Latest reviews by Brittni

(2018)
"Tough but fun! "
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This was my first marathon ever and it was tough! The wind was in your face the whole time and the hills are tricky! That said, I enjoyed it very much. Aide stations were perfect, every 2 miles at the start and half way through they had them every mile. It really broke up the route for me. There are plenty of hotels near the finish and start (good because next year they're reversing the route!). The expo was pretty bare, I didn't purchase anything except for body glide. My dad came with to the race and he had no trouble driving along the route and spectating, but be warned. It's a boring route. They had specific cheer zones set up, but sometimes it was pretty barren. Hard to do for your first marathon. My watch and the signs were off pretty much the whole run. At the last mile sign, my watch said we still had over 1.5 miles to go!! The last stretch was so cute. They most have had local elementary school kids make signs and, oh my gosh, they were adorable! It really made the last stretch pass by quick. When I got to the finish (after a decent sized hill), they had run out of mylar blankets. This was rough because I was counting on one. My temperature always drops after races and I freeze! I was particularly irritated when I saw 5k and half runners walking around with them or marathoners with 2 or 3! I even saw a guy with 4 wrapped around his body. My dad had to give me the shirt off his back to warm me up, but this guy can have 4 mylar blankets. I asked someone about it and she was very apologetic (thankful for good volunteers!) and said they underordered by about 30%, which means over 200 marathon finishers wouldn't have received one. They also didn't have any food at the finish. I got a water bottle and a cup of chocolate milk. It would have been nice to get some Gatorade or something. I think the post race food was at another location. The medal was pretty sweet. If they can fix the problems, I would go back but I wouldn't recommend to another first time marathoner!

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(2018)
"Yippee! "
Overall
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I set out to do this race as a last long run/shake out before my marathon and ended up setting a PR. The crowd support is amazing! So many little kids to high five! I wish there were more water stations on the half route or that they were more spread out. The day started out cold but ended up very hot. The half ended up tracking long for me (about a quarter mile long) so that threw off my game plan. The hills are gentle and relatively easy for anyone who has trained on hills. The race shirt they gave out was so small! It's a nice shirt but they ran very small! I will definitely be back for this race next year though!

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(2018)
"Crowded"
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
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Parking/Access
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I did this race to complete the Bulldog Double, having done the Drake Road Races half the Sunday before. This race is crowded. They have different divisions (recreational, competitive, and elite) so make sure you sign up for the right one. In hindsight, I should've signed up for women's competitive because it was just too hard to go fast in the recreational division. Parking is terrible because it's downtown on a work day at 6pm. They gave out good post race fuel! Would recommend for a first timer or someone who wants to do shorter races!

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(2018)
"Meh"
Overall
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I ran the 14k at the Chicago Get Lucky and while it was a really nice distance, I will not be back again. The race hosted a 7k, 14k, and a half marathon. There were only 3 bathrooms available at the start, so we waited in line for over 45 minutes and ended up starting the race 10 minutes late. The course went along the lakefront trail which is normally beautiful but there was a lot of construction going on. I used this as a speed training run and set my watch for intervals, which was a mistake. ALL THE MILE MARKERS WERE WRONG OR MISSING. I had no clue how far I'd run or when the turn around would be. It made the race very difficult. Once I was headed back, I was cruising along. I knew I would PR my 10k and I figured I'd just keep the fire on. Nope. All the 7k "runners" walked along the route, often taking up the whole trail. They would not get out of the way for anything. The trail at the start/end was full of potholes that were not marked or said anything about. I'm surprised no one broke an ankle. I was able to get really good parking and cheap. I would recommend this to someone who isn't racing or going for time. But from what I've heard, the race isn't coming back next year so I wouldn't worry about it.

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(2018)
"So much fun! "
Overall
T-Shirts/SWAG
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This was by far my most fun race! The hills are difficult, but the beautiful scenery makes up for it! The expo was big and I got some stuff I liked. Even with some stomach issues during the race, my mom and I vowed that we are going back year after year for this race! Don't be intimated by the elevation, this race is a blast!

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