This race is a beautiful running tour of Chicago. This was my first marathon and it was beyond my expectations. The city views were stunning and the crowd was so fun, energizing, and supportive. Being a back of the pack runner, the Bank of America cheer station around mile 14 just had only sad looking man and was being torn down when I ran by. The west side the city around the United Center was pretty desolate so I put in my headphones and got those miles behind me. The neighborhood of Pilsen was the best part of the race, coming at just the perfect time, around mile 20. The energy of the crowd in this neighborhood was amazing. They had been out there for hours by the time I ran by, but you'd never know it. Again being a back of the pack runner, people were stressing about the 6:30 cut off van, getting ushered onto to the sidewalks, and aid stations closing. While I saw some tables get knocked over, I was always able to get something at the aid station. It was truly an amazing experience. Highly recommended.

I thought this race was very beautiful and it offered a lot of different views of Batavia from the forest and river to the neighborhood. People set up cheer stations on their front lawns and cheered runners through the neighborhood which was fun. A short part seemed industrial and less exciting, but didn't last too long. The aid stations seemed well spaced out. My only complaint is that they started backing up the finish line at the 3 hour mark. The races I've run in the past allow for people running a 15 minute mile. I finished just over 3 hours and was disappointed to not hear my name read as I crossed the finish line. Just after I crossed the finish line, they were completely packed up. They were ready to give away more pizza and beer to the faster runners still milling about, but I wonder if some slower runners missed out on their well deserved pizza and beer. Overall a fun, scenic race, but if you're a slower runner, be aware you might miss out on having an official finish time.

This race was on the shared running/bike lakefront path and it was insanely crowded. I made a point of being the last runner to cross the start line in hopes of avoiding some crowds, but my plan was not successful. Not only was I trying to navigate my way through the other racers, but bikers used that same path as well. There were parts where they diverted traffic on the bike path and it wasn't clear where bikers should go causing a really dangerous situation. On the upside, I loved the slip and slide just before the course met up with those running the 5K. The only food at the end was sausage. Not great for vegetarians. However, the beer selection was excellent.