had to go with Plan B due to flooding of the DuPage River. So while saying we ran two loops and an out and back sounds boring, the race did a very good job of breaking it up. If I hadn't seen the mile 10 and 11 mile markers early in the race, I don't know if I would have realized the effectively ran a double loop.

Overall, I had a very positive experience with the race. Maybe I would make a comment about the distance between aid stations, but since it was a backup route, and I didn't exactly do my research on where they were, I have no room to gripe about that.

One thing I have to mention about ACE. The races are all fairly cookie cutter and standard in terms of what you get, the post-race (no beer...sad), etc. But every time their distance is dead on. Almost always completely accurate. It's nice to know that when you sign up for an ACE event, you can be confident you're running the exact distance.

The Shuffle! A staple in the Chicago racing scene, and a great way to explore the city on foot. Plus, the swag isn't too shabby at this race either.

Let's start with the expo. I passionately dislike having to go to McCormick Place for any reason, and that's where pick-up is for this race. I get it, because where else could you have 20,000+ people pick up their bib? This year, pickup became a bit more of an adventure due to C2E2 (Chicago Comic Con) also happening at McCormick. Basically, this made parking a wild ride, since Lot A, where we're supposed to park for the Expo, was full. It's fine, that just meant more walking, and a little more $$$ to pay for my parking. Aka, take public transit if you can.

The expo itself leaves a decent amount to be desired. That being said, I'm not a big expo person anyway. It's super easy to get your bib and packet; you could likely be in and out in under 10 minutes. However, I REALLY liked the photo station. Last year it was the skyline, this year it was a black and white picture of downtown, with the green river. They also had a camera set up to take a picture or boomerang which you could email or text to yourself! No need to hunt down someone to take your picture!

While we're here, let's talk swag. I didn't love the shirt this year. It's not bad, but I wasn't a fan of the logo. Will I still wear it? Duh. Will I wear it as much as the 2018 one which I really liked? No. More importantly, the race went back to giving a pom hat instead of socks (which we got last year). Heck, they wouldn't have to give me a shirt, that hat is more than enough.

Fast forward to race morning. If you've ever been to Chicago, you know that parking can be interesting. If you plan to park in one of the many garages on the course, that's great, but it might be a hassle getting out. This year, I intended to use SpotHero to park, but had some problems with the lot (aka it wasn't open) but was able to find an open lot closer to the start, so it all worked out.

The start area in Grant Park is somewhat chaotic due to the space and volume of people. If you ever plan to run the Chicago Marathon, I would HIGHLY encourage doing the Shamrock Shuffle beforehand because it's a great dry run of what you can expect. All in all, the start area is standard. Lots of places to sit on the ground, plenty of porta-pods that will all still have last minute lines. And an easy to figure out gear check. Simple.

To make a long story (which is on my blog) short, the race takes you entirely through downtown Chicago. You run past all the landmarks and will have the street to yourself and fellow runners. The finish is the same as the marathon, as you go up and over "Mt Roosevelt" as it's known, and a straight shot to the finish from there.

There are two Aid Stations, one at 1 and change miles, and the other right around 4. I don't stop in anything 10k or shorter, so these don't impact me. I actually have no idea where the second AS was because I was zoned in and missed it altogether. I heard, from fellow BRP Mark, that the second AS didn't have Gatorade like normal.

The finish chute is just as long as any major marathon, but after an 8k you aren't (read: shouldn't be) as ruined as after a marathon, so it isn't bad. Standard snacks, gatorade, and water are available. After the finisher's chute is the post race area. Two pro tips here: 1. Make a bee-line for the Advocate Health Care tent to get your FREE hot chocolate and mug. They will run out, so do that ASAP. 2. Pass the beer and go get your gear check bag. You can't leave the post race area with beer, and I learned in 2018 that you'll be freezing if you have to pound your beer in just your race gear.

All in all, this race is run super well, as you would expect. I actually enjoyed my second Shamrock experience significantly more than the first time I ran it. Highly encourage this race as it's a good course and fun atmosphere.

The Pettit Indoor Marathon weekend has become a staple in the Milwaukee racing scene. With a Half Relay on Friday, two heats of a Half Marathon and the Full Marathon Relay on Saturday, followed by the Full Marathon on Sunday.

Runners can pick up their bib and shirt on any day before, or the day of their race. Most runners grab their bib before the race starts. Packet-pickup is in the Hall of Fame room, which is upstairs overlooking the track. It's a nice area to wait before and after the race with food and bathrooms. Although admittedly it gets a little crammed once all the runners are there.

The Pettit is an official Olympic Training Center, so parking is super easy. The arena is right off of I-94, which makes it extremely accessible as well.

With packet-pickup, runners receive their bib, shirt, and timing chip. The timing chip is an ankle chip that you'll strap onto your ankle. This is what times you, and not your bib. It feels kind of weird at first, but honestly I never noticed it during the race.

I LOVED the shirt this year. Half Marathoners got a light blue long sleeve with the race logo on the front. Very low key, and very clean. Full Marathoners got a black long sleeve with the same design. I've only done an event at the Pettit twice, but this was a better shirt than last time I thought.

To get 13.1, the start line is on the far end of the track, which means you'll start and finish at a different point. So while the race is 47.5 laps, your countdown will be from 48.

The track is only three lanes, which can make the start a little congested, but it's not really that bad. The slowest runners are supposed to run on the outside lane, most runners on the second, and the first for passing and for the leaders. It sounds slightly confusing, but as long as you don't cut anyone off, it's fine.

Aid stations are basically whatever you want. There are two tables, one where volunteers will refill and give you your bottle (you mark it with your number) and another self serve one. Some runners, like myself, just had a water bottle, but others had nutrition on their self serve table as well. I liked this, but not as much as I thought I would, just because I had to think about when I wanted to grab water, instead of that being dictated by set Aid Stations.

Lap counting can be done in a few ways. There is a screen you can see when you cross the finish line that will show how many laps you've completed and your lap time. Then there is a big screen which will show how many laps you have to go. You can ask volunteers as well. I just lapped my watch every time.

After you finish, you can pull off the track pretty quick. Volunteers will give you your medal (which I really liked!), a water bottle, and take your ankle chip from you.

All in all, the Pettit is an awesome event, and definitely a unique one! I'm glad I did it, but I don't know if I need to run 47.5 laps again any time soon. Of course, I said that after I did the 5k in 2017, so I'll probably be back.

10/10 recommend trying this one out.