I'll start with the good, I thought that the Expo was in a beautiful location at Soldier Field and very well organized. However, the huge amount of vendors in between bib pickup and packet pickup was ridiculous. It would have been nice if the bibs and packets were on one side of the stadium so those of us not planning to buy anything could have gotten in and out. I understand why it's done this way though, money money money. Shedd's Aquarium and even Millennium Park to Navy Pier are within walking distance of Soldier Field, so if you're in a walking mood you could go see some sights and come back to your parking spot.

I was super excited about this race because of the pictures online and the touted beautiful scenery. However, we found that wasn't exactly the case. Not only was the course quite a ways from the coastline so it made viewing the lake hard, in between the race course and the Lake were construction vehicles, construction fencing, and mounds of dirt which made it very difficult to enjoy the scenery. The course was very well-marked, and there were so many volunteers, I was amazed.

The air quality on race day was also terrible. I found that it was difficult to get good breaths and ended up coughing a lot.

There was plenty of water and Gatorade ( for carb burners) , and they handed out gu gels if you needed them. It was ridiculously hot but it seems like they had plenty of medical staff and even water sprayers, ice cups, and fans along the course. It would have been awesome to have a sugar-free electrolyte drink available.

Although the after-party was very well organized and well-staffed, there is a surprising lack of water for the runners after the race. Also, it was very difficult to get back to watch family members if you had already gone through the runners corral. There was one volunteer at the end of the race that would not let me stay and watch for my friend come in and close behind me.

The band at the after-party was awesome. It was nice to get some free beer and pizza ( although I don't eat carbs, my family scarffed them).

As far as Transportation & Parking, we stayed at the La Quinta on Lakeshore Drive which was about a mile to a mile and a half from the race start. It was a nice warm up to walk from our hotel down to the race start. Also our family member staying in the hotel with us could just walk outside of the hotel and watch us running at Mile 6 and mile 11. Super convenient and out of the rat race of the city a little bit.

Overall, the city is beautiful and has great energy, I just wouldn't recommend the race course itself.